Slater snickered, the fighting leaving his posture. "Says the boy who had a boner kissing another boy. Come to think of it, how did you know they were all drugged, that if Eamon had drunk that wine or eaten that cake, he would have been drugged too?"
The question caught me off guard. I couldn’t tell him the truth, and I didn’t know how to lie either. So I changed the topic.
"Some of us like to start our day with the sun," I said instead, rolling my eyes and leaving the door open as I walked back into the room. "Come in if you’re coming in. I’m not standing here dripping wet all morning."
He entered the room behind me, quietly closing the door and immediately stopped short. "Wow. This place looks completely different. You changed your whole room, Kael. Good for you."
"I have a roommate now. Had to make space."
"Where is my brother?" Slater asked, staring at my bed.
I pointed toward the other bed facing mine. "Over there, obviously."
Slater immediately crossed to Eamon’s bed, and I noticed the fond smile that spread across his face as he gently adjusted the blanket that had tangled around the sleeping figure.
There was something tender, almost intimate, about the gesture that seemed far too personal for step-siblings.
I moved to my dressing area and began towel-drying my hair. "Are you not going to wake him up?" I called out to Slater. "He’ll be late for his first class at this rate."
Slater shook his head, still gazing down at the sleeping form. "Let him rest a little longer."
He turned away from the bed and approached me. "I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for Eamon," he said quietly. "He’s innocent, you know. Like a baby navigating through the world. He has no idea what he’s walked into."
I paused for a minute, searching his face. What did he mean by that? Who was Slater working for? Did he have any other agenda aside from schooling here? Based on my observations and quietly following him, he seemed to have sworn a vendetta against Ravenshore.
I resumed oiling my hair, eyes still trained on the mirror. "I haven’t done much. Just gave him a bed."
"That’s more than most would do," he said. Then his tone changed. "Has he said anything? About Headmistress Vale?"
"No," I replied, continuing to work my hair product through my damp hair. "Just because we share the same room doesn’t mean we’re buddies who share every detail of our lives."
Slater nodded, then his expression grew serious. "Something happened this morning. A sentinel came looking for Eamon—wanted to drag him to Headmistress Vale’s office this morning ."
I shrugged, trying not to show my concern. "Why are you worried? Maybe it was really important."
"No," Slater shook his head slowly. "It felt off. She doesn’t summon students at 6 am. Something didn’t feel right."
Just then, Eamon stirred on the bed, stretching languidly and yawning loudly. The sound drew Slater away from me immediately as he rushed to his brother’s side.
Eamon rubbed his eyes. "What time is it?" he mumbled.
"It’s early," I heard Slater say. "You can rest a bit more."
"I can’t!" Eamon murmured, dozing off and opening his eyes again. "Classes start at 9. I need to be on time. Attendance makes up 30% of school work."
"True," Slater sighed. "Alright, I’ll help you prepare. Give me your hand."
He yawned again, giving Slater his hand. With his assistance, Slater pulled him up from the bed, then went to his toiletry bag, retrieved a toothbrush, pasted it, and returned and handed it to Eamon, who shuffled sleepily toward the bathroom.
Watching them made me tense.
I finished with my hair and began getting dressed. When Slater returned to me, I turned to him, trying not to sound suspicious.
"You’re awfully close to your stepbrother."
Slater was half-distracted by Eamon’s retreating figure. But when Eamon finally disappeared into the bathroom, he turned to me."
"I say you act so close to your stepbrother for someone you’d only seen once before he came to Ravenshore."
I felt him stiffen before he chuckled awkwardly. "We...we connected immediately when we first met. You know how it is with family. Sometimes you just click with someone right away. Plus, I feel responsible for him since he’s my father’s son."
"Mm," I muttered and finished up with my dressing while Slater was on the couch, scrolling through his phone.
A short while later, Eamon’s voice called from the bathroom.
"Slater? Can you come here for a minute?"
I watched with growing confusion as Slater immediately hurried toward the bathroom, not even with the slightest hesitation, closing the door behind him. What kind of relationship did they have as stepbrothers?
While I was still thinking about it, the doorbell rang again.
I opened it to find Rhett standing in the hallway, holding a large wicker basket filled with food and a huge smile.
"You’re up early," I said quietly. "I thought after drinking yourself to..."
He brushed past me and said cheerfully. "I had a wonderful night, and I know you did too. I brought breakfast."
Sighing, I closed the door and turned to him. One of the reasons I kept Rhett around me was because of how kind the boy seemed. He didn’t walk around with his status, shoving it in people’s faces, even though he was unbearable most of the time.
But he had a drinking problem, which he didn’t want to admit, and he was sick, too. I took a deep breath, trying to expel the thoughts from my mind. I made it a rule to never concern myself with anything that didn’t affect me.
But it was Rhett, and it worried me that he didn’t care about his life.
"You know drinking could make your heart situation worse, Rhett..."
"It’s not a heart situation, Kael," he repeated with a small smile. "It’s a heart disease. Call it what it is and a little alcohol here and there..."
"You don’t take alcohol here and there," I interrupted him. "You drink every day. There are 24 hours in a day, but you drink for 16 hours, and that’s not good. I’m not a health expert but ..."
"Good!" he stopped me with a strained smile. "So, shut up and let the doctors be the judge of that. You were at the hospital the last time. Did the doctor complain to you that I suffered an attack because of my drinking?"
"Good, now shut up. Where do I put this?" he asked, raising the wicker basket towards me.
"You can set it there," I pointed at the coffee table.
Rhett did that, glancing around the room as he dropped the basket. "Where’s Eamon?"
I pointed toward the bathroom.
"There, in the bathroom."