Portrait of Us by A. Destiny

Author:A. Destiny
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon Pulse

Chapter Twelve

Mom, Jennifer won’t hand the bread basket over,” Carmen said in a tone that sounded exactly like my brother’s. Her freckled face was twisted in an angry pout.

I smothered a laugh.

Matthew, who was sitting beside me, leaned over slightly to whisper in my ear. “They’ve always had a love-hate relationship with each other. Right now it’s in the ‘hate’ phase. They’re refusing to dress alike, despite most of their wardrobe matching until the last month or so. Jennifer’s even talking about cutting her hair and making it darker.”

Goose bumps erupted across my skin from the soft puffs of his breath on my ear and neck. I tried not to shiver and give anything away. We’d only been sitting at the table for a few minutes, but I was so tuned in to everything about him that it was ridiculous. I could feel the heat pouring from his thigh, just an inch or two from mine.

It was hard, trying to focus on the polite conversation his mother was making. But I’d learned that Matthew spent a lot of his free time at home, taking care of his twin sisters while his mom was teaching at a local community college. His parents were divorced, and he and his sisters stayed with their father every other weekend. Though no one else said it out loud, it was apparent that money was tight for them.

My heart squeezed. Our family never worried about money. We weren’t crazy rich or anything, but my parents had put us in after-school care when we were younger without a second thought.

I nibbled at my lasagna and stole peeks around his house. Small knickknacks scattered across the windowsill, which was open to let in the early evening sun. The table and chairs were solid wood and a little scuffed, but clean and polished. I liked the house a lot—it was inviting, friendly. It made me want to sit down and make myself comfortable.

My house was much different. Mom had art everywhere, pieces she’d collected during big vacations with Dad. Our furniture wasn’t plush, but more sleek and modern. Muted colors and contemporary style. Sparse furnishing to make the big rooms look even bigger. Not like this place.

We usually only ate dinner together once or twice a week, which was why I was just gonna grab something out of the freezer and heat it up after my meeting with Matthew. This was definitely better than frozen pizza.

Suddenly I realized everyone was looking at me. I paused midbite. Had they asked me a question I’d missed because of looking around and getting lost in my own thoughts? “Um,” I stalled.

“Mom wanted to know how you’re liking the art class so far,” Matthew said with a knowing smile.

“Oh, it’s great.” I talked a bit about the pieces we’d worked on so far. “There are a lot of talented people in there. It’s challenging and fun.”

Matthew’s mom beamed at him. “Matt worked so hard to get in. He was the only full scholarship recipient for the program.

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