Romeo vs Romeo (The Boys of Hudson Burrow Book 2) by Hayden Hall

Author:Hayden Hall [Hall, Hayden]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-09-19T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 8

Hopeless Romeos

Everett

I wished I had a photograph of Roman as he had been in the last moment before I had left his room six days ago. This entire week passed in a blur of expectation and only one incredibly distant glimpse of Roman at a moment when it was absolutely impossible for me to meet with him or even let him know I had spotted him.

Sunday was our family day. I couldn’t skip the mass, no matter how much the thought of stepping inside St. Augustine’s cathedral made my stomach turn. During the week, there was never a good moment for me to provide an excuse and be out. Mother arranged an unofficial church group meeting right in our apartment on Wednesday, inviting Joseph Burton and his sweet, quiet, unopinionated girlfriend, Anita Blakely. When she appeared, my breath nearly left my body. Anita Blakely was the pretty girl I had occasionally seen in church. She looked as beautiful up close as she had from the distance. And, like always, seeing her made me think of her twin brother. Alex, she said he was called. But now, after knowing Roman so well, Alex Blakely was nothing but an old, lingering bit of melancholy somewhere deep in me. I found that I could admire Anita’s beauty and Alex’s as well, without my brain supplying me with wild fantasies. If anything, seeing Anita made me think of Roman even more.

Annabeth, my former girlfriend in my final, desperate attempt to turn myself straight, was also present, despite my protests. “Darling, you parted on good terms, and people change. Do they not?” And that was that.

Yesterday, when I floated the idea of maybe going out, Mother was completely against it. She insisted she needed someone to accompany her to St. Augustine’s in the afternoon to oversee some of the volunteers sorting newly acquired items for the homeless. It was not something I wanted to cancel, even though I was growing desperate to see Roman. For all the cold shrugs I received from her in our daily life, my mother was not a bad person. She was there in person rather than sending her chauffeur or hiring an assistant.

When I left my room around three in the afternoon, dressed to go out, Mother and Father were sitting in the dining room. Father was in between some distracting calls, which I had overheard from my room.

I cleared my throat. “Hey,” I said quietly, proceeding to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of orange juice. “I was thinking…” My heart skipped a beat. Cold sweat covered my palms, and I hadn’t even begun the conversation. The handle of the cold pitcher felt like holding a steel handle of a dagger. “You were right. I’m going to go mad if I don’t start doing something soon.”

“It took you long enough,” Mother said. “Let’s hear it.” She made an impatient expression as if expecting me to announce I would be joining a circus.

It’s much worse than that, Mother, I thought, licking my dry lips.

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