Unsaid Things (Players of Marycliff University #4)

by Jerica MacMillan

  Gabby peeked inside the other bags, oohing and aahing over Abby’s other purchases, then pulled her mom’s bags open with a finger and peered inside. “Did you get me anything?”

  Elizabeth shook her head, turning on the sink and scrubbing potatoes before slicing them into a pot. “Gabby, I spoil you plenty. No, I did not get you anything. And if I had, do you think I’d just leave it out for you to get your grubby hands on? Christmas is the day after tomorrow. You’ll have plenty of new stuff soon.”

  “But you got Abby new stuff today.”

  Abby couldn’t hide her smile at Gabby’s whiny tone, and she was pretty sure Elizabeth suppressed a laugh, but it was hard to tell over the sound of the running water. The water turned off, and Elizabeth rested her hands on the edge of the sink, a knife in one hand and a potato in the other, and glared at her daughter. “Gabrielle. You’re being ridiculous. I wanted to get Abby a new purse for Christmas, but I didn’t know what she would like. Of course I took her shopping for one. Do you expect me to take it away now and wrap it up and give it to her in two days?” She went back to slicing the potato in her hand. “I think your sister’s going to be ready for you two soon. Why don’t you both go get ready?”

  Gabby crossed her arms and went up the stairs in a huff. Abby put her new things back in their bags to take them upstairs. Elizabeth’s voice stopped her with one foot on the bottom step. “Thank you for spending time with me this afternoon, Abby.”

  “Oh, it was my pleasure.”

  Elizabeth met her eyes, a genuine smile on her face. “I’m glad. And thank you for letting me buy you some things. It’s nice being able to spoil someone who doesn’t demand it, unlike my youngest daughter.”

  Abby grinned. “It’s kind of nice to get spoiled.”

  “You know, my son would love to do that.” Abby opened her mouth to respond, but Elizabeth’s raised hands stopped her. “Sorry. Never mind. I shouldn’t have said that. Have fun tonight at your girls’ night.”

  “I will. Thanks for today.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Abby met Lance in the hallway. His hair was slicked back from his face, wet from a shower, and he’d changed into a different T-shirt and jeans. A big smile took over his face. “Hey. I was wondering when you’d get home.”

  She went up on tiptoe and kissed him. He picked up her bags and led the way to their room. Once inside, he set them down, closed the door, wrapped his arms around her, and fell back on the bed with her on top of him. She wriggled against him, but his arms tightened, one hand going up to her head and bringing her face to his for a slow, deep kiss. When he finally broke the kiss, he rolled them to the side, and brushed her hair out of her face, a smile just turning up the corners of his mouth. “I missed you.”

  “I missed you, too. How’d things go at the shop?”

  He shrugged one shoulder. “Fine. I changed the oil in a bunch of cars while Peter and my dad did most of the hard stuff. Dad said he didn’t trust me with anything more difficult since it’s been so long since I worked for him last. That was after he sent Peter and Marissa off to lunch together. He covered the phones and put me to work. I got the shortest lunch break in history after they got back almost two hours later. But it was fine.”

  Abby’s brows scrunched together. “Did you guys talk?”

  He shook his head. “Not about anything other than what car I should work on next.”

  “I don’t get it.”

  Lance let out a sigh and turned to his back, staring up at the ceiling. “There’s not much to get. He’s still pissed at me for not moving back home when I said I would. This is his way of punishing me.”

  Abby opened her mouth, but couldn’t think of what to say. Shaking her head, she leaned closer to him. “I’m sorry.” And she kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her again, deepening the kiss, rolling them so he was over her now, one hand roaming down her front to slip under her shirt. She groaned into his mouth when his hand smoothed over her breast, his fingers flicking over her nipple, causing her to arch up into him. He smiled against her, breaking the kiss to nip at her earlobe and kiss down her collarbone.

  Just as he started to lift up her shirt, a knock sounded at the door. “Abby, you ready? Marissa just texted that she’s ready when we are.”

  Lance groaned and pulled Abby’s shirt back down, placing a light kiss on her lips. “Cockblocked by my little sister.” He shook his head in mock annoyance. Or maybe it was real annoyance. “We’ll finish this when you get home tonight.”

  “Deal. But you’ll have to keep quiet.”

  He laughed as he stood up and helped her to her feet. “I think you mean I’ll need to keep you quiet, sweetheart.” With a light swat on the ass, he turned her to the door. “Now go have fun with my sisters. And try not to think too much about all the ways I’ll make you want to scream tonight. I’ll have to think up some kind of gag for you so we don’t keep everyone awake.”

  Abby gasped, but he didn’t let her say anything. Pulling the door open with a flourish, he gestured for her to go through. Gabby stood on the other side, looking up from her phone. “Ready?”

  Abby shot a glare at Lance before turning to Gabby. “Yeah. I’m ready.” She grabbed her purse from where she’d dropped it by the bed.

  “Wait. What about your new bag? Don’t you want to use that?”

  “Oh. Yeah. You don’t mind waiting for me to switch?”

  Gabby shook her head. “Of course not. Marissa would kill you if you bought a new purse and didn’t bring it to show off anyway.” She plopped down on the bed, her attention back on her phone.

  Lance grinned at his little sister, then gave Abby another quick kiss before leaving. “I’ll see you when you get back. Have fun.”

  “Thanks. I’ll let you know when we’re on our way. Love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  Abby watched Lance leave the room, pulled back to what she should be doing by Gabby’s voice. “Aww. You two are so cute. Sickening, but cute.” She shook her head. “I never thought I’d hear my brother tell a girl he loves her.”

  Emptying all the paper stuffing out of the new purse, Abby put her wallet, keys, and small makeup bag inside it. “Why do you say that?”

  Gabby gave her a pointed look. “You’re the first girl he’s brought home since he left for college. And it’s not like he was calling girlfriends when he was home for breaks before, either. When I asked him why he didn’t have a girlfriend a couple years ago, he told me he—wait, let me get this right.”

  She screwed up her face in thought for a second, and then cleared her throat, lowering her voice into her approximation of her brother. “Gabby, I’m a connoisseur of women. I have no desire to be tied down to just one.” Gabby cracked up and fell over on the bed. “God, I couldn’t believe he said that to me, his sixteen year old little sister.”

  She sat back up waving a hand. “Anyway, after that I didn’t ask him about girls anymore, not wanting to know about my brother’s exploits or how often he sampled women. So, I was surprised this summer when he told me about you. And then he moved back to be with you. I mean, I know he didn’t really want to come back here anyway. He’d told me that much. But he was going to. He did. Then suddenly he wasn’t staying after all. And now here you are. It’s good, though. I’m glad he’s no longer a ‘connoisseur of women.’” She made gagging noises. “I mean, really? Who says that? Gross. So thanks for making my brother not a manwhore.”

  Abby laughed, glad that he’d never treated her that way. Even though she knew about his past reputation, she’d never seen him like that. “Um, you’re welcome. My pleasure? I think? Anyway, I’m ready. Should we go?”

  Gabby hopped up. “Yes! I’ll tell Marissa we’re on our way.”

  Chapter Seven

  Marissa lived in a large apartment complex fifteen minutes from her parents’ house. She rented an apartment on the third floor of the building next to the pool and clubhouse, which looked elegant and sophisticated. Built o
f dark red brick to match the apartment buildings, it had white shutters around the windows and white columns holding up a wide awning over the patio, like something out of an old movie.

  Gabby parked and led the way up to Marissa’s apartment, where Marissa answered in a pair of yoga pants and an oversized t-shirt, a glass of wine in hand. “The pizza should be here in twenty minutes or so. Come in and get some drinks.”

  “Wine for me too?” Gabby poked out her lower lip and blinked her eyes at her older sister.

  Marissa snorted and shook her head. “Not likely. If you were staying over I’d consider it, but you both have to be in your own beds tonight, so soda or water for you, girly.”

  Gabby heaved a dramatic sigh and stomped to the gray, overstuffed couch, slinging her purse on the floor. “Fine.” She flopped into the corner, kicked off her red ballet flats, and put her feet up on the sleek black coffee table. “Be that way.”

  Marissa arched an eyebrow at Abby, a smile playing on her lips at her sister’s antics. “I will. Mom and Dad would skin me if you came home with alcohol on your breath, even if it was just a half a glass of wine.”

  “Mom lets me have some sometimes,” Gabby whined.

  “Well, good for Mom. She’s not here, though, and the answer’s still no. Come stay the night next weekend, and we’ll see.” She moved to the kitchen and turned to Abby. “Do you want some? It’s a Riesling.”

  “Sure.” Abby followed Marissa into the kitchen, where she filled a glass for Abby and topped up her own.

  “Did you have a nice time with Mom this afternoon? You and Lance both sort of got hijacked. I hope you didn’t mind too much. That’s how our parents are sometimes.” She corked the bottle and propped one hip against the kitchen counter.

  Abby sipped her wine, feeling more sophisticated than she did trying to drink beer with Megan at parties. This was more her speed—wine, pizza, a movie, and a couple of people. She’d have to get wine the next time she and Megan had a movie night. Megan could keep her beer if she wanted. “Yeah, it was nice. Your mom insisted on buying stuff for me.”

  Gabby’s voice interrupted from the living room. “And she didn’t get me anything!”

  Marissa snorted, which Abby had figured out was her usual response to her little sister. “Of course not, brat! Christmas is in two days. You’ll get more presents than any of us. Quit whining.”

  Gabby came into the kitchen and opened the fridge to grab a can of soda. “Whatever. Abby, show Marissa your new bag. Marissa’s a bag hag, so she’ll want to see it.”

  Marissa’s eyes lit up. “You got a new bag?”

  Abby nodded, and retrieved her purse from the dining room chair she’d set it on when they came in. Marissa snatched it from her hands. “Sorry.” She didn’t look or sound sorry, though. “I get excited about bags.” She ran her hands all over the leather, even unzipping the top. “So soft. I’m not snooping, I swear. I just want to see what the storage is like on the inside. I might need one of these.”

  Abby laughed. “Snoop away. There’s nothing interesting in there.”

  Marissa put it on, going over to the mirror hanging at the end of the hall and flipping on the light, turning this way and that to see how the bag looked on her. “I love it. I have to have one. Where’d you get it?” She took it off and handed it back to Abby.

  “Dillards.”

  Gabby clapped in the background. “Yay!”

  Raising an eyebrow, Marissa picked up her wine from the counter. “What are you so excited about?”

  “If you get one, that means I can borrow it.”

  Marissa snorted again. “Keep telling yourself that, kid.”

  “I will. And eventually you’ll say yes.” Gabby sounded so sure of herself that Abby didn’t doubt her. All three of the Kane kids seemed to have inherited their mother’s force of personality. Marissa might not let Gabby borrow her purse at first, but Gabby seemed like the type to keep pestering until she got her way.

  “Speaking of, you still haven’t given back the sweater you borrowed last month. With that kind of track record, I’m not going to let you borrow something new and special.”

  Gabby waved a hand. “Remind me tomorrow night or on Christmas when you’re at the house, and I’ll give it back then.”

  A knock at the door interrupted them. “Pizza’s here!” Marissa grabbed her wallet off the little table next to the door and opened it, paying for the pizza and setting the box on the dining room table. Gabby got out plates and napkins, and they all helped themselves.

  “I can pitch in if you want,” Abby offered.

  Marissa shook her head, taking a bite of the Canadian bacon and pineapple pizza. “Don’t worry about it,” she said around her mouthful. “My treat.”

  Abby swallowed down her desire to insist, realizing that no one in this family expected her to pay her way. Lance and his mom both insisted on paying for things. Marissa seemed to be no different.

  Marissa grabbed a pile of napkins and set them on the coffee table, settling into one corner of the couch and turning on the flat screen TV mounted on the wall. A small bookshelf sat underneath it, holding the DVD player, DVR box, and a collection of DVDs. Gabby chose Easy A, since they’d all seen it before, and they could laugh and yell at the characters without spoiling anything.

  About halfway through the movie, Abby’s phone rang. She had it on vibrate, but it buzzed against the wood of the coffee table, and she reached over and silenced it. Megan’s picture flashed on the screen. Why would Megan be calling? Abby let it go to voicemail. She’d call back after the movie was over. Ten seconds later, her phone went off again with a call from Megan. What was going on?

  Abby stood. “Sorry, guys. My friend Megan is calling for the second time in thirty seconds. I better see what she needs.”

  Marissa reached for the remote and paused the movie while Abby answered her phone, moving into the kitchen for the illusion of privacy.

  “Hey, Megan. What’s up? Is everything okay?” Abby held her breath while she waited. Did something happen to her mom? Did something happen to Megan?

  “Hey, Abs. Sorry to bug you. I’m sure you’re busy having fun, but …”

  She trailed off, and Abby waited for her to continue, but she didn’t. “But? What’s going on?”

  Megan sighed through the phone. “Have you heard from your mom?”

  Abby’s brows came together, and she shook her head, even though Megan couldn’t see her. “No. Should I have? Did something happen to her?”

  “No, no. Nothing like that. She’s fine. It’s just … um …”

  Letting out a frustrated sigh, Abby switched her phone from one hand to the other. “It’s just what, Megan? Spit it out. Is anyone in the hospital?”

  “No. God, no. Everyone’s healthy. Well, Chris has a little cold, but he’ll be fine. I made him some chicken noodle soup. He’s whiny, because he’s a boy, but it’s just a runny nose and a little cough.”

  “Megan! I’m sorry Chris has a cold, but what’s going on with my mom?”

  “Oh, well. It’s just, I called her yesterday, and she seemed weird on the phone. Weirder than normal, I mean. And today she didn’t answer, so Chris and I went over to make sure she was okay. And, uh, your brother was there.”

  “What?”

  “Yeah. I know. Have you heard from him recently?”

  Abby shook her head, too stunned to speak.

  “Abby? Are you there?”

  She had to clear her throat a couple of times to get her voice to work. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m here. Sorry. No. I haven’t heard from my brother in … I don’t even know how long. Like almost two years. He’s at my mom’s house? Is he staying there? When did he get there? How long is he staying? What does he want? Why is he back?”

  “I don’t know, Abs. He answered the door when Chris and I knocked and basically told us to fuck off. He wouldn’t answer any questions, just said he and your mom were fine, and Chris and I didn’t need to bother checking on her anymore. H
e didn’t answer when I asked if you knew he was there, so I assumed that meant no. We just got home a few minutes ago. I would’ve called sooner, but you know the signal’s crap at your mom’s house. And I didn’t know what to tell you.”

  Abby shook her head again. “No, yeah. Thank you. I mean, thanks for calling me and letting me know. I had no idea. He’s been gone for so long, and I haven’t heard from him in forever. I didn’t think Mom had either, but now I don’t know. I don’t know.” She paused, her fingers over her lips. “Okay. I’m going to call Mom. Thanks for checking on her, and thanks for calling.”

  “Sure. Anytime. Let me know if you need anything, okay?”

  “Okay. Yeah. I will. I gotta go.”

  Abby ended the call, her fingers trembling as she pulled up her Mom’s contact info.

  “Is everything okay?” Marissa stood in the doorway to the kitchen, a concerned look on her face.

  Abby looked up. “Um, yeah. No. I don’t really know. I’ve gotta call my mom. Give me a few minutes, okay?”

  Marissa nodded, backing out to go to the living room, leaving Abby to her phone call. She managed to push the button to call her mom, taking deep breaths in through her nose and out through her mouth, trying to stay outwardly calm, while her mind raced through all the reasons her brother might have for turning up now out of nowhere. What could he possibly want?

  Her mom’s phone rang. And rang. And went to voicemail. Abby called again. This time, just when she thought it would go to voicemail again, a man’s voice answered.

  “Aaron?”

  “Abby.”

  “What are you doing there? Where’s mom?”

  “I’m visiting. Where are you?”

  “I’m in Texas with my boyfriend’s family. Why are you really there?”

  “Texas, huh? You just left Mom on Christmas?”

  “Please, Aaron. You have no room to criticize. You’ve been gone for years with barely a phone call.”

  “But Mom had you here to look out for her. You weren’t supposed to up and leave her. Where in Texas are you?”

  “Denton. And I didn’t up and leave Mom. I’ll be back in a few days. Megan and Chris were checking on Mom while I was gone.”