“Relax.” Tegan looks over her sunglasses at me, her lips curling in a knowing grin that’s so familiar, it sends a shock of recognition straight through me. She and Dex really are more alike than I could imagine. “So what’s your deal?”
“I don’t have a deal,” I shrug. “I’m a business manager for a fashion brand. Nothing crazy like you guys.”
“And you met my brother at his show?”
“Just briefly.” I gloss over the fact we spent a crazy, life-changing night together. “We reconnected this week. I’ve only been at the house a few days.”
“Huh,” Tegan sounds intrigued. “Interesting.”
She doesn’t say anything else.
Fine, I’ll bite. “Interesting how?”
She smiles mysteriously. “Nothing. Hey, you want to pass me those chips?”
I do, and Tegan falls silent for a while—silent save the crunch of chewing as she quickly demolishes my entire supply of road snacks. I watch her out of the corner of my eye, trying to process her contradictions. There’s something bold and vibrant about her, quizzing me so openly, teasing Dex back at the house, but then the laughter falters, and I see flashes of a different girl, frail and delicate, a bird like the ones she has tattooed on her arm. I remember what Dex told me about her being in love with Connor, and how she wound up in rehab after his death. He didn’t share the details, but I can see that whatever she went through back then, Tegan is determined to pull her life back together now.
“So how much of this mess did he tell you?” Tegan’s voice comes, wry, and I realize she’s seen me watching her.
“I…I don’t really know what to say to that,” I reply, after a moment’s hesitation. “Dex confided some things, but, it’s not my place to say anything.”
Tegan arches her eyebrows at me, then smiles, like I’ve passed some kind of test. “You want to change the station?” she says instead. “This pop stuff makes me want to blow my brains out.”
I laugh, going to hit the dial. “Are you a music snob too?”
“Snob?” Tegan protests. “Just because I’ve got taste, doesn’t make it a bad thing.”
“I know, but you guys take music pretty seriously, don’t you?”“Me and Dex, sure,” Tegan replies, relaxing now that I’ve found a classic rock station. “But Ash couldn’t care less about it, he’s more a classical, opera kind of guy. Now he’s the snobby one,” she adds with a grin. “And Blake…let’s just say, if he could move to Nashville and become a country star, he’d die happy. Unfortunately, he can’t hold a tune to save his life.” She beams affectionately.
“Blake, he’s out in LA, right?” I try to keep track of the many Callahan siblings.
“Making it in Hollywood,” she drawls, then laughs affectionately. “I’m not even kidding. He’s an actor. Nobody’s really heard of him yet, but he’s shot a couple of big deal movies. The action one launches in a couple of weeks, one of those alien invasion blockbusters. I keep telling him, once it hits, everyone will know his name.”
“I would have thought Dex would have talked him out of that,” I note, recalling Dex’s discomfort over being recognized.
Tegan laughs. “Blake won’t listen to him, he never does. He’ll handle the fame better. Even now, he’s doing interviews, all kind of press to gear up to the big premiere. He loves it, he was always, I don’t know, more comfortable with that stuff than Dex. Dex would be happy if he could play his shows and then flip a switch and turn invisible,” Tegan adds with a grin.
“It’s a shame,” I say quietly. “You can tell, he misses it bad.”
Tegan looks over. “Maybe tonight will remind him how much he loves the music. I know I guilted him into it,” she adds, “but it kills me to see him deny such a big part of who he is. When he’s up there on stage, playing…I’ve never seen him so happy.”
“Maybe…” I pause. “But don’t push him. He’ll come back when he’s ready. And that might not be for a while yet.”
Tegan watches me thoughtfully for a moment. “You’re not like the others, you know that?”
“Is that a compliment?” I ask.
She smiles. “Maybe. I haven’t decided yet. But big brother seems to like you plenty, so we’ll just wait and see.”
24.
Tegan drags me to half a dozen stores—places that I’d never dream of going myself, populated by intimidatingly cool, pierced, tattooed people. I veto almost everything, all the crazy mini-dresses and three-inch heels, but we finally manage to put an outfit together for me in the nick of time before meeting Dex.
When his jaw drops open when I meet him outside the show venue, I know, it’s all worthwhile.
“I…wow…You look…Wow.” Dex gulps for air. His eyes rove over me from head to toe, a dazed expression on his face like someone just dropped an anvil on his head. “You look incredible.”
“Thanks.” I blush. I’m wearing a black leather mini-skirt and form-fitting black silk T-shirt, with bare legs and strappy leather sandals. It’s edgier than anything I’d usually wear, but Tegan insisted that I looked great. My reflection in the dressing room mirror agreed: with my red hair loose and tousled, a line of smudged bronze eyeliner making my hazel eyes glow green, and a layer of berry lip-stain, I look sexy and seductive, a million miles from my usual neat, conservative self.