Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 75663 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75663 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
“This is your show,” Isaac said. “Lead the way, and I’ll follow.”
Again, I wished I could reach for him, but didn’t. I gave him a smile instead, hoping it said the things I wanted him to know. That I appreciated this night we’d both come up with, without the other knowing. That I loved him and was thrilled to get to spend time with him this way, knowing the secret we held between us.
“This way,” I told him, moving toward the right.
We went to a display of three paintings in a series—the same house, in the woods; one clearly when it was new, another years later, and the third when it was falling down and neglected. The first was the brightest, the happiest; the last, sad and lonely.
“It’s really beautiful, isn’t it? What you can say with imagery? The things it can make you feel? Like…my heart breaks for this home and the people who lived there, the joy it held, and then to see it abandoned… It almost hurts.” I rubbed a hand over my chest.
“I think…” Isaac replied, “I think you’re good at that, at seeing deeply and feeling the loneliness in someone or something. I can see what you mean, but I don’t feel it. You look deeper than most. You did with me, and you do with these paintings too.”
“You showed me who you are. Give yourself some credit. For whatever reason, you never hid with me.”
Isaac sighed. “No, I guess I didn’t.”
We moved to the next and the next, examining and discussing each piece we came upon. We were at the fourth one when I heard, “Lane! I didn’t know you were coming!” as Kylie approached with three other people. Nerves automatically twisted and tightened in my gut. I didn’t want anything to put a damper on this night.
“Hi, Kylie. It’s so good to see you!”
She kissed my cheek and gave me a brief hug, then looked at the people with her. “This is Lane Ryan. He’s in town with family for a while.”
“Oh, wow. Lane, I love your work. You came out of nowhere and took the world by storm. It must have been incredible to work with Magdalena. I really loved your Scenes from the Attic series. I’m Christopher. It’s an honor to meet you.”
I felt Isaac tense slightly beside me. While my family followed my career, it wasn’t as if they knew every piece I’d ever painted, showed, or sold, and I knew if Isaac had known about Scenes from the Attic, he would have mentioned it. “Thank you. I appreciate that. It’s great to meet you as well.”
Kylie introduced me to the other woman and man with her before looking toward Isaac. “I believe this is Isaac, the ever-elusive brother?” she asked, making that twisting feeling explode my insides, each piece of the carnage a heavy weight inside me.
“Stepbrother, yes,” Isaac replied. “Our parents married when we were teenagers. Isaac Pierce.” There was no hint of his discomfort in the sound of his voice. It was cool, calm, and collected, the way Isaac always sounded, but I knew better. He was curious about the series, but he also really wanted to claim me, to tell them who I was to him and to erase the word brother from their vocabulary when it related to us.
Kylie frowned slightly, clearly unsure how to react to that. I’d talked about being close to him and had called him my brother, so to her, it must’ve sounded like animosity between us.
“Stepbrother. I’m sorry,” she said.
“Thank you,” Isaac replied, without telling her it was okay.
“What do you think so far?” Kylie asked.
The group of us discussed our thoughts on some of the art on display, me not having seen as much of it as they had. Isaac was quiet but stood close to me. Kylie touched my arm often when we spoke—being friendly, yes, but considering I knew she was interested in me, I tried to keep my distance without being rude. I knew I wouldn’t like it if the situation were reversed, and Isaac likely felt some kind of way about it.
A few more people approached us as we talked, most of them knowing Kylie, others asking if I was Lane Ryan, having recognized me from some event or other.
I was about to try and make our escape when two men approached. Both had dark hair cut short, and one of them was taller. They were holding hands. Kylie noticed them right away. “Krishna, Aanan, it’s good to see you.”
“Hi, guys,” Christopher said, apparently knowing them.
“This is Lane Ryan and his stepbrother, Isaac Pierce,” Kylie introduced us, but I could tell by the spark in Aanan’s eyes and the way he looked at Isaac with comfortable familiarity that they already knew each other.
“Hi, it’s good to see you both,” Isaac said, his eyes darting toward me before landing on them again.