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pathetic. And then I knew that I had to get away from them in order to pull off such an obvious lie, but the questions kept coming.
    “Kate, whose jacket are you wearing?” my mother asked.
    It was typical for my mother to notice the one giveaway, but I quickly thought of something.
    “This is Brett’s jacket, Mom. If you paid him any attention, you’d know the type of clothes your son wears.”
    “I think we should all head to bed,” my father said.
    Halfway up the stairs, I heard my mother say, “Maybe you should go shopping Kate; surely you should have a jacket of your own.” She hadn’t believed me, but she had no proof that I was lying either.
    I closed my door, removed Jack’s jacket, and smelled it. His addictive scent was all over it. Eventually, I laid it on the bed, undressed, and moved to the bathroom. When I stepped under the warm water, I couldn’t help sighing. There was just so much to absorb. Jack had revealed so much of himself to me. If I hadn’t seen him demonstrate his unnatural abilities, I would have never believed him. I should’ve been afraid of him, but I wasn’t; he was the best and most exciting thing that had ever happened to me.
    I stepped out of the shower and dried myself off before putting on my silk, lace-trimmed nightgown. Then, I opened the balcony doors and peeked next door. Jack straddled a sun lounger by his pool and looked up at me. I smiled, and he waved. I waved back, trying my best to look sexy. Wanting to leave him yearning for me, I walked backward and closed the doors.
    That night, I lay in bed reliving my night with Jack, and drifted off to sleep with breathtaking thoughts.

CHAPTER 8
     
     
    W hen I woke up the next morning, I was afraid of an interrogation from my mother about Jack’s jacket. She was suspicious and I’d have to be on guard until I was able to reveal that Jack and I were a couple. I felt good about the day ahead, until I heard a howling cry.
    I flew downstairs and ran into the living room. Brett was slumped over the couch. He looked worse than I’d ever seen him before. My mother and a doctor were in a corner talking quietly, and left the room as I walked over to my brother.
    “Brett, why have you done this?” I asked, feeling completely let down.
    I’d hoped that moving would make Brett stop partying and drinking, but I was wrong. He had let me down again, and for the first time, and I realized that he had no one to blame but himself.
    “Kate, please help me. You’re the only one who cares . . . the only one in this family who gives a crap about me!” he shouted, his eyes welling with tears.
    “Brett, I’ve defended you for so long now, but I can’t do it anymore.”
    His desperate, desolate eyes were begging for reason. “Please, you don’t know what it’s like to be me— a constant failure that Dad is ashamed of. I’ll never be good enough for him because I can’t be who he wants me to be.”
    “You don’t have to be anyone but yourself, Brett.”
    “You’ve heard the way he talks to me, like I’m nothing; like I’ll always be nothing. When he comes home cranky as hell because he’s had a bad day, I’m always his target.”
    I held Brett’s hand. “I know; he can be a real bastard. But you’re the one who’s always drunk. You must know that drinking won’t solve anything.”
    Brett pulled his legs up to his chin and buried his head. “I can’t do it anymore. I hate living with him.”
    “You need to forget Dad. He’s barely here anyway. Why don’t you stand up for yourself? Prove him wrong. You need to show him that you have everything going for you and more.”
    “I would if I could, Kate. But I’m useless at everything.”
    I pulled his hands away from his face. “You’re only acting like you’re useless because you’re always getting drunk.”
    “I don’t know how to stop. It’s the only thing that makes me feel better,” Brett whispered, before sobbing into my shoulder.
    There was no hiding from