Our next dress rehearsal was well underway before anything went catastrophically wrong. Shayna refused to speak to Samantha unless they had a scene together, and Jack was his usual overconfident self.

Onstage, Jack seemed to embody Orlando. Despite his arrogance and bluster, he could effortlessly slip into the skin of an oppressed and titleless man. When he left the stage, he instantly became Jack Garrison, telling everyone what a great job they were doing and smiling.

I supposed it was the thespian way. Jack was a natural; he seemed to be good at everything he did without much effort.

Shayna made a crafty Rosalind. She could scorn Orlando one moment, fool him in the next, and be wooed by him all in the course of a few minutes. She made it look easy.

Juan was still watching her when she was on stage. He might not have apologized for his actions, but he observed her like he knew he'd made a mistake. Still, he let Samantha hang all over him.

Shayna's brother had escorted her to rehearsal that night. I'd never met Parker, but I'd heard about him. He'd been a star player on the football team last year. Parker Christian-Porter was a Crestview legend.

He was our single audience member tonight with his legs propped up across two chairs. He was a muscular young man with thick, tightly curled hair pulled back in a bun behind his head. He wore a fraternity shirt with ripped sleeves and cut-off shorts.

Juan couldn't shut up about Parker. Even Jack was a little awed by the guy. They'd fist-bumped when they passed in the audience earlier.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Jules told me before the curtain opened for the second act, and we started our twenty-minute break. "The guy is just human."

The way Jack, Juan, and even Carson talked to him during the break made me think Parker was some kind of idol. Carson riddled off football stats about Parker easily. It was shocking that Carson even knew anything about sports.

"He's probably just charismatic," I said. "Like Jack."

"All I remember about Parker Christian-Porter was he was an attention hog," Jules rolled their eyes.

"Is he Shayna's half-brother or something?" I asked, curious about the last name.

"No," Jules sounded thoughtful. "Shayna's last name used to be Christian. After her parents got a divorce, the pair of them had their names legally changed to Christian-Porter. Shayna prefers her mother's name. She only uses the Porter part."

"I'm guessing she doesn't have a good relationship with her father then," I said.

Jules shrugged. "She doesn't talk about it. Don't suppose it matters. When she turns eighteen, she can change her name to whatever she wants without parental consent."

Shayna didn't go near her brother while her ex-boyfriend and Jack talked to him. She barely even looked at him.

She stood alone. I walked over to her seat in the back of the theater. As I approached, she almost didn't notice me.

"You okay?" I asked.

"I didn't want Parker to come," she said. "He's too nice. He knows Juan dumped me, but he's chatting with him like an old friend."

"He seems charming," I said.

"Too nice," Shayna agreed as she brushed one of her curls out of her face. "Everyone likes Parker."

"Everyone likes Jack," I said. "Including your brother."

"He was able to forgive Jack," Shayna said. "I haven't."

Neither Novah, Tasha, or Jules could tell me why Shayna despised Jack, and they'd all been going to Crestview for their whole lives.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked.

"Parker told Jack a secret. Something very private," Shayna said. "Jack told everyone. It was embarrassing. He never apologized. It was years ago, but I can't help but be upset about it."

Shayna looked more sad than angry. I wondered what kind of secret could make Shayna feel like Jack had ruined her life.

"How old were you?" I asked.

"Ten," she said. "Everyone always finds him so kind and good. I see right through Jack. His smile is smug. He's like my brother. He gets everything he wants, and everyone looks over his flaws. No one cares about my brother's grades because of his football."

Resentment. That was a feeling I was most familiar with. My mother went off to fly air missions, leaving my sisters and me with my absent father. Then my sisters left, and I was alone to keep my father from spiraling.

There were dark days when I hated their guts for being cowardly and running away from our family. Days that I wished my mother cared enough to come home for more than a weekend. At the end of the day, though, I loved my family. Shayna resented her brother and hated Jack.

"If you were only ten, though, I doubt he meant it," I said.

Shayna's glare filled with ice. "That's what everyone always says. This is exactly why I don't talk about this. Jack ruined my life. That's that."

"If you need to talk, I'm always here," I said. "About Jack or anything else."

She looked at me funny. "You don't have to do this."

"Do what?" I asked.

"Be nice to me because you feel sorry for me," she said. "I get enough of that from everyone else. Yeah, I'm popular, but that means everyone loves talking about my personal life. None of my so-called cheerleading friends told me Juan was cheating on me, and they all knew it. They all sat back and enjoyed the drama. Do you know what that feels like?"

I couldn't imagine anything like that. I'd been to quite a few schools over the years. My father moved from university to university with his studies, and my mother was transferred from one military base to another.

I'd never been popular. I'd usually sat at the back of classrooms, read books, and only got involved in theater productions because I could only afford to get invested in things I liked. Sometimes we only stayed in a city for a semester, and once or twice I was forced to move schools halfway through the year.

"Maybe you need some real friends," I said. "People who will always have your back."

"That's why I have Parker," Shayna said.

"Parker might not be enough," I said. "You can always talk to Jules, Novah, or me."

"Thanks for the offer," Shayna said. "But I'm better off alone."

Anton walked onto the stage. "I'm going to let you all go early tonight. You did such a great job."

"Wait," Juan frowned. "So rehearsal is over?"

"We didn't even finish the show," Hugh called from the wings.

"Really sorry," Anton said. "My landlord sent me a text saying he needed to see me immediately. It's an emergency. A pipe exploded at my place."

"That's horrible," Samantha said.

Anton checked his phone, and he looked nervous. He ran a hand through his hair. Jack eyed his uncle, but Anton's expression remained neutral.

"I'll lock up," Jack said. "After everyone changes."

I took off my costume and hung it up. I gathered up my things and waited for Jules in the parking lot. Samantha and Juan walked out together, and a few minutes later, Shayna walked out with her brother. Jules came out behind them with their long leather coat whipping around them.

"Come on," she said. "I'll drop you off at your house."

They threw their bushy ginger hair over their shoulder and unlocked their car. We got in, and they started driving.

"What did Shayna have to say?" She asked.

"Not much," I said. "At least not much I found relevant."

"I noticed that Kai had his eyes on her for a good while," Jules said. "He's always had this crush on her. They grew up as neighbors. He's always watched her like that. I thought maybe he was over it, but I don't think he is."

"Interesting," I said. "So, you don't like Shayna's brother, huh."

"One of my friends who graduated last year was head over heels in love with him," they said. "He never even gave them a chance. Mickey loved him. More than most of the girls he dated."

"So you hate him because he blew off your friend?" I asked.

"Sure," Jules said.

They were quiet until they pulled into my driveway. I thanked them and walked into my house.

Someone had straightened the living room. All of the books were stacked. My father actually sat at his desk working rather than in the middle of the floor.

There was a wonderful aroma coming from the kitchen. My father couldn't cook anything. That meant something was off.

I entered the kitchen and found a surprise waiting for me. My mother, Nina Finch, was standing in our kitchen, which smelled like my favorite comfort food.

"Momma," I said. "What are you doing here?"

I hadn't seen my mother in over two months. She'd been helping train a new generation of pilots and had been too busy to help us move this time.

"Can't I surprise my daughter and husband?" She smiled. "I had a bit of free time. How's that play you've been doing?"

"Good," I said. "I just got out of rehearsal."

My mother hadn't even been to our newest house. I didn't even know she had our current address.

"It's good to see you, Rita," my mother said. "I missed you."

"Good to see you too, Momma," I smiled, wishing my sisters were here.

While it was a little strange to see my mother in an apron and cooking, I wasn't about to say no to her gumbo. It was the only thing she could cook, and every time she came home to fix it, I could always forgive her for being away so long.

Izzy and Mara were always hesitant to welcome our mother home, but I could never hold it against her. I guessed it was because she was home more when they were younger because she was pregnant with me, but I was used to my mother flying in and out of our lives.

"Welcome home, darling," she said, taking the pot off the stove. "Have some gumbo."

She poured three bowls of gumbo. I called my father to the table, and the three of us sat down to eat together for the first time in months.