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Back Unnecessary Drama Save as PDF
Chapters (49)
  1. COVER PAGE
  2. TEXT LOGO PAGE
  3. ABOUT THE BOOK
  4. DEDICATION
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. 22
  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. 25
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. 28
  33. 29
  34. 30
  35. 31
  36. 32
  37. 33
  38. 34
  39. 35
  40. 36
  41. 37
  42. 38
  43. 39
  44. 40
  45. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  46. ALSO BY NINA KENWOOD
  47. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  48. PRAISE
  49. NEW MARKETING PAGE

I manoeuvre past them in the kitchen, fake-smiling, acutely aware of the towel sitting barely a centimetre below my butt cheek and also dangerously low across my boobs. This is the second time Harper has seen my upper thighs in the space of twelve hours. I am all for body positivity—when you’re the lessattractive sister in a family you really need to be across that from a young age—but my upper thighs are the body part I’d rather not lead with when getting to know people. They’re just not opening-act material.

The toddler runs over to me, grabs a handful of towel and yanks, which makes the almost-naked situation even more precarious. I bend down awkwardly to remove his chubby little fingers, which have locked onto the towel with some kind of powerful death grip. I did not know children were so strong.

‘Bottom, bottom! It’s a bot!’ the toddler yells, pointing under the towel. Oh my god, where is this child’s mother? I look around in desperation.

‘Oh, here he is,’ Harper says, as someone else walks into the house, a teetering pile of boxes obscuring their face. ‘Brooke, this is Jeremy. Jeremy, Brooke.’

I am too distracted by the toddler’s attempts to humiliate and dominate me to be really paying attention.

‘Oh, no one calls me Jeremy,’ he says.

My head jerks up. Wait. I know that voice.

The box lowers and a pair of eyes appear.

Those eyes.

Then his whole face. Long nose, broad shoulders, shaggy brown hair tucked behind his ears.

It’s Jesse.

3

3

My heart is pounding and I’m trying to keep my face calm. My jaw suddenly feels locked and frozen. I’m trying to move it and I can’t, but no, I’m not going to panic. It’s fine. It’s fine! Yes, Jesse is moving into my house, but I will process this information calmly and rationally, and my jaw will unlock itself any minute now, my heart will slow down eventually and everything is fine.

‘Jesse,’ I say, my voice strained.

‘You two know each other?’ Harper asks. ‘I guess that makes sense: my grandmother found you both.’ She laughs, but emphasises the word grandmother just a little too hard, and I sense lingering resentment that she was not given the choice to find her own housemates. Harper’s grandparents live in my town, and they know my mother. And, apparently, Jesse’s father.