Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 88736 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88736 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
“Oh,” she said, straightening. “Hey.”
“You cool if I turn this off?” I asked, walking toward the light switch.
Apparently, she’d had the same idea as I did because every other time I’d come out after my shower, she’d been curled up on her side in the dark.
“Yeah, go ahead,” she replied with a nod. “I was just going through my mental list.”
“Your mental list?”
“You know, the list of things in your head that you know you have to get done?” She watched me move back toward the bed, trying and failing to act unconcerned. “I’ve gotten most of it done. I called the kids’ school and got their stuff transferred—”
“Did you know Kara is a counselor at the high school?” I asked, sliding into bed. “She can help with any of Jesse’s shit.”
“Yeah, she told me yesterday.”
Yesterday, my brother and his girls had ambushed us at dinner time. The house had been loud as fuck while the little kids ran around. Thankfully, Jesse seemed more than comfortable hanging with the adults, because with Dylan holing himself up in his room, they’d had no one their age around.
“Oh, good.”
“The fridge is full,” Teddy continued. “I called and quit my job. All that shit. Now I just need to find a new one and figure out some furniture for the kids so they can stop sleeping on the damn floor.”
“My uncle, Leo, said they’ve got a twin mattress they don’t need.” I’d forgotten all about it until she said something. “They had a bunk bed in one of their rooms that they’re not usin’ anymore, so I think the mattress is pretty new.”
“Seriously?”
“Yep. Should be a good one too. Their place is pretty nice.”
“Damn. That’s awesome.”
“He said they’ll bring it on Saturday. We can put it in the back of Dyl’s truck.”
“Is he actually going on Saturday?” she asked doubtfully.
I sighed as I lifted up onto my elbow. “I’m not givin’ him a choice.”
“Good luck with that.”
“He knows he gets to fly out to see Isla in six weeks. We agreed to that shit. He can stay with his mom or one of his buds.”
“Six weeks is an eternity when you’re seventeen.”
“Gonna be a lot longer than six weeks if he doesn’t pull his head out and stop poutin’.”
“Fair enough.”
“I get it,” I said with a huff. “He’s bummed. But he couldn’t have seriously thought that their little plan was gonna work out. He’s an idiot, but he’s not stupid.”
“Maybe he did think it would work,” she said sympathetically. “You never think shit through at that age. It’s all hormones and epic love stories.”
I scoffed. “Wasn’t for me. I was too busy makin’ my way through every girl in the senior class.”
“Ew.”
“Me and Isla’s parents explained exactly why their little plan was doomed from the start,” I told her. She hadn’t asked about what happened while they were out shopping, which I’d been a little surprised about, but if I was honest, we hadn’t had the time. I’d gone back to work, and in the evenings we were always with the kids. “Isla seemed to take it in, but Dylan? Who knows? They’re seventeen and eighteen years old. Too young to be livin’ together and playin’ house—especially when it’s my fuckin’ house.”
“Agreed.”
“If she were in a situation, hell, if any of Dyl’s friends needed a place to stay, my door is open. But she didn’t. This wasn’t that. Her parents are solid. Made a fucked up impression when they met you, but I’ve known ’em for years. Isla’s the youngest and has three older brothers. She’s their baby, and they treat her that way.”
“Three older brothers?” Teddy asked with a hum as she settled into the bed, curling onto her side. “Dylan got off easy.”
“Dylan’s very fuckin’ lucky her brothers didn’t show,” I confirmed. “Would’ve had a harder time layin’ ’em out if there were three of them.”
“What? You laid him out?”
“Greg can take a punch, so he didn’t go down.” I shook my head. “But I have a feelin’ he wasn’t chewin’ with that side of his jaw for a few days.”
“Oh, shit.”
“He knew he deserved it,” I muttered. “Didn’t even swing back.”
“When the hell did that happen?”
“When they were leavin’, and Dyl and Isla were sayin’ their long-ass goodbye.”
Teddy lifted her hand to her forehead, gently rubbing the spot at her hairline where the bruise had been.
“He’s lucky it wasn’t worse,” I muttered, watching her. “Ten years ago, he would’ve been brought out on a fuckin’ stretcher. Can’t believe he did that shit.”
“I wasn’t really surprised,” she replied ruefully. “By the way he was knocking, he was furious before Dylan even opened the door.”
“With good reason. Thankfully, that’s over,” I said, dropping down to the mattress. Bunching up my pillow, I stuffed it between my bent arm and my head. “Just hopin’ that Dylan doesn’t get any other bright ideas when he goes back to see her. At least I know Greg won’t let Dyl stay there. He won’t want to live with his mother, so I’m betting he’ll get his ass on the plane when it’s time to come back home.”