Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 90795 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90795 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
“You were bullied too?” Sadie asks.
“I was. For being poor, for not having nice clothes, for not always being as clean as I should have been. And as I got older because I’m…different.”
“Different how?” Sadie asks. Nash watches me but doesn’t speak.
“I just…can get a little obsessive about things. I was quiet. I never broke any rules. I always had to have my pencils set a certain way on my desk, and they would come by and knock them down or make them crooked and then tease me as I tried to fix it.” My breathing is getting heavier, my chest tightening, but I do my best to push through. “I don’t want you to have to deal with that.”
“Please don’t call the school, James. It’ll be okay. It’s not like I haven’t dealt with it before. I won’t ever tell you anything again if you call them.” She tightens her hold on her legs, then looks down again.
“Okay, I won’t, but only if you promise to tell me if it happens again. I’ll make sure they deal with it without it coming down on you. Do you promise?”
Sadie nods.
“We can practice braiding again.” Nash fingers her hair, making me realize this is another way I’ve let her down—another way I’ve let them both down. I’ve seen him wash her hair and know they’ve worked on it together, but how have I tried to help? All I did was buy some good leave-in conditioner.
“I’ll call some salons and get you an appointment.”
Her gaze shoots to me, her eyes wide and glassy. “Really?”
Her excitement makes my heart break. I should have done this earlier. Someone should have done this in her life. Even more importantly, Sandra should have taken the time to learn how, and to teach Sadie.
“Yes, absolutely.”
“Thank you.”
I freeze when she pushes off the bed and wraps her little arms around my waist, hugging me. She smells like strawberries, and I wonder if that’s the scent of the conditioner I bought. Her hold on me tightens, but I’m not sure what to do, so I just pat her back in this awkward way I’m ashamed of.
“Of course. I’m your brother. I want to help.”
When my gaze catches Nash’s, I see his glare, see the anger, and…is there hurt mixed in too?
“Thank you,” she says again, before sitting back down and taking Nash’s hand. He tries to cover his frustration with me, smiling at her.
“That’ll be fun—getting your hair done,” he tells her.
“I can’t wait!” She beams.
Feeling oddly out of place and unsure what to do or say, I add, “I’ll leave you two alone. I’ll research some places tonight.”
Sadie says bye, and Nash ignores me altogether. I feel antsy, so I change clothes and go to the pool to swim some laps. Each stroke takes some of the tension from my body, gives me something to focus on and relaxes me.
When I’m done, I make dinner and we eat together—Nash silent all the way through. It’s not until Sadie goes into the bathroom to shower that he speaks to me. “Don’t try to take her away from me. I was there her whole life, and now you’re going to come in and try to steal her from me!”
“What? No. I’m not—”
“Yes you are. Just…don’t. She’s all I have, do you hear me? She’s all I have.”
“I would never.”
“Don’t let her down either. You made that promise, you better keep it.”
Without another word, Nash disappears down the hallway, leaving me standing there, trying to figure out what happened.
*
“How was your day?” Sir asks over video call. I’d just crawled into bed. Normally, I’m earlier than this, sitting here waiting for him.
“I don’t even know how to answer that,” I reply, and he frowns.
“What’s wrong?”
“Sadie came home crying after school. Some kids were mean to her because of her hair.”
“What’s wrong with her hair?”
“Nothing. She has beautiful curls. It’s really thick and long. She’s got a lot of it. We don’t really know how to do it, but that’s no reason to make fun of her.” And by we, I guess I mean Nash because I haven’t even tried, have I? At least he’s attempted to help her. “I’ve been searching for a salon, but I think I need someone who knows curls well, and I’m completely out of my element with this. Not to mention, Nash still hates me, and he accused me of trying to take Sadie away from him. I’m making a mess of this already.” I let out a deep breath, surprised I shared all that with him.
He grins.
“What is there to smile about?”
“You told me all that and I didn’t even have to threaten to take away your orgasms or remind you to be honest.”
True. And weird. And something else I don’t want to dissect.
“Let’s handle this one thing at a time. First, Sadie’s hair. I’m probably not the best one to ask here either, but I agree with finding someone who knows curls.”