Page 35 of Trick Play

“It’s probably Lauren.” I sat the hot trays down and came out to see him staring at the screen.

“Whit?” He offered me my phone, but before I could press ignore, my thumb slipped and accepted the call.

“Oh.” It fell between us, and we both went to catch it.

“Sorry. Here.” He handed it to me.

I was hoping Whit hung up, but unfortunately, the call was still connected. I headed into the kitchen, praying Ethan didn’t hear anything.

“Hello?”

“Who was that?”

I dropped my head back. “A classmate. We’re working on a project together.” I refused to look over my shoulder to see how Ethan reacted to that description.

“He sounded familiar.”

Ugh. Why couldn’t it have been anyone else? Literally anyone? Why my brother with the eidetic memory?

“Really? How odd.” He would know if I lied, so I had to pick each word carefully.

“Who is it, Kennedy?”

Shoot. I didn’t keep secrets from my brother, well not normally, but I had omitted this little bit of news from him. I loved him, I did, but he was also ultra-protective and hated Ethan more than I did. More than Lauren, which was saying a lot.

“It’s a classmate. We were assigned to be partners for a project so we’re working on it right now.”

“Please don’t tell me it’s who I think it is.”

He knew. Of course, he did.

“We didn’t have a say in the matter.”

He sighed, and I had a gut feeling he was probably messaging our parents from his computer letting them know I was in grave danger of acting stupid again.

“Do I need to make a visit?”

“No. Really, it’s fine.”

“It’s not fine. That idiot broke your heart. He left you in pieces, and I was the one that helped put you back together. I was the one that stayed with you for a month until you could get out of bed and make it to class without breaking down. I don’t like you being around him. I don’t want him to hurt you again.”

I pulled my fingers through my hair. He wasn’t saying anything I didn’t know already. Yes, he worked from home—well, a nearby hotel—for a month to help me come back from the darkness I sunk into after the breakup. Between him and Lauren, they helped me slowly come back to the world of the living. He was there for me in my most desperate time of need, at my lowest of low. He had his own reasons for hating Ethan, and there wasn’t anything I could say over the phone to make him understand that things were different. I was different. I wasn’t weak or lost anymore.

“I appreciate your concern, really, but there’s nothing to worry about. We’ve got one assignment that we’re almost done with. That’s it.”

There was a long, drawn-out pause. “You’re sure?”

“Yes, I promise.”

“Fine, I trust you, so I won’t take the next flight out, but if anything happens or you need me for anything please call.”

“I will.”

“Good. Talk to you soon.” He hung up, and I took a moment to compose myself while slicing and plating the pizza before returning to the living room.

“So, Whitaker still hates me.”

It wasn’t a question.