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“I know, I guess what I’m trying to say is they basically put Jake in a timeout all day. That place was pretty dreary. If it were me…I’d be damn sure to never get stuck somewhere like that again. Lesson learned.”
“If it were you.” There was almost a hint of amusement in Mom’s voice.
“Yes.”
She shook her head. “I need to talk to Joe, and Becca texted that she and your sisters are home. You can thank Coop for that.” When she stared at me for a long moment, some shame crept through me.
“I’m really sorry, Mom. I’ll do better.”
With an exasperated smile, she gave me a hug and then leaned back to study my face. “You really look terrible.”
“It’ll heal, and it really doesn’t feel that bad.”
She pressed a kiss to my cheek. “Go on with Archie, I know you want to go find Frankie.” The last few words were soft. “Don’t scare her with that face.”
I laughed and fuck, that hurt, but she smiled.
“And I’m not going to tell your father.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I meant that about seeing Frankie and her hug. I didn’t give a damn if she told Dad. What would he do? Lecture me via Skype? That was what mute was for. “I’ll try not to be late.”
“Hmm…tomorrow we’ll deal with the school.”
Mr. Wittaker shook Archie’s hand, and then Mom headed for her car. Joe lingered behind, and then he focused on Archie and me.
“Thanks for coming down, Joe,” I said.
“You’re welcome,” he said. “Ian won’t tell me what the fight was about.”
Okay.
“You’re probably not going to tell me either.”
Archie and I both stayed mute.
Joe nodded once, then folded his arms. “Boys, whatever is going on with all of you—and yes, I am aware of some of it—you need to find a way to resolve it without fighting. You’ve all been friends for too long, and you’re not doing Frankie any favors.”
Bubba had mentioned he’d talked to his dad about Frankie. While Archie frowned, he didn’t say or ask anything. I just nodded. “I get that, sir, I do.”
“I hope so,” he said with a sigh. “And Jake…you and Ian should talk. I mean really talk and not with your fists.”
Didn’t really see that happening, but… “Is he all right? I didn’t see him after the nurse.”
Mostly because they separated us. I’d meant it when I said he got the worst of it.
“Looks a bit like you, definitely in a worse mood, and his mother was not as understanding as yours.”
I didn’t laugh, but it was kind of funny.
“There’s a chance he’ll be riding the bench with you,” Joe continued. “So maybe you two will have some real time to talk.”
Yep, and maybe monkeys named Bob would fly out of my ass.
“Be good, boys,” he said. “Remember what I said about Frankie.”
No sooner had Joe climbed into his car and pulled away did Archie round on me. “What the hell was that about Frankie?”
“I’m fucking starving, and my face hurts. Feed me and get me to my car, and I’ll tell you.”
