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He blinks as if he’s clearing his vision, and the warmth returns to his wild eyes. He stares down at his brother and uncurls his fists. “Dad will be home soon.”
His eyes flick to mine, and in that instant, I know how he feels. You don’t fight for the shit you couldn’t care less about. You only fight for the people you love, and the things that matter. James loves his brother very much.
And that resonates with me.
I bend down and hold out my hand to the bleeding stranger. “Come on. I’ve got a first aid kit in my house.” I toss one of his arms over my shoulder, and James takes the other. We hoist him up and walk him back inside.
He groans as we prop him up on my toilet seat. “I think you broke my ribs, bro.”
James doesn’t say a word.At least I’m not the only one he ignores.
His brother, however, has no problem continuing to fill the silence. “So, who are you?”
I lean forward and dab his lip with a cotton ball. “I’m your new neighbor. This is my house.”
His eyes flick to the open buttons on my Henley. “Sweet. I’ve always wanted a hot neighbor.”
I grip his jaw hard. “Eyes up here, buddy. There’s nothing in there for you.”
He chuckles, until I put peroxide on his cut, and then I’m the one wearing a smirk as he hisses.
“I’m Leo. Where are you from?”
I toss the bloody cotton ball into the trash and pick up another. “New York. This was my family’s shore house.”
“Was?”
I steal a glance at James who’s staring down at the box of Band-Aids before I focus back on Leo. “Why didn’t you tell your brother where you were? He’s been looking for you.”
Leo’s Adam’s apple bobs. “I don’t need to answer to him. I’m a grown-ass adult. He needs to worry about his own life and stop worrying so much about what I choose to do with mine.” I press more peroxide into the gash on his lip, and he jerks his head back. “Take it easy. That shit burns.”
James finally pipes up. “Dad was worried.”
Leo’s jaw clenches. “Everyone needs to stop worrying so much. I can take care of myself.”
“Is that why you broke into my house tonight? Is this you taking care of yourself?” I shake my head. I should mind my business, but he came intomyhouse, so in a way, he made this my business—and I can’t help the words from tumbling out. “You know, you’re lucky to have a family who worries about you, and actually fucking cares about your well-being.”
Both of their heads snap to me.
I snatch the box of Band-Aids out of James’s hands and pull one out. Without meeting either of their curious gazes, I peel off the backing and smooth it over Leo’s eyebrow. “You owe me a window.”
I leave them in the bathroom and make a beeline into the kitchen, picking up Leo’s baseball cap along the way. Footsteps sound in the hall a moment later, and then the front door opens and closes. I breathe out a sigh of relief, and slump against the counter, rubbing my forehead in small circles.
Despite the fact that my neighbors seem pretty dysfunctional, I can’t help but feel jealous. I’ve been here for two days, and my brother has yet to call or text. I shouldn’t be surprised—he barely called to check in on me while I was in Clearview—but that doesn’t mean it hurts any less. My own mother disowned me when I was at my lowest. I truly have no one who cares about me, other than Drew, who’s only my friend because we were stuck in a mental facility together.
How did I get here?
Hot tears sting my eyes, but I blink them away, not wanting to give in to feeling upset about people who clearly don’t feel upset about me. Or miss me. Or think about me.
It’s easier to be angry than it is to feel this disappointed.
Fuck them.
I toss the larger glass shards into the recycling bin and sweep the smaller pieces into a dustpan. Just then, the front door opens and closes again, followed by the sound of heavy boots clomping down the hall. James appears in the kitchen holding a piece of cardboard and a roll of duct tape.
I lift an eyebrow. “You going to tie me up and finish what you started last night?”
He shakes his head as he walks over to the sink. “This will do until I can get you a new glass pane tomorrow.”
