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“His grades are good. He’s gotten a few strikes at school, but no referrals.” At Jake’s confused look, I added, “Strikes are warnings, and referrals are when you’re sent to the support room where you have to talk to the counselor.”
“Ah,” Jake said.
“The threat of losing football seems to be working.”
“You found something he cares about.”
“For now.”
Jake rolled his shoulders back. “This feels like the calm before the storm.”
That’s what had been bothering me. I was afraid to sink completely into this normal because at any moment, things might change. There was still Corey’s juvenile hearing hanging over us.
Jake sat on one of the chairs in the garage, a cloth hanging from his hand. “Mom messaged me.”
My heart sank. “You tell Hailey?”
He nodded. “That’s why I was at her place last night.”
I didn’t like hearing their mother was coming around again, but I was relieved he hadn’t figured out that I was lusting after his little sister.
“How’d she take the news?” Every muscle in my body pulled taut.
“She usually wants to see her. This time, she’s not sure.”
I nodded tightly. I didn’t blame her. As nice as it was to have a mother, I’m not sure it was worth the pain when she left.
“We’re older now. We don’t need her in our lives.”
I’d always thought that. I was there for the aftermath when we were kids, and it was rough, especially for Hailey.
“If it were just me, I would have cut her off when I turned eighteen. But I couldn’t do that to Hailey.”
I was conflicted because I wanted to be talking to Hailey about this, not Jake. I wanted to know how she was feeling. I wanted to reassure her and make her feel better. Just like she’d been doing for me with Corey.
“She asked for time to think about it.”
“That’s good.” I wanted to be the one there for her when she did, but I only saw her on nights Corey was working. And we only had a few minutes alone, if that.
Jake looked around the room before he settled on me. I hoped he couldn’t see right through me and know there was something going on just below the surface. “Can you let me know how she’s doing when you see her? She won’t tell me.”
Startled, I ran a hand through my hair. “Oh, yeah. Of course.”
I couldn’t believe he was asking me to take care of her.
“She won’t tell me if she’s hurting. She thinks I worry too much. That I’m overprotective.”
He was, but I wasn’t going to be the one who told him that, especially when I was having impure thoughts about his sister.
Jake stood. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”
My breath caught in my throat because his trust was misplaced. At the same time, I was thrilled to have an excuse to be close to her.
“If she says anything to you, let me know. I don’t want to make the wrong move here.”
“You won’t.” My voice sounded rough. He was entrusting his sister to me. It was an excuse to get close to her, but at the same time, I didn’t want to betray her confidence. Which is exactly what he was asking me to do.
“I don’t know how you do it with Corey. Being responsible for someone else weighs on you.”
