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Of course, her interest in me seems to be hovering at about a negative one hundred. That might be my own damn fault, though, for acting like an asshole the first couple of weeks we’ve known each other.
“So, are all of you guys going to school today?” Hadley changes the subject, glancing from Rhyland to me.
Rhyland nods. “As far as I know, we are. “
I raise my voice and call toward the stairway, “We definitely are, just as soon as Alex and Jaxon stop primping and get their asses down here.”
“Will you chill out!” Alex shouts back. “Looking this fine takes time.”
Hadley snickers. “He sounds like Payton.” Her smile falters.
Pity fills Rhyland’s eyes. “Have you heard from any of your sisters?”
She shakes her head. “No. I tried to text them last night and this morning, but so far they haven’t replied.”
“Depending on who their caseworker is, they may have gotten their phones taken away,” I tell her apologetically. “To make sure your dad can’t get ahold of them.”
“Yeah, I figured that might be what’s going on.” She shifts her weight and scratches her wrist, seeming uneasy. “You wouldn’t by chance know a way to get ahold of them, would you? Or maybe a way to find out if they’re going to the same school? I mean, if you don’t, it’s cool, but I thought I’d ask.” She examines her fingernails, pretending to be chill.
But I think she’s far from it.
“I actually do know someone who used to work for Social Services,” I say. “If you want, I can call her up and see if she can get some info about where they were taken.”
She casually nods, but relief washes over her features. “That’d be great. Thanks.”
“Give me just a second and I’ll call her.” I start toward the living room, retrieving my phone from my pocket.
“Wait. What’s the favor I’m supposed to be doing this morning?” she asks before I exit the room.
I dismiss her with a wave. “How about we skip today?”
Her eyes flash with irritation. “No way, dude. You’re not going to give me a pity skip.”
I rub my hand across my mouth to conceal my smile. Rhyland lets his grin slip through, though, and it irks me a bit, even though Hadley isn’t mine and he has every right to smile at her.
“Okay, give me a minute and I’ll think of something.” I turn to leave the room.
“And don’t you dare make it an easy favor,” she calls out. “I mean it.”
That damn smile I’ve been holding back all morning slips through. It’s been a while since I’ve smiled for real, either because I’m too stressed out to remember to or because the heaviness of the stress makes the simple act of turning my lips upright feel like the hardest thing to do in the world. I have to give Hadley some serious credit for getting me to smile. Hopefully, I can return the favor when I call up the lady who used to oversee mine and my brothers’ cases during the times Social Services stepped in and dragged us out of our shitty home life. She’s retired now, but she might be able to help us out. At least, I hope so.
As I step into the living room to make the call, I’m reminded of another problem I need to deal with.
The damn car with the tinted windows is back, parked outside in the driveway of her house.
27
HADLEY
“You should’ve just takenthe freebie and not worry about doing a favor for Blaise today,” Rhyland remarks after Blaise leaves the kitchen. “Most people would’ve.”
“Most people don’t mind getting favors,” I say, adjusting the handle of my bag. “But in my experience, when someone does you a favor, it usually means they want a favor in return, so it wouldn’t even be a freebie because I’ll owe him.”
“Yeah, I get your point, I guess.” He tears open a granola bar and takes a bite. “But sometimes people do favors just to be nice and don’t expect anything in return.”
“And you can honestly say that’s what your brother was doing?”
He nods without hesitation. “Blaise is a nice guy, Hadley.” He breaks a chunk of the granola bar off and pops it into his mouth. “And I think if you’d look past his bad flirting skills and stupid need to protect his brothers all the time, you’d realize that.” He offers me a smile then heads toward the stairway. “Cut Blaise some slack, okay? I promise you won’t regret it.”
