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“Can’t they stay here, Mom? Just for a little bit until we get it figured out?” Adam pleads, and my heart sinks because I shouldn’t have brought this trouble on them.
I’m not the girls’ guardian, and technically, I did sort of kidnap them. But I know Elliot isn’t going to call the cops. The asshole has had enough run-ins with the law that he won’t bring them to his front door.
Adam’s parents share a look, and his father looks at us. “Of course you can stay here for as long as you need, but...”
“I promise I’ll figure it all out. I won’t put you all in any kind of danger. I just need time to figure things out. I...” I’m stuttering.
Mrs. Bates walks close to me and places her small hands on my shoulder. “Sweetheart, we know that. We aren’t worried about us. I’ll go against your idiot stepfather and your mother any day.”
Adam’s father grunts, “Good for nothing son of a bitch, even in high school.”
Adam laughs at that, but quickly schools his features. “We’ll figure it out.”
Adam’s mom squeezes my shoulders. “You two may be technically adults, but you’re still in school. You’re figuring life out for yourselves. Two minors are a big responsibility.” The way she’s talking makes me wonder if she knows what we really are to each other. I can’t be certain. She may just know that we’re best friends and that Adam takes on everything I do, but it feels like she knows. “But I have no doubt you’ll figure something out. And in the meantime, you all can stay here. If your mom comes knocking, which sadly,”—his mom sighs—“I’m not even sure she will, I’ll handle her.”
“Football is over. I can get a job and help pay for things,” I say, having already planned on doing that. Basketball isn’t a necessity.
“Hell, son. We’d much rather have your physical labor around here.” Adam’s dad slaps me on the back.
Adam chuckles. “You all wanted this to happen, didn’t you? Free labor.”
“Adam Bates,” his mom scolds. “We’d never wish anything bad on those girls.” She squeezes my cheek with her hand. “Now, if it was you...”
“Oh, thank you,” I say with a smile, and she kisses my cheek.
“You know I’m kidding. I don’t ever want you hurt. I want you all safe, and if it’s under my roof, then that’s even better.”
“Thank you,” I say, so not used to a mother being so damn kind and fierce at the same time.
“About that?” Adam says, and we all look at him. “The girls can stay in my room, and we can stay out in the camper.”
His parents both nod, and his mom releases me walking over to him. “I suppose you were wanting to move out there anyway.”
He grins. “I thought about it. It’s a little quieter.”
She laughs at that but doesn’t argue with him. Eighteen around here is a little bit different from the rest of the world, from what I can gather. Our eighteenth birthdays aren’t a huge deal, but they do signal adulthood for a lot of us. Time to move out and get a job.
College isn’t usually on our minds. Nor is living with our parents.
“You both look like you need to get more sleep too. Why don’t you go out to the trailer. I’ll take care of the girls, and you two come back for lunch.” I trust them. I do. But my feet won’t move. His mom places her hand on my cheek. “I promise you they’ll be okay.”
Her eyes look so much like Adam’s that I find myself nodding as he takes my hand and leads me toward the door. If his parents think it’s odd that he’s holding my hand, they don’t say a word. “I’ll have my phone on and up if they need anything at all,” I say to them, and they both give me a firm nod.
I follow Adam outside, and we walk to the camper. It’s a long walk, and it’s cold, but I’m grateful for it. It makes me a little less numb somehow, even though I can’t feel my damn nose.
We reach the camper, and Adam locks the door before plugging the space heater back in. He strips his coat and then mine off and pulls me toward the bed. I need a shower. He does too, but I let him pull me down to the bed and wrap his big arms around me.
“They’re okay.”
“I let them down,” I say, glad he’s spooning me and that he can’t see my face—or the unshed tears in my eyes.
“You’re their brother. Not their guardian.”
We both know that’s not really true. I’ve been their guardian for a while now, officially or not. I should have been there. “I don’t regret last night,” I say because I need to. “But I hate that I let them down.”
He squeezes me tighter, his face in the crook of my neck. “I don’t either, but I hate it too.”
I smile because I know he gets it. I know he knows I don’t blame him. And he doesn’t blame me either. We both only blame ourselves.
