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“Fine,” Mom pouts. “You're breaking my heart, just so you know.”
I roll my eyes as she heads out to the car, helping Brody carry some boxes. Ever the dramatic one, she is. But I love her.
I turn to my dad, Chase. “You're a bad influence on her.”
“I know,” he chuckles. “I’ve turned her into a naughty, naughty girl.”
“Ew, gross. No!” I cover my ears. “Dad, just no.”
“Ah, Lillypad. You should know by now we have no shame in this family.”
“And, Ace, you should know by now that I don’t have any shame in regard to this family. But what I do have a lot of shame for is knowing anything, and I mean anything, about my parents’ sex life.”
“Sex? What is sex?” He scratches his chin. “Not sure that's a thing. And it’s definitely not a thing you should look into. Or ever do. Never, ever.” He gives me a pointed glare, making me roll my eyes even harder.
“What's this about sex?” Brody asks, stepping back into the house. He shoots me a death glare.
“Nothing. Nothing about sex.” I groan, putting my face in my hands as I die of embarrassment. “Can we stop, please?”
“No sex. Ever. Or until you're, like, eighty.” Brody crosses his arms and lifts his chin, pulling off the over-protective-dad-thing well.
“I’m not having sex, okay?” I let out a heavy sigh.
“Of course you're not,” Chase adds. “Because that's not a thing. So how could you do something that doesn’t exist?”
I hit him with an are you kidding me look. I’m eighteen, not eight. I’ve known what sex was since around the time I turned ten when I had a nightmare and walked in on all, and I mean all, of my parents going at it. It’s an image that’s forever engraved in my brain that I really wish I could wash out with soap.
Rain pulled me to the side and helped make it a little less traumatic, but then I was stuck with so many more questions I didn’t want to ask. So, I made the mistake and used the internet. It just made everything so much worse.
“Also, now I can’t get the image of a naked eighty-year-old lady out of my head, thank you very much.” Chase gives Brody a deadpan look as he walks past him.
“Happy to help!” Brody shouts back, then turns to me. “How are you doing, kiddo?”
I give him a small smile. “Nervous? Excited? Both?”
“You're going to do great. You have your best friend and your ex-boyfriend,” he makes sure to emphasize the ex part. “And you have Toby and Bishop. I think you're in pretty good hands. But, if you ever need anything, you know your dads and I are here for you.”
“Right. The dean, hockey coach, and football coaches. That’s totally going to win people over,” I sigh.
He grins. “You're just like your mom with the dramatics.”
“From what I heard, she only started acting like that after you all tied her down.”
He nods. “Nah. You're a lot like your mom, more than you know. We put her through a lot, and we regret it every day. But she was strong, held her head high, and fought really damn hard. Just like you.”
Pride fills me. I might be closer with Rain when it comes to things you don’t normally tell a parent, but my mom really is my person. I trust her with my life. It was us against the world at one point. She’s my hero, and I’d take the compliment of being like her any day.
“Alright. Car’s packed. Let’s get the boys ready, and then we can meet Lilly over at the dorms,” Mom states, walking past us and into the kitchen. A second later, Theo shouts for the boys.
Brody and Chase leave, passing Rain who's on her way in and over to me. “Hey. Ready to go?”
“I think so? It’s not like I have to go far if I forget anything,” I laugh.
She smiles and laughs too. “Very true.” She looks around for a second and then steps closer. “How are you doing with everything?”
“I’m scared.” I nibble on my lower lip. “I miss him.” Tears form in my eyes. “I hate this distance between us. I’m hoping now that Jonas and I aren't together, he will loosen up a bit.”
“I don’t know why he’s acting this way. But there has to be a reason. He loves you, and I know he would act the same way with you as your dads would if something happened to your mom. I think he’s just a young man, trying to find his way in the world and figure out who he is. He’s just not sure how to do that yet. But you’re going to be in the same school as him now. He can’t avoid you as easily.”
