And it made him cut and run
* * *
Just as wewere cleaning up from practice, the door to the basement opened and Colt’s sister, Sheila, called down the stairs. “Guys, Mom wants you all up here for dinner in five.”
“Thanks,” Colt replied. “I guess she made enough for everyone.”
“Nice!” Dane jumped up from his seat and started to help us wrap up our cords.
We all made our way up the stairs, taking seats around the dinner table. What I wasn’t expecting was to sit right across from those gorgeous doe eyes that had been plaguing my every thought.
“I thought you were riding to the party with Jax.” I could barely make eye contact with Leilani without my entire body going into hyper-drive.
“He’s going to pick us up from here now. Mom has avisitor.” Her voice was callous and low as she glanced over at her brother.
“Maybe you two should stay at my place tonight.” I looked over at Dane as he shrugged it off.
“Yeah, that’s probably be a good idea.” Leilani’s face twisted with such sadness as my sister put her hand on her shoulder. I just wanted to reach over and hold her, to take all the pain and stress away. I knew how terrible home was for them, and thinking about it destroyed me.
Julie glanced over at me. “I’ll call Mom after dinner and let her know Dane and Leilani will be staying over. She’ll be fine with it,” she reassured her best friend.
The subject dropped quickly as Colt’s mom came in with a huge tray of lasagna. Beaming at us, she took her seat at the head of the table. “Mangia!” She giggled and started to dish out the meal.
“When’s Dad getting home?” Colt asked while passing the delicious-looking pasta around plate by plate.
“He has to work late tonight again, so it’s fine to start without him.”
“This smells wonderful. Thank you, Mrs. Russell.” I smiled over at Colt’s mom. She was the sweetest lady, and her heart was definitely in the right place, but we all knew being married to an alcoholic was hard on her. It wasn’t a secret that there wasn’t a late shift at the plant Colt’s old man worked at, that he was bellying up to the bar at Mountain Breath until closing multiple nights a week. If they wanted to keep his drinking a secret, he shouldn’t have used Colt’s friends’ workplace as his watering hole. Dane and I both bussed tables and helped out in the kitchen after school for extra cash whenever we had time, and nine times out of ten, Colt Russell, Sr., would stumble in at some point in the night.
After we all helped clean up from dinner, it was time to get ready to head over to Ryan’s place for the party.
The doorbell rang, and my heart sank. I knew I would knock Jackson out if I saw him touch Leilani, so I made my way into the bathroom to quarantine myself.
After I fake flushed the toilet, I heard my sister’s voice come through the door. “Mav?” There was no way on this godforsaken planet I was going to stand by and watch all three of our little sisters get into a car with the d-bag of the fucking century. Since Julie was only a freshman and my flesh and blood, I finally felt like I had a good enough reason to throw a fit about Jax driving them.
I pulled the door open. “What?” I barked, startling her a bit.
“Um, Mom said you need to take your allergy medicine.” She handed me my pill bottle. We all knew it wasn’t fucking allergy medicine, but it kept the pimples away and that was all I cared about. I chuckled a little at all the stupid white lies our families all told, wondering if it was normal and if every family was the same way.
“Thanks, Jules. Does Mom know you’re riding to the party with a senior?”
She bit her bottom lip. “I told her I was going with you guys, and she said it was fine since you were going to be there.”
“But she doesn’t knowhowyou’re getting there.” I was starting to get heated. Who did this Jax guy think he was?
“Mav, don’t make this into a big deal. It’s totally fine. It’s just a ride.” Julie was giving me her best puppy dog face, and damn her, it was working. I knew I was overreacting and knew I would be the one to take them all home at the end of the night, but it was still making my skin crawl.
Sheila looked over at me. “Why do you care, anyway?”
Leilani crossed her arms over her chest, popping her hip out. “I asked him the same damn question earlier. What’s it to you, Mav? Usually you get all pissy when we ask to catch a ride with you and now you’re all upset because someone else is giving us a ride to a party you will be at? What gives?”
“That guy’s just a jerk, that’s all. Sue me for caring, ladies. Please, enjoy your ride with Sir Dickwad.”
With perfect timing, another knock sounded on the front door. We’d been keeping Jax waiting for a while.
They all grabbed their jackets and Leilani glanced back at me. “We sure will.” Her tone bit right through me. I had totally crossed a line and had probably fucked up my chances with my dream girl.
Colt’s mom was watchingGrey’s Anatomy, completely oblivious to the minor power struggle that had just played out in her dining room.
“You guys ready?” Dane broke the silence, but the tension still lingered.
I let out a long breath. “One more beer and then we’ll head out?”
They all agreed and we made our way back down into the basement so I could cool off for a bit before having to see the girls, Jackson, and the rest of the student body.