“How was I supposed to know his girlfriend is the one he was tricking to get out of Hillsdale?” Michael folded his arms, leaned against the wall, his eyes shooting daggers at me.
“Oh Scott, what did you do?” Mom looked at me, her scowl heavy with disappointment.
“Me!” I pointed to Michael. “What about him?”
Mom placed her hands on her hips. “I told you at the start, I didn’t like the idea. I didn’t know it was Marissa. Scott, how could you do this?”
I felt my anger crumble. She was right. This wasn’t Michael’s fault, this was mine.Why didn’t I tell her sooner?I collapsed against the wall, sinking to a sitting position on the floor. “I was going to tell her. I changed my mind about working with Raymond & Johnson Law Firm. I hadn’t figured out how to tell Marissa yet. I was going to. Now she won’t let me explain.”
Mom flinched. “Where is she now?”
“Walking to the gas station and getting an Uber.” My head fell into my hands. “She won’t let me get close enough to her to even explain.”
Mom nodded and hollered towards the kitchen. “Ron, I'm going for a drive. Keep things running here.”
I looked past my mom to see my father standing in the doorway. He nodded and grabbed her keys, handing them to her.
She pointed her finger at me and Michael. “I’ve raised you both better than this. If you don’t learn to stop using people to get what you want,” she looked at me, “or to feel more important,” she glared at Michael, “you’ll both end up alone.” Her words stung my wounded heart. “Now apologize to one another and play nice. I’ll be back later.” She kissed Dad. “Try to talk some sense into these two,” she said, then stormed out the front door, slamming it behind her.
I felt my phone vibrate. Maybe it was Marissa? I pulled it out as fast as I could and opened it.
Please be her.
Nope. It was from Raymond & Johnson Law.
Great. Just what I needed.
Scott, I'm getting worried that you don’t understand our offer. How about you come to the Christmas party next week and we can talk?
-Clyde Johnson
I closed my phone and chucked it across the room to the couch and covered my face with my hands. “This is all my fault.”
“You’re not wrong.” Dad walked over and patted my shoulder as he eased onto the floor next to me. “The question is, what’s next?”
Michael sat on my other side. “Scott, I’m sorry.” He sighed and dropped his head. “I was trying to ask about your work because I want you in the city with me. I miss us being close.” He bumped me with his leg. “I would never hurt you on purpose.”
I thought back to high school and how all his friends used to make fun of me all the time. He had never been on my side. “Maybe you didn’t, but everyone you hung out with did.”
He leaned his head back against the wall. “Do you have anyidea how many fights I got in over that? I punched Alex in the face twice after he made fun of you in the cafeteria when you tripped.”
“What do you mean?” My mind went blank. I couldn’t remember a single time when Michael had gotten after his friends for mocking me.
Dad nodded. “True. Went to the principal’s office several times over it.” He chuckled. “She was never thrilled when I didn’t punish you, but I told her if he was sticking up for you, Scott, then I was proud of him.”
“What?” My head felt cloudy. “I always thought you got detention for not caring about your grades and the pranks you pulled on the teachers.”
Michael chuckled. “Well, there may have been some of that too. But Scotty, I’ll always have your back. I’m sorry you didn’t know that. We are brothers, more than that we are twins. If we don’t have each other’s backs, who will?”
I leaned my head against the wall and closed my eyes. I didn’t know who I was anymore or what was real. All the pieces that had fit in my life no longer made any sense.
“So,” Michael bumped my shoulder. “Like Dad said, What now?”
I sighed. “What do you mean, what now? I blew it.”
Dad chuckled. “Aw, Scott, that’s our curse as men. We blow it. But we can usually find a way to fix it too.”
Michael popped his knuckles. “Maybe you just need a new plan. What do you want for your future? Do you know?”
