His lips quirk up. “Almost two years ago.”
I sit bolt upright, almost scalding myself. “Shut the fuck up!”
“I may have been keeping tabs on things here and there. Still no obituary for him, though, which is vaguely disappointing. Mom fuels herself on harassing me so I’m sure she’ll survive forever like a fucking cockroach or something.”
It’s not funny really, but I can’t help laughing. “Something about you hoping Dad died heals my inner child. I’m honestly shocked they lost the business though. I would have thought they’d sell the house to keep the doors open longer.”
“Right. Shit, maybe we don’t know them either. That’s a nice thought, not gonna lie.”
It is. For as much as they didn’t know either of us, I wouldn’t mind them being a bit of a mystery. They thought we were both dumb as hell, though in different ways. Brady in a “he can be trained” and “he’ll learn, just let him find out how bad the real world is and he’ll come running home” kind of way. Me, however, I was hopelessly stupid. He-won’t-graduate-high-school stupid, which ended up being true to be fair. “Brady, holy shit!”
He startles, chocolate eyes suddenly scanning me for injuries. “What’s wrong?”
“I never looked at my GED score. I don’t even know if I passed or not.”
All emotion falls from his face, leaving a weirdly blank expression for a beat before he lands on confused. “No. That can’t be right.”
“With everything going on, it slipped my mind somehow.” As hard as I try, there’s no keeping the disappointment from my voice.
My brother whips out his phone, types a few things in, and hands it to me like I don’t have my own. “You can check online. Do it. I can go wake Ace up if you’d rather have him.”
That last part makes me pause. Would I rather have Chase? Rather is such a weird word. When I get a glance at the resignation in his eyes, my mind is made up. I think I know where that came from. “No. It’s okay. Let him sleep. Just you and me is the way it’s supposed to be.”
Bradymelts. Ice cream on a Floridian summer day would have a better shot than him. I should have known, honestly. He’s selfless to a fault, it’s right on par for him to try and step aside to make room for Chase and me to fit together. He’ll learn eventually that we fit best when it’s all three of us, but he’s always going to be my family.
Nerves flutter in my stomach as I log in to see my test scores. I don’t know why it matters, honestly. I have a thousand bigger things to worry about right now, including potentially my life. But for some reason, I need this. Maybe to feel like I’ve accomplished something? Maybe to show I’m in control of my future now?
Too little too late in a lot of ways. It’s not like Chase would ever try to limit my potential. I didn’t realize that’s what was happening before him.
If this internet doesn’t speed up, I’m gonna be sick. I groan, ready to give up this whole ordeal before I can be disappointed, but Brady snatches his phone back before I can. He also takes my coffee cup to set it on the table so I can effectively cover my eyes like it will shield me from bad news.
“Eas! Eas!”
“Don’t tell me,” I say through my hands.
His warm hand grips my shoulder to shake me thoroughly a few times. “Easton, if you don’t look at this.”
The threat would be more believable if one, he could even finish it, and two, he wasn’t the most nonviolent person on the face of the planet. I remain firm in my stubbornness. Once I know, there’s no going back. Now, I’m still able to pretend I passed.
Brady resorts to pulling me into a weirdly positioned bear hug, and when he speaks, his voice is somewhere behind my head. “I’m so fucking proud of you, Koda. Never doubted you for a second.”
That gets my attention. Not the first part, I’m pretty sure he’d say that regardless of the outcome. “No.”
He laughs, a deep, rich sound I haven’t heard nearly enough lately. “Yes, you fucking little pessimist. Look!”
Slowly, I pull my hands away so I can see the screen half an inch from my retinas. I have to back away enough for my eyes to focus. Rereading it a dozen times doesn’t change anything. Right there, in black and white, a beautifully passing score that might as well readearned from the power of getting back up again.
My eyes leak of their own accord. Brady fares no better. He says he’s proud of me a thousand times, and just once, I manage to say I’m proud of myself too.
~~~
Chase
One thing I was not expecting as I pad down the stairs is damn near tripping over a human body. “Shit,” I hiss. It is way too early for this shit.
“Shut up and sit down,” the body commands.
I do, because why the hell not. “Why are we doing this?”
