CHAPTER 49
TYRELL
“Again. I want… I want to play again.” Cyrus grins at me, his smile adorable and… exhausting.
I’ve been hanging out with my brother for days on end. With the summer break, he’s only got a few classes of summer school to keep him entertained, and the rest is up to us.
My dad has started working again, and Mom is continuing her extra shifts, so it all falls to me and Lacey.
Well, mostly me.
Lacey’s too busy being a socialite, and she’s scored herself a summer boyfriend, which we’re all keeping a careful eye on. That girl’s got a little wild in her, and who knows what she’ll get up to with that putz.
From the moment I met him, I knew he wasn’t good enough for her. And last time, because Dad wasn’t here, I told him exactly how things would go down if he crossed any lines he shouldn’t.
It wasn’t my place, and it’s not my usual style. Lacey hasn’t spoken to me since I did it, but I was pissed off. How is it that my nearly seventeen-year-old sister is in a relationship and I’m not?
Even Cyrus has a big crush on one of his classmates, and they went out on a little movie date the other night. I went with themto help them buy tickets and stuff. Her parents weren’t happy about their sweet girl (who also has Down syndrome) going out with someone, so I offered to chaperone. I know her father from my summer job, and he was cool with me doing that. I tried to take a back seat as much as I could. Cyrus bought the tickets and popcorn like a pro. I was so proud of him. I snapped some pictures and sent them to her parents, which they seemed to appreciate.
I sat a few rows back, so I wasn’t encroaching on them. Although, when she reached for his hand in the middle of the movie, he nearly died of excitement and ended up leaving her to come and tell me what she’d done.
“That’s awesome, man. Now get back there so you can keep holding her hand,” I whispered.
“Okay.” He grinned at me before rushing back down to sit beside her again.
After we dropped her home, I had to spend what felt like three hours dissecting every detail of the date.
And now he’s sitting here texting her, telling Abigail all about how he just beat his big brother at a game of Uno.
“Tell her you destroyed me, brah.”
Cyrus giggles. “O-okay.” Pressing the little microphone icon, he speaks into the phone, “Hi, Abigail. I just… I was playing Ty at cards, and I won. I de?—”
“Destroyed,” I whisper.
“I destroyed him.” He laughs. “I destroyed him, and I’m gonna play again. And I miss you. And I hope… are you…? Is your day good?”
He glances at me, and I nod in approval, giving him a smile.
“Okay. I’m gonna go. But you can text me back.” He goes to click the microphone icon again, then changes his mind and keeps going. “If you want to. You can text me back if you want to. I’m… I’m here. I’ll text you back if you text me back.”
I spin my finger, encouraging him to wrap it up. “Finish strong.”
“O-okay. I… bye. Bye, Abigail!” He raises his voice to an enthusiastic yell before pressing Send.
“Did you read it first?” I lean forward.
“Oh, uh… no.”
“Probably a good idea to do that next time. Speech to text doesn’t always catch your words clearly.”
“Oh no.” Cyrus’s eyebrows buckle.
“Hey, it’s okay. Why don’t you read it back now and just see how it sounds? If there’s a bad mistake, you can correct it.”
I show him how to edit the text, and he changes one word, then slumps back with relief. “Phew.”
“Yeah.” I smile. “You really like this girl, huh?”
