“Drop it, Mom.I’ll let you know when I have things figured out.”
My mom cocks her head.Tyler never talks disrespectfully to our mother—not since he smart-mouthed her at age twelve and had his video games taken away.
She looks at me.“Do you know what’s going on?”
My eyes go wide and I shake my head.
“I’m still in the room,” Tyler says angrily.“If I wanted you two to know my business, I’d tell you.”
He can get away with being an ass to me, but not our mother.“Tyler!”
He ignores me and storms out the front door.I jump up to the window and catch him tossing the now empty beer bottle in the trash can as he stomps across the driveway to his car.I bang on the glass.“Hey!That goes in the recycling!”
Tyler reverses and tears down the street in his Land Cruiser.
“Well,” Mom says, “guess we know your brother is in trouble.”She stands and pats her back pocket then pulls out her keys.“He won’t talk to me.You’ll have to help him.”
Wait, what?“You’re leaving?”
She grabs her purse and looks around the room, her gaze snagging on the enormous tent out back.“Not much I can do.He doesn’t want his mother involved in whatever is bothering him.Call me if you need to talk.And don’t let your brother drink and drive!”
I spring up.“Mom!What the hell?You can’t leave this on me.”
“It’s not really on you.It’s on him.This is his life to screw up.I’m just saying, be there if he needs to talk.”
She glances at Jaeger.“And this—” My mom points to the tent and the two of us.“Don’t think I don’t know what’s going on.”My face burns.“I expect a visit from the two of you in the next couple of weeks so I can get reacquainted with your boyfriend, Cali.”
She squeezes the living hell out of me and smacks a kiss on my lips.“Adios!”she says with a wave.
What kind of parenting is this?
This is what you call theyou’re all grown up now,deal with it yourselfapproach.
My mom used to ride Tyler and me when she needed to, but she let us fight our own battles when we were younger.It might explain why Tyler and I are so independent.We’re capable of lifting ourselves out of the dung when things go wrong, but I get the feeling that whatever is bothering Tyler is big.I just hope it doesn’t hold him down forever.
ChapterThirty-Two
Over the next couple of days, I try to probe my brother about what’s going on with him, but he’s being tight-lipped and giving me nothing.Things are still in limbo with Jaeger’s lawyers trying to get Kate out of the house, but life isn’t all bad.It’s great having Jaeger stay with me, and I’m loving my new classes.
CAD just delved deeper into the structure of 3D design today, and my analytical mind was doing a happy dance over the layering.It’s finally getting fun.I’m confident about the progress I’ve made and hopeful that by the middle of fall I’ll have early mastery of AutoCAD for work.A raise would go a long way toward solving my transportation problems.
Leo, however, seems to be struggling.“Damn, that class is killing me,” he says as we walk through the parking lot to his car.“You don’t find it difficult?”
I’m not going to list the classes I found difficult.Some of the higher math and economics courses I took for a challenge in college, to name a few, the pre-law courses on constitutional and business law for sure—but CAD?No, CAD is not one of them.
“It’s okay.I’m happy to help if you get stuck,” I tell him.
“Thanks.I’ll probably take you up on that…” Leo’s voice dies at the end of the sentence.
I follow his gaze to a pale, slender guy with chunky black hair standing next to Leo’s car, his hip propped against the door.
Leo frowns as we approach.“Brad?What are you doing here?”
“Needed a ride home.You mind?”Brad’s gaze slides to me, his lips quirking at the corners.
Leo darts an unsteady glance my way.I shrug and Leo unlocks the doors.“Sure.”
“Cool,” Brad says.“Let’s grab a bite first, though.”
