“Let me give you a ride home.”
“Are you sure? It’s about a half hour from here to Hawthorne.”
Hawthorne wasn’t a great area.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s raining, and you’ve already stayed late. Besides, you’re wet and don’t have a jacket on.”
As thunder rumbled in the distance, Justin nodded and got into my SUV. I adjusted the heat and turned on his seat warmer before opening the GPS on the screen. I entered his address as he rattled it off to me. Before I pulled out of the parking spot, the rain began to pour down.
“Wow,” Justin said as the rain pelted the windows. “Thank you for the ride.”
“It’s not a problem. I’m sorry you ended up staying on campus longer than you intended. Will you have missed dinner?”
“They always save something for me when I’m late getting home.”
I’ll take that as a yes.
Since I had at least a half hour with him, I decided to be nosey and ask him about his sister. He had brought her up previously, so I didn’t take it as an off-limits conversation. I’d tread carefully, especially since he’d mentioned she hadn’t been doing well.
“How old was your sister when she was diagnosed with Batten?”
“I think she was three or so. She had poor vision and had to have really thick glasses. My parents knew something was wrong because it kept getting worse. They kept trying to get a doctor who could help. They would have to arrange to travel to the bigger cities back home.”
Good, he brought up “back home.”
“Where are you originally from?” I asked. I’d been curious about his origins ever since I’d heard him speak for the first time.
“Lithuania. We came to the U.S. five years ago, mainly for the chance of better medical care for my sister, Rami.”
I loved his slight accent.
“My real name is Justinas. But when we came to America to go to high school, my brother and I shortened our names to fit in better. I became Justin, and my brother, Dominykas, became Nic.”
“Some culture shock when you got here?”
“Yes, but it has been a good move.”
“Has the care been better for your sister?”
“Definitely. She’s on a trial medication now that’s supposed to slow or delay the loss of her ability to walk. She’s thirteen now and already can’t walk without us helping her.”
So sad. Thirteen.
“Do you guys have anyone come to the house to help with the care?”
“We did for a while, but it got so expensive. So as soon as my brother graduated high school, he helped my dad.”
I noticed Justin hadn’t mentioned anything about his mother helping. However, he mentioned both parents back in Lithuania.Did his mother stay behind?
“There are Batten support groups worldwide, and the one based out of Los Angeles gave my parents more help than they ever received in Lithuania. It was hard for Rami to write or color because the pencils or crayons were too thin for her to hold. The U.S. support group would send boxes of supplies that are readily available here inexpensively. You’d be shocked what it would cost for a box of thick crayons in Lithuania, if you could even find them. The group here helped us get into the apartment where we live, so we’re very grateful for them.”
“That’s good. I’m glad to hear your family is getting some assistance.”
I quietly focused on the road and traffic for a few minutes in silence. I was trying to think of the best way to bring up that mark on his face. I previously asked him about it and if the kid from the football team had done it, but Justin denied that. It was clear that his family was very close, and I hated to think that he’d ended up with the mark at home, but it had been driving me crazy not knowing.
“Justin, can I ask about the bruise on your face?”
His light laughter caused me to take my eyes off the road just to look at him. Fuck, that mouth of his curved into a smile making my dick stir.
