“I’m okay,” I croak, timidly patting her back. I am genuinelythatscared of my brother, and he’s not even the most territorial of the Kennedys. That accolade belongs to Kyler, but most of my brothers would give him a run for his money.
“No, you’re not.” She releases me, tilting her head to the side as she examines every millimeter of my face. “Level with me. What have you taken?”
“What haven’t I taken is probably an easier question to answer.” I shrug, downplaying it.
“I hate seeing you like this. What can I do to help?”
“Make the baby not be mine,” I blurt.And get me my girl back, I add in my head.
“You don’t know that it is,” Keanu says, approaching with a knotted trash bag. “Mom’s been talking to Dan Evans. Whitney will have to take a paternity test while pregnant. There’s no way she can avoid it.”
“She’ll dig her heels in and force you to go the legal route. I’m not saying you shouldn’t do it, but dragging her through the courts will upset Faye,” Keven says, appearing behind Keanu. I’m not sure where he was or what he was doing.
“Faye is talking to her,” Selena says. “She will get her to agree.”
I harrumph. “Whitney doesn’t listen to a word Faye says. If anything, that will only make her more determined to hold out.” Faye has always wanted a sister, so she makes allowances for Whitney. Far too many, if you ask me, because Whitney can be a real bitch to her sometimes.
“Irrespective of how it goes down, you need to pull yourself together. Don’t throw everything you’ve worked for away,” Keanu says, clamping a hand on my shoulder. “Your exams start in ten days, Kent. Don’t let Whitney ruin your legal career before it’s even begun.”
“All right! Enough with the lecture, Mom.”
“We care about you,” Selena says. “And you’ve had us worried sick.” She chews on the corner of her mouth as Kev walks over to talk to the man at the door.
“I didn’t mean to worry anyone. I just wanted to blot it all out.”
“I get it, man.” Keanu leans back against the counter, folding his arms as Selena returns to check on dinner. “But you can’t shut us out. You can’t shutmeout. I’m your brother. When you hurt, I hurt.”
“Christ.” I scrub a hand over the thin layer of scruff on my chin and cheeks. “Enough with the emotional blackmail. I get it. I fucked up. Again.”
“Have you heard from Presley?”
My lips thin as I shake my head. “She’s washed her hands of me.”
“She just needs time to process. Give her a little space.”
He doesn’t understand because I haven’t told anyone in my family what Presley confided in me. As mad as I am at her, I wouldn’t do that. It’s not my story to share. “That won’t matter. She can’t handle the situation, and she won’t even try.”
I think that’s the hardest pill to swallow. That I’m not worthy of even the smallest effort. I guess everything I thought I knew about her was wrong. And the thing that pisses me off the most is how she let that degenerate junkie ex, Chris, back into her life after he abandoned her when she needed him. Yet she enables him and picks up the pieces every time he flits in and out of her life. She can support him after he failed her, yet she won’t even try for me, and that speaks volumes.
***
“The prodigal son returns,” Mitch singsongs the following day when I show up in the dining hall.
I flip him the bird. “Miss me, honey?”
“So damn much.” He slaps a hand over his chest, feigning emotion.
“Where the hell were you?” Lance asks, shoving his empty plate aside.
“Dealing with some family shit.” I take a bite out of my burger, hoping my full mouth will shut him up.
“What family shit?” Toph asks, leaning back in his chair.
I eyeball him as I slowly chew my food, making it clear the subject is off-limits.
I’m not close enough to the guys to tell them anything serious about me. We hang out in classes and party together, and that’s the extent of our friendship.
I’m not about to change the natural order of things when it has always worked perfectly. “Tell me what I missed,” I say when I finish my burger, pulling out my phone to take notes.
