“Water’s good.”
I grab two bottles and bring them over to him.
The sectional is huge and has lots of spaces where I could sit, but I plop down next to him and hand him one of the bottles.
“Thanks.” He takes it and presses his thigh against mine.
I shift closer to him, and he rests his head on my shoulder.
“How are you doing?” I ask.
I’ve never really been the cuddling type, but this casual contact is nice.
“Confused and tired, but okay.” He lets out a heavy sigh. “Today has been aday.”
“Did something happen earlier?” I ask. “With you and West and that’s why you weren’t with him tonight?”
“Not really.” He pauses for a few beats. “He just forgot about our plans and told his fiancée he’d hang out with her instead. And I didn’t find out about the change in plans until we were studying together this afternoon.”
By the resigned tone of Damon’s voice, it sounds like this is a recurring thing. “Does he do that a lot?”
“Yeah.” He gently taps his bottle against his knee in an absentminded way. “I’m not mad that he’s spending so much of his time with her. They’re engaged; I get that she has to be main priority. But it would be nice if she didn’t take upallof his time. And it would be really nice if he could at least remember when he makes plans with me.” He lets out another soft sigh. “It just sucks that we never get to hang out anymore.”
“Did anything else happen today?” I ask.
I can’t be sure, but it seems like there might be more going on than just what went down with West.
“You mean before I was almost shot and found out that someone is trying to kill me?” he asks, his voice tinged with humor.
“Yeah,” I say with a soft chuckle. “Before all that.”
“My sister called.” He pauses for a few beats. “She told me that my stepmom is thinking of sending her and my other sisters to Hendrix next year.”
“Hendrix Academy?”
He nods against my shoulder.
“Does she not know about what goes on there?”
Hendrix Academy has a great reputation, but everyone I’ve ever met who went there has nothing but horror stories and bad things to say about it.
“I don’t know. Apparently her boyfriend suggested it to her.”
“Wait, your stepmother has a boyfriend?”
“Yeah.” He rolls his bottle over his thigh so the water catches the firelight and emits little prisms of light. “They’ve been on and off for a while now. I want to say four years, but I’m not exactly sure when they first got together so it could be longer.”
“And she’s still married to your father?” I ask, trying to wrap my head around what he’s saying.
“Yep. Me, my sisters, her family, and her friends know, but my father is so busy with work and being an asshole to everyone that he has no idea. And considering his track record of who he sticks his dick in, it’s nothing he doesn’t deserve. I don’t blame her for having a side piece while she waits for him to get deleted from the census.”
“How old are your sisters?” I know that he has three and they’re much younger than him, but I didn’t look up their ages.
“Sophia is thirteen, Isabella is twelve, and Olivia is ten.”
“And you’re close with them?”
“They’re the only reason I’m at this stupid school.”
