“That’s not tru?—“
“Aunt Court wants to talk to you,” she cut me off, and without giving me a chance to let me even make a sound, I knew she pulled the cell phone away from her ear and was handing it to my sister.
“Okay, honey, have fun.” I heard my sister say before taking the phone. “What did you do?” she hissed quietly.
“What? Excuse me?—“
“She was so happy to hear from you, and now she’s close to crying,” Courtney almost growled in a hushed tone. “What. Did. You. Do?” she asked again, enunciating each word.
“I didn’t—“ I took a deep breath and exhaled as slowly as I could. “Did you send me to this damn thing so Cassie could go to Pinehaven to meet up with this boy?”
“God, you’re an idiot. I love you, big brother, but seriously, sometimes, I’m shocked you don’t have ‘moron’ tatted on your forehead.”
“Courtney,” l warned.
“No. I brought my niece to this competition because otherwise, you would have used your child as an excuse of why you can't get yourself to meet someone... Again.”
“That’s not?—“
“And she’s worked too hard her entire high school career to miss something so big,” she added. “Now, as for Mace?—“
“So, you know he’s there?” I cut her off. “Of course, you do. She tells you everything.”
“Hmm, I wonder why? Since you’re so understanding and easy to talk to,” my sister sassed without missing a beat. My eye twitched.
“I should just leave and head to Pinehaven to keep an eye on?—“
“You do that, and I swear I can almost guarantee that’s the fastest way to losing your daughter.”
“Court—“
“A daughter who, by the way, I don’t think I need to remind you, is graduating high school in less than four months and then will be leaving for college. More than likely out of state.”
“You don’t think I know that?” I growled, taking my wallet out of my back pocket. “This was a mistake.”
“What is?”
“Letting you and Cassie talk me into coming here so you can help her sneak off with that football player.”
“She’s not sneaking around, Caleb. Geez, do you hear yourself right now? Carol knew the team was coming out to help support the squad. Just like, oh, I don’t know, the squad supported them throughout their season.” I’d attended every home and away football game this season, including state, to see her in action, with my sister sitting next to me at each one.
“Court—“
“He’s a nice guy who would rather break his arm, an arm, by the way, that gave him a full ride to Stanford, not to mention possible first draft pick if he does half as good in college as he did in high school, before he’d hurt Cassie.”
“You don’t get it,” I muttered, sliding off my barstool.
“I do get it, Caleb. I get it more than you think. You forget I might be younger, but I was there. The way Dad tried to hold on so damn tight, make you do what he wanted so much that you dropped out your senior year thinking you were going to make it big with your band. And for a moment, you were close?—“
“I was broke and stupid, and she’s not.”
“Neither is Mace!” she exclaimed.
“You sound like you’ve talked to him,” I gritted through my teeth. I couldn’t believe I was having this conversation surrounded by strangers.
“Hmm, I imagine that’s because I have,” she sassed.
“Fuck—“ She didn’t let me say anything else before she kept talking.
