"Why? Why do I get a pass and your dad and Chad don't?"
"Because..." She pauses. "I don't think you want to be that way. I think you do it because you're afraid to get close to people. Afraid to get hurt."
That's not why, but I'm curious why she thinks that, so I play along.
"That doesn't make it right," I say. "It means I'm selfish. I only care about myself."
"I don't think so. A selfish person wouldn't take care of his brother. He'd be out every night partying instead of staying home to make sure his brother isn't out getting into trouble. And a selfish person definitely wouldn't ask the girl from school who really annoys him to come to his house to help his brother pass English."
I chuckle. "I never said you annoy me."
"You didn't need to," she says, smiling. "You made it pretty clear." She gets serious. "If anyone's selfish, it's Chad and my dad. They lie and hide stuff from the people they love so they don't have to deal with the consequences of telling the truth. And when their lies are found out, they blame the people they hurt with those lies, like my mom. My dad said she wasn't a good wife anymore and that he had no choice but to find someone else."
"He actually said that?"
"That was just part of it. In the divorce records he actually listed out all the stuff that made her a bad wife, like not picking up his suits at the dry cleaners on the day they were ready. Or not going to the gym three times a week, which apparently was some stupid rule he put in the prenup."
"Are you serious?"
"Totally. I even asked him and he confirmed it. He said it was out of concern for her health. Another lie. The truth is he did it to make sure she didn't get fat. He lied to me too. When I found out about the divorce, he promised me nothing would change. That Mom and I would stay in the house, I'd keep going to prep school, he'd still pay for college. It was all a lie. He lied to his own daughter. I hate him for that."
"How often do you see him?"
"Never. He moved to California so Madison could try to be an actress. He calls me, but I usually don't pick up." She shrugs. "Anyway, that's how I lost everything and ended up here. And now I'm about to lose Chad."
"Not sure it's much of a loss, from what you've told me."
"It's not so much him, but my future and what I thought it'd look like. I always thought I'd marry Chad but..." Her voice trails off, sadness covering her face.
"Hey." I nudge her knee. "Let's get out of here."
"Now?" She looks at me, confused. "Where would we go?"
"You hungry? We could get something to eat. It's on me."
"But what about..." She stops before finishing.
"Money? Don't worry about it. I'm getting a job. I was looking for one while you were with Jake."
"When do you have time to work?"
"I saw some jobs for stocking shelves overnight. Jacob would be asleep. It'd be perfect."
"When would you sleep?"
"I could get a couple hours before I start my shift."
"Dean, don't do that. You need to sleep. A couple hours isn't enough." She pulls something from her pocket. It's the envelope Jacob made for her. She holds it up. "I have ten dollars. Can we get anything for ten dollars?"
"You're not paying." I get up and motion her to do the same. "Let's go."
She looks at me a moment, then gets up and follows me to the door.
We walk down to the bus stop just as the bus is arriving. We get on, having no idea where we're going.
"Should we stop at the next one?" Brook asks, smiling from ear to ear. I get the feeling this is the most adventurous thing she's ever done. She seems like someone who plans everything out. Hopping on a bus not knowing where we'll end up is a thrill to her.
"Let's wait," I tell her. "Two more stops. What do you say?"
