He pulls back and runs his hands through his hair, tugging on the strands as he begins to pace.
“You’re cool with that? You don’t mind?” he asks, not looking at me.
“I got you. I’ll tell her. You stay here. I’ll have the guys—”
“I don’t need a babysitter,” he grinds out.
“No, you don’t. But you just lost your mom and you don’t need to be alone right now either.”
He shakes his head, about to argue.
“What about Isa?” I ask. They’ve always been close, and she lost her mom a few years back. She’ll know how to help him get through this while I … shit. I don’t know how I’m going to break this to Meiying.
“Just, Isa?” he croaks.
“Yeah, man. Just Isa.”
A nod.
“Okay. I’ll call her. Just sit down. Okay?”
Another nod.
I pull out my phone and make the call. An hour later, there’s a knock at our door and I let her inside.
“Hey. How's our boy doing?” she asks, voice low.
I peer over my shoulder at the boy in question. “He hasn’t moved since I called you. Hasn’t talked, either.”
She nods as I grab my keys. “Where are you going?”
I swallow past the lump in my throat. “He asked me to tell Meiying.”
Her eyes soften and she places a hand on my arm. “Des, that's … you shouldn’t have to—”
“I know. But he can’t, and someone needs to.”
“I can call Joaninha.”
I shake my head. “No. I’ve got this. You look after him. Don’t leave him alone or let him go anywhere by himself. If you need to call Rafael to sit on him, do that, okay?”
She nods but...“I’m serious, Isa. He’s dealing with some other shit right now, too. His mom dying is awful, but the timing couldn’t have been worse. Do not leave him alone. I’ll handle Meiying, but depending on how she handles things, I don’t know what time I’ll be back. If you have to leave—”
“I got it. He won’t be left alone.”
“Good.” I leave Isa with Zheng and jump in my Escalade. When I pull up to her place, it hits me that I don’t know what I’m going to say to her, so I sit there, my car idling. It’s been a few hours since I left and I know she won’t be happy to see me but… it doesn’t matter. I told Zheng I’d have his back and tell her, so I’m going to do that. He shouldn’t be the one to drop this bomb on her. I’ve got this.
There’s a back entrance off the hall that leads to Meiying’s room, so I put my ride in drive and head that direction. There’s a chance Kappa Eagle’s pool party is still in full swing. Parties like this are usually an all-day, all-night sort of thing. I don’t want to see anyone and deal with their bullshit, so I’ll slip into Meiying’s room and wait for her there if she isn’t inside already.
96
Meiying
I’m tired and hungry and decide to fix at least one of those problems by grabbing some lunch meat from the kitchen. Not my first choice, but I want meat, and this is what I have to work with. I probably should have put pants on, but I doubt anyone is going to come inside, and at least I bothered to slip underwear on before heading to the kitchen.
Desmond’s shirt hangs down to the middle of my thighs, which is more than the swimsuit was covering. I should shred the damn thing. All I’ve had these past few hours is time. Time to think about how twisted up I am about a guy who clearly doesn’t give a shit about me. I’m not this person, so why am I letting him get to me?
Decision made, I’m done letting him tell me what to do, or wear. I’m done giving a shit about his feelings or worrying about whether or not he’s interested in me. I’m over it.
