“We’re going to be late,” I say, avoiding answering as I rush to get to class.The last thing I want to get into is my brother’s demand that I stop dating Jonathan.It’s not like he has any power over me.
He wouldn’t tell our parents what Jonathan did.But… he could tell Jonathan’s.Except I don’t really know what Jonathan’s parents would do.If his father is the only one who’s hard on him or if his mother is just as strict.The thing is… I don’t know them.I’ll send Gavin a message, just in case.I don’t want my brother’s sense of entitlement to cause any problems for Jonathan.I wish I knew how bad it truly was between Jonathan and his dad.
My mind keeps replaying every bruise.Every cut.Questioning where they all came from.
And even if every single mark was at the hands of his father, what can I do?I don’t have proof, not if Jonathan won’t admit to it.I’ve done enough menial work in my father’s law office in the summers to know that saying it doesn’t prove it.
I need to talk to Jonathan again and hope he’s as open and honest as he was the night of my party.I want to understand.And then we can figure out what to do.And, more than anything… I want to meet his father.Honestly, not really.I’m afraid to meet him.But if we’re going to doanything, I need to know who I’m up against.
Chapter Eighteen
I’m barely out of my carwhen Jonathan walks down his steps.I become a gaping guppy behind my open car door.
He’s wearing a dark suit with a grey-ish blue tie.His usually disheveled waves are combed to the side in a stylish look that belongs on a poster on my wall.
“Hi,” he says when I’ve yet to move or speak, held frozen in mesmerization.He sets a soft kiss on my cheek.“You look beautiful.”
“So do you,” I reply, then fumble to correct, “I mean, handsome.More like breathtaking, really.I don’t think I’ve breathed yet.”He chuckles.I take a breath.“You look really good.”
“Thanks,” he replies.“Had this in the back of my closet from that dinner with the Penn State swim coach.Was nervous it wouldn’t fit.”
“It fits perfect.”I admire him openly.He watches me with a quirk of his mouth.“I thought I’d come in and meet your parents.”
“They’re… not home.”I spot his younger brother peeking his head between the curtains.I wave.He ducks away, letting the curtains fall back into place.
“Will I meet them… ever?”
Jonathan nods.“Just not tonight, okay?”
Where are we going exactly?”Jonathan asks when we cross into Wetherford, where there’s an abundance of trees and gated driveways to hide the large homes.It’s where my brother attended Norton Academy, among the elite, which didn’t help his superiority complex.
Hollis is mostly middle class with a few neighborhood exceptions on either side of the spectrum.The Prescotts are one of a handful of generational families that have roots in Hollis since… well, forever.My dad came back, after practicing law at some big firm in the city, to take care of my grandmother after his dad passed.Bringing my mom with him.She grew up in a small town in Connecticut, escaping to New York in hopes of making a name as an interior designer after graduating from Drexel.Her design firm was hired to redecorate the offices where my dad worked, and… that’s their abbreviated meet-cute.They fell in love over drapes and law books, or something like that.
“This couple’s hosting the fundraiser at their home.I’ve never met them—that I can remember anyway.Guess they know a lot of people in the district.”
I slow the car as the numbers on the mailboxes increase, searching for their driveway.It becomes obvious when I spot the flow of cars, taking a right up ahead.
“What should I expect?”Jonathan asks.
“Well, a lot of smiling and nodding and pretending you care what they’re saying.Answering as few questions as you can get away with.”I shoot him an apologetic wince.“Just look confident, and you’ll survive.”
“Survive?That’s really helping my confidence.”He lets out a humorless chuckle.
“Sorry.You’re helpingmesurvive this.If you and I can just hide in some obscure room without being noticed for the next couple of hours, I’ll owe you big.”
He grins at this, making me nervous.
“What is that look for?”
“Just thinking about what I want in return.”
I blush instantly.
“Hey!Where did your mind go?”Jonathan accuses playfully.“I was thinking you could help me with my history paper or bring me breakfast after my morning swim sessions.”
“Sure you were.”
He laughs.“Youobviously weren’t.”He takes my hand and kisses it.“Wow.I thought I knew you.Guess you’ve been holding out on me.”
