Page 14 of Shattered

My body straightens, and I tilt my phone toward me, glancing up at Jason as if he could see the text from his position, but he seems to be zoned out, staring at the back of his hand while his feet tap the ground.

Looking back at my phone, I feel my cheeks warm, a little rush spreading through the rest of my body. I type out the question before I chicken out and stop myself.

Me: What are you getting waxed?

I’m unable to pry my eyes away as I wait for her response.

Sunflower: My bikini area... I want to be ready for the summer :)

For a brief amount of time, those tethers snap, allowing me to float away.

Blowing out a slow breath, I shift in my seat and close my eyes. An image of a girl in a bikini with blonde hair and blue eyes draped across my lap comes to mind. Her face is unclear, but I can feel her soft skin beneath my fingers, and my dick stirs at the thought.

Soon, I tell myself.

Sunflower: Gotta go. I’ll message you later, Neilix.

Me: I look forward to it.

I release a happy sigh and pocket my phone, but the momentary light-heartedness is swiftly erased, my feet dragged back to stand firmly on the ground, when I look back at Jason.

“You should hide these again in case someone else comes in,” I tell him.

His gaze reaches me, but he looks even more stoned now and doesn’t respond. The weed must be winning at this point. Pushing to my feet, I make my way to the dresser and reach into the third drawer, figuring out the most likely place he had it taped and then sticking it there.

I end up hanging around in Jason’s room for another hour until he’s no longer zoned out but is still tripping. Then I make my way into the living room where Sienna is just starting a movie, and sit on the end of the couch.

She glances at me, then behind me toward Jason’s door, obviously wondering where he is. “Is Jason okay?” she asks, her voice tinged with concern.

I mustn’t look as relaxed as I intended, so I force my shoulders to lower. “He’s all good. Just chilling in his room.”

My gaze softens at the unconvinced look on her face. She saw the fight today and knows some of what he’s been going through. Of course, she’d be worried about him.

“He’ll be okay,” I add.

She nods, eyeing me for a moment before her worry fades into a small smile. “Good.”

We both return our attention to the movie. It’s some romantic comedy called The Ugly Truth, which isn’t my preference, but I’m avoiding going home in case my sister decided to stay, despite my mom having to go back to work.

“We can watch something else if you want?” Sienna offers while pulling one of the throw blankets across her lap and then extends a section to me.

“No, that’s okay.” I take the offered blanket and lay it over my legs, relaxing against the cushions behind me.

Not two minutes later, Jason comes out and sits between us, looking back and forth, his pupils still wide. “What are you doing with my sister?” I can’t tell if he’s being serious or not because a loopy-looking smile is spread across his face.

“What does it look like?” I point at the screen. “Watching a movie.”

“Well, come back to my room.” He slaps my thigh and stands. “We can play some video games.”

I shrug at Sienna and offer an apologetic look, following him into his bedroom. I guess I’m back to babysitting.

Thankfully, my sister is gone when I arrive back home later, so I don’t have to put up with any of her shit, but the gloomy atmosphere filling the dining room when I walk into it has me pausing.

“What’s going on?”

My dad lifts his gaze to me, a sullen expression pulling the corners of his eyes down. “Hi, son.” Then, looking at my mom, he says, “You can go ahead and tell him, hon. I’m feeling too exhausted.”

Her hand is perched on his shoulder, and she gives an affectionate squeeze before turning to me. “Your father lost his job today.”

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