Page 98 of Learning Curve

Ty shuts his eyes, and his jaw ticks with each rigid breath he inhales through his lungs. He’s tempted to throttle our father. He’s tempted to make the bastard eat his words, but somehow, he manages to keep control. “You keep my mother’s name out of your mouth.”

“Ohhh, what are you going to do?”

“Whatever I’m going to do, I’m not stupid enough to do it here,” Ty says, and his voice is so low I almost don’t hear the words.

But our father takes those words as a challenge and shoves his chest into Ty’s. “You’re all talk, no action. Fucking weak. Just like Finn. Just like his brothers and sister. Just like his good-for-nothing mom.”

I’m on my feet before I can stop myself, stepping right between the two of them to look our father dead in the eyes. “The only one who is weak is you.”

His nostrils flare, and his breath brushes harshly against my face, the smell of whiskey and cigarettes and bad teeth violating my airway. He doesn’t say anything, cocking back and throwing a punch right at my face that Ty somehow deflects.

Between one blink and the next, my father goes from ready to beat the shit out of me to completely restrained by Ty locking both of his arms behind his head.

Dean Kandinsky calls out the door for help, and Officer Walters arrives and takes over in a flash. He pulls cuffs off his belt and fastens them around Jeff’s wrists before escorting him out of the room.

Ty’s voice shakes with the all-too-familiar flight-or-flight adrenaline dump that happens when you’re in Jeff Hayes’s drunk presence as he follows behind, talking to Officer Walters. “He drove here. Make sure your officers are aware that he’s heavily under the influence and should be arrested if he gets behind the wheel again.”

“Finn, wait here for a moment, okay?” Dean Kandinsky requests, his eyes devoid of all their previous anger now. “Ty, a word.”

The two of them step out of the room and shut the door behind them, and I can’t hear shit from where I’m standing.

When they step back inside, Ty’s face is more determined than I’ve ever seen it as Dean Kandinsky starts talking. “Finn, after evaluating the situation in its entirety, we feel strongly that expulsion would be the wrong reaction. Instead, I’m releasing you into Professor Winslow’s custody and recommending a counselor.” He turns to Ty, and my hands shake at my sides with an overwhelming surge of both relief and unspent anger. “Professor Winslow, I’m trusting you to handle this situation with the utmost care and consideration.”

Ty nods.

“What about Dane? What about the assault charges?”

“I’ll discuss the situation with Dane’s father as soon as we leave here, and I assure you, the matter will be taken care of,” Dean Kandinsky asserts.

My wheels are spinning, my heart on fire.

There’s nothing left to do but leave the police station…with my brother.

Finn

“Here,” Ty says, digging in the front seat of his car for both a long-sleeved shirt and my cell and handing them to me on the third floor of Dickson Garage. The walk here was made in silence, and unlike Ty, I’m not eager to break it. “Ace gave me these.”

“I can’t believe Ace called you,” I grit out, shoving my arms into the sleeves of my shirt and dropping my cell into my pocket. I know he was trying to help, but I’m still fucking angry.

Ty shakes his head. “Ace didn’t call me. Thatch did.”

I nod but avoid Ty’s eyes as he holds open the door for me to get in his car, and I step away from the vehicle instead. I’m not getting in, no matter how much he wants me to. Ty slams the door then, falling into step beside me as I walk. Everything about him is annoyingly sad and concerned, and I want to slap it right out of him.

“How long have you known the truth?” he asks, matching his pace to mine as I walk down the garage ramp toward the second floor.

I don’t have to ask for clarification to know what he means. There was only one shocked brother in that police station conference room at Jeff’s revelation, and we both know it wasn’t me.

“Too fucking long,” I answer honestly. “You’re the whole reason I came here, to Dickson. I wanted to see how the other half lived. To see what it was like to be one of the lucky Winslow kids who didn’t have to grow up with the world’s shittiest father.”

Ty’s head jerks slightly at my words, just enough for me to notice in my peripheral vision, but he doesn’t stop meeting me step for step as we round a corner yet again, taking the ramp to the first floor.

“Finn, I’m so sorry that you’ve had to deal with him.”

“You’re sorry?” I retort on a harsh laugh. “Well, that fixes everything, doesn’t it? I guess I can forget all about watching Jeff beat my mom more times than I can count or defending my siblings when he gets rowdy at night. Because you’re sorry.”

“Finn.” Ty’s lips turn down at the corners into a stupid fucking frown. “You and I both know that’s not what I meant. I know how fortunate I am, and I know I can’t take away your pain.”

He’s so sanctimonious. So fucking magnanimous. I can’t stand it. I stop in my tracks and spin to face him, putting a finger to his chest and letting it all fly.

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