Page 48 of Tangled Up In You

"Have you told him you didn't just ask him because his father made the request?"

"Not exactly."

"Not exactly? Or no?" she challenged.

"No," he admitted. "We haven't really talked. Drew is difficult to get into conversation. He came with a huge chip on his shoulder."

"And your first inclination is to knock it off."

"It's the way I dealt with my brothers."

"Drew isn't your brother. He's a kid who's hurting. He lost his sister and his mom. And he probably feels like he lost his dad, too."

"That's right. All he has left is the guy who got his sister killed," he said harshly. "Why wouldn't he hate me?"

"I don't even know if it's about that, Adam. It's probably more that he doesn't know you and he's lost in his pain. You said he got kicked out of school. What was going on there?"

"Apparently, a lot of partying and no studying."

"Did this happen after his mom died?"

"I think it started before that, but it definitely got worse after she died. I know he's lost, and he's trying to self-medicate. What I don't know is how to help him."

"You have to keep trying."

He frowned. "No pearls of wisdom beyond 'keep trying'? What happened to all your motivational quotes from a few minutes ago?"

"I can't think of any at the moment, but I know Drew isn't going to suddenly become your best friend and the greatest kid of all time. He's hurting. And he's alone. I know what that feels like. I also know what it feels like when someone keeps pushing to get to know you, to help you, to be your friend. Drew might not want to like you or your conversations, but I think he'll eventually respond if you keep at it."

"I did like him, Molly. We were friends when he was eight. I taught him how to throw a slider. I took him fishing. But that was all a long time ago. He's nineteen and I'm thirty-four. Plus, I'm a cop. I'm the picture of authority, the authority he wants to rebel against. I'm thinking I was the worst person Steven could have asked for help."

"You can reach Drew, but it won't happen overnight. People in his life disappear. And you're only set up to be his landlord for a couple of months. Why would he trust you? You have to find a way to make him realize that you really want to get to know him, to be his friend. It can't be fake. But if you don’t want that, maybe you should back off now. Because the last person he needs in his life is someone he starts to like and then disappears."

At the passion in her voice, he suspected she wasn't just talking about Drew anymore. "Is that how you felt about someone?"

She started. "We aren't talking about me."

"We weren't, but maybe we are now. Why were you so rattled after running into your mother's former boyfriend?" he asked curiously.

"It just surprised me."

"That's not it. You said before that you liked him, that you thought Neil was stepfather material."

"I did, but he wasn't. My mom thought he would ask her to marry him, but he didn't. When she told him she was leaving because their relationship wasn’t going anywhere, he let her go."

"And he let you go."

"Yes. I realized that our relationship had probably been fake, something he was doing just to be with my mom. It wasn't real. So, maybe I was thinking about that when I said you shouldn't lead Drew on. When you've lost people before, you don't let yourself trust too easily, and when you do, it hurts even more when it ends."

He thought about that, about her wandering life with her mom, about the lack of stability in her life. He was starting to understand why she moved so quickly, why she didn't always practice what she preached. On one hand, she probably wanted to stay in the moment, but on the other hand, she was afraid the moment wouldn't last, and she didn't want to be there when it ended. So, she moved on.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Molly asked, a suspicious gleam in her eyes.

"Like what?"

"Like I'm a puzzle you're trying to figure out."

"Maybe I am trying to figure you out."

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