Page 68 of Tangled Up In You

"That sounds fun, and you deserve it."

"Yeah, tell that to Adam," he grumbled.

"I'm sure he's just trying to watch out for you."

"I'm nineteen years old; I can take care of myself. And it's not like he did a great job looking out for my sister." Drew stopped abruptly, looking a bit shocked that he'd said the words out loud.

She frowned. "Do you blame Adam for what happened to your sister?"

"Did he tell you about it?"

"Yes."

Drew hesitated. "I don't know. I did blame him for a while, mostly because my parents did. But after I grew up, I thought about it more, and I realized that Adam didn't know what was going to happen that night. It was random."

She was relieved to hear that. "Have you ever told Adam that?"

"No. We don't talk about my sister."

"Why not? You have her in common."

"Because we don't. Nobody in my family talks about her, either."

"What was Gina like?" she asked curiously.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because I do. If you don't mind telling me."

Drew thought for a moment. "She was pretty. She laughed a lot. She liked stupid jokes, or maybe she just laughed when I told her stupid jokes. I can't really remember. She liked baseball. She always came to my games. And she'd yell so loud from the stands. It was embarrassing, but kind of nice, too."

"That is nice. I never had anyone in the stands for anything I did."

"Why not?"

"I was raised by a single mom. She was usually working whenever I was having a game or a recital, and I didn't have any siblings."

"My mom was sick all the time. She wasn't around much. She felt bad about it. I'd go into her room and sit on the side of her bed after a game and tell her everything that happened. But it wasn't the same as her being there. Now, both she and Gina are gone."

"That sucks."

"Yeah." His lips tightened. "And my father sent me away to get my act together, even though he's sure that's not going to happen."

"Is that what you let him think?"

He gave her a sharp look. "What do you mean?"

"Adam and your dad seem to believe you're nothing but a partier, but that's not who you are. You're incredibly smart, and you're a genius with computers and math."

"I'm only a genius compared to you."

She smiled at that. "Good point. But you still have a very sharp mind, and you think ten steps ahead. I barely think about the step I'm on. If you didn't have your act together in school, then there's a reason that you haven't told anyone, because I know you can handle school."

"I just didn't see the point. Gina died before she could finish college. My mom died before I could graduate. What am I even doing at school?"

"Maybe that's why you needed a break, to find out what you really want to do. Because I know you're not going to lay around and smoke weed, drink beer all day and do nothing. You could be doing more of that here, but you're not. You're working for me."

"I told you—I had to get a job."

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