Page 72 of Love Takes Home

I look at the inside of it, and try to mentally fit a teenager. Fuck, I’m nuts, aren’t I?

“Lucas, you wouldn’t happen to be double-jointed, would you?”

“No?” He gives me a funny look, and yeah, I know kid, I’ve lost my mind.

I look at Aubrey. “Think it’ll work?”

“I think we have to try, right?”

She nods and looks at Lucas, doing her own mental math with sizing.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asks.

“I need you to trust me, okay?” I ask him. When he nods, I go on. “I want you to get into the case.”

“You want me to what?”

“We need to get you out of here, and it’s not uncommon for me to take instruments out to be fixed. Nobody will even look our way if I’m taking a case out of here. Not even Keith.”

“I’m so glad you didn’t marry him.”

“Me too, kid, me too.”

He eyes the case. “I’ll be able to breathe?”

“Yes, dork.”

He smiles at me. “You haven’t called me that in a couple of years, you know?”

I pull him into a one-arm hug. “I know. You’ve gone and grown up on me. I don’t like it. And you’d have fit in that case with no problem a year ago.”

He chuckles, shrugging his shoulders. “What can you do?”

Looking at the case one more time, he steps in and sits, trying to figure out the best place for his body.

“Try to put your head toward the top until your shoulders touch the sides,” Aubrey tells him. “And then twist your legs so you’re kind of on your knees at the bottom?”

“That might work.” He smiles at her.

Once he’s situated, I kneel down beside him. “I’m going to pull the cover over now, okay? And we’re going straight outside.”

“Don’t drop me, okay?”

“No promises.” I smile at him, showing all teeth, and he shakes his head at me.

I pull the top over, making sure he has enough room and isn’t freaking out before I close the case.

“Grab my bag?” I ask Aubrey. “Leave your instrument here for now. Did you text your parents?”

“Dad’s outside now, worried.” She grimaces. “I’ll talk to him.”

“Okay, let’s get out of here.”

Aubrey grabs my bag and her backpack and I lift the case. Thank God for wheels, and that we aren’t that far into the building. Kid’s fucking heavy.

“Geez, Lucas,” I say to the case. “What has my brother been feeding you?”

I hear him chuckle, which makes the case shake, but I’ve got a hold of it, and I power walk it out of my classroom and into the hallway, looking both ways. The coast is clear. Aubrey pulls my door closed and we nod at each other. As silently as we can, we walk quickly to the front doors, Aubrey walking in front of me. We round the corner and run into Mrs. Weaver, one of the math teachers. She’s old and likes to talk.

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