Page 44 of Please Save Me

“You’re not usually confrontational.” That wasmyjob.

“The best way to deal with bullies is to show them you don’t care.” Sophia flashed me a blinding smile. “I have the cutest kids in the world, andmylife is great… plus, no one gets to be mean tomyMason and get away with it.”

Sophia gently tugged on the twins, leading the way to get her brand of revenge. I was proud of her for being petty enough to do that, but it really fucking sucked that she left me alone with Sebastian.

He exhaled a deep breath before standing. Normally, he had a couple of inches on me, but my boots pretty much leveled the difference.

“I have no idea how you managed to create two polar opposite kids in the same conditions,” Sebastian said matter-of-factly.

But, he was ignoring one glaring fact.

“You mean like Dad and Sabrina did with us?”

Sure, I had my mom, and I was born in Columbia, but my dad had me ten months out of the year. That meant Seb and I had the same opportunities and rules, and we were both raised by Heather White.

Sebastian’s golden brows knit together, and he looked at me like I was stupid. In his defense, he looked at a lot of people like that.

“We were similar, minus the fact that you weren’t smart enough to–”

“You were literally the worst-behaved child I ever met.” I confessed, mostly to make him shut up.

Sebastian’s laugh was dry and humorless. “I would prefer it if you didn’t joke about this.”

“Dude, I’m not kidding. You make Juni look like an actual angel. If you don’t believe me, call Leo. She’ll tell you the same thing.”

Sebastian was rambunctious, and his mouth was worse than Juniper’s could ever be. That’s probably why Dad and Sabrina pushed Seb so hard academically. It was frowned upon to send your child to boarding school, but having a genius who got accepted to college hours away when he was nine? That was something to brag about.

Sebastian’s jaw tensed, and I prepared myself for him to snap at me. It wouldn’t hurt my feelings, but I wanted to be prepared to eviscerate him verbally. Humbling Sebastian was my form of self-care.

I shot Sebastian a smug half-smile just to rile him up that much more. Unfortunately, I never got the chance to make my brother cry.

“So we meet again.” A deep, warm drawl greeted us as a weathered hand appeared on Sebastian’s arm.

A short man with green eyes wedged himself between Sebastian and I. Instantly, I recognized him as Cameron’s dad.

Why the fuck was he here? And how did he know Seb?

Sebastian’s lips pursed as his gaze connected with mine. It wasn’t hard to tell that he was as confused as I was.

“My, you are certainly tall.” The man commented as he reached up to dust off Sebastian’s shirt.

Before I could even process what was going on, Sebastian snatched the man’s weathered hand and held it away from him.

To most people, Seb was intimidating. Sure, he wasn’t absolutely massive like Cameron, but Seb wasn’t small; plus, he looked mean. Still, the minuscule man lit up at Sebastian’s minor assault.

“Strong too,” he mused as he looked adoringly at Seb.

… Was Cameron’s dad gay?

Sebastian seemed completely unfazed by the sudden, strange affection he received.

“I don’t appreciate being touched by strangers.” Sebastian glowered.

“Strangers is such a strong word.” The man smiled.

…. Should I intervene?

“Yes, but it’s also a fitting one.” Sebastian tossed his hand away in pure disgust.

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