Page 36 of Stay for Me
“What?”
“Jacob is going to drive us home. Which is cool.”
I laugh a little. “I know.”
“I’m really glad we moved here.”
I look over to see Jacob walking toward us. His dark brown hair looks tousled just the perfect amount, and his green eyes seem a bit guarded.
“Ready?”
I smile over at the girls, and they each pull me in for a hug before I head off to the car, feeling nervous all over again.
The ride isn’t far, and thankfully, Sebastian and Jacob talk the entire time. Melanie interjects herself a few times, but those two go on and on about the movies.
“No way! You’re not going to walk away from a role like that.”
Jacob nods. “That’s what I told my agent.”
“I mean, the Navigator is the best superhero.”
“He is.”
“The way he knows how to fly the plane and then at night he’s able to save the world without anyone realizing he’s the same guy. It just shows how superior he is.” Sebastian’s animation grows.
I lean my head back, looking out the window as they keep going. I’ve missed not having to drive when we needed to go somewhere. It’s funny how many things change in an instant and you suddenly start missing things you never paid a second’s thought to before.
While I was used to doing things on my own, this was all so different. It felt lonely the entire time.
We pull into the drive, and the kids are out of the car, racing to be the first one to make it to the door. “Thank you for driving us home,” I say as Jacob comes around to my door, opening it like a true gentleman.
“Of course.”
We stand outside the car, looking up at the door and I feel horrible that he went out of his way. “How will you get back now?”
He laughs once. “I’ll walk. Trust me, I appreciate the exercise as much as I appreciate not being stuck in that tiny house.”
“Sebastian thinks it’s the coolest thing ever.”
“It’s a shithole. Not really since it’s probably worth a ton of money, but it’s not ideal.”
I can’t imagine. “Well, I really appreciate it. Everything really. Your family is so sweet, and you’re very lucky to have them.”
“It wasn’t always this way for us,” he says and then looks away.
“What do you mean?”
Devney told me about his father, but I’m not sure he would be comfortable with my knowing that.
“Just that my father was a drunk abusive asshole, so once we left home, my brothers and I only saw each other randomly. It’s only really been in the last nineteen months that we’ve spent time like this together.”
“That’s kind of sad.”
He shrugs as we walk. “It is, but now that everyone has families, I think it’ll be different. However, drinking and driving is one thing that we’ll never allow, I hope you understand.”
I reach out, placing my hand on his arm. “Of course. I would’ve never driven drunk.”
“It’s something I can’t ever let someone do around me. Even if someone says they’re fine, I just won’t risk it.”
