Page 275 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol 4
“You’re a closet alcoholic.”
“How many times do I have to explain this to people? First Matt, now you.” I leaned against the wall outside my uncle’s apartment. “I only had punch.”
“Which had alcohol in it.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I’ve never had alcohol before.”
Kennedy shook her head. “Well that explains a lot. You should have told me. I wouldn’t have let you have any.”
“But I love it!”
“Shhh! I got that. Be quiet for one minute, okay? Hopefully your uncle is already asleep.” She pulled out the key from her purse and was just about to turn it when the door opened by itself. Like magic.
Only it wasn’t magic. It was my uncle. And he looked…not happy.
He shook his head. “Get in here before you wake up the whole floor.” He opened the door wider and Kennedy pulled me inside.
“I’m sorry, Uncle Jim,” Kennedy said. “We’re just really wound up from an exciting night of work. So we should probably just go to Brooklyn’s room to cool off.” She started to pull me toward my room.
“Not so fast.”
I bumped into Kennedy when she froze.
“Brooklyn, look at me,” my uncle said.
I turned around and looked. Really looked. I just wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be looking for.
“Have you girls been drinking?” he asked.
“Only punch,” I said.
Kennedy elbowed me in the side, which made me start laughing again.
My uncle ran his hand down his face. “Where were you two tonight?”
“At work,” Kennedy said.
But at the same time I said, “At Felix’s house.”
He just stared at us, waiting for our stories to align.
Kennedy sighed. “We went to a classmate’s party for a few hours after work. Please don’t tell my mom.”
“It was my idea,” I added. “I forced Kennedy to go with me. I’d never been to a party before and I thought it would be fun. And it was. It really was. But I’m also pretty sure I’m asleep so…”
My uncle started coughing, drowning out my words.
“Are you okay?” I asked. I started to walk over to him but he held up his hand.
He cleared his throat. “You two need to take better care of each other, okay? I know teenagers drink. I’m not an idiot. I prefer if you don’t, but if you’re going to drink, make sure to have a glass of water between every glass of alcohol. I don’t expect to see either of you like this again. Is that clear?”
“I’m sorry,” I said. But I was more concerned about his cough than his lecture on underage drinking. I really hoped this was a dream, because his cold was getting worse instead of better. I was getting worried that he had the flu or something.
“I don’t want an I’m sorry. I want you to promise me that the two of you will take care of each other. No more getting drunk. No more of this nonsense.”
“I promise I’ll watch out for her better,” Kennedy said.
“Me too,” I said. Which sucked because I really did like punch. “My arms are heavy now too.”
