Page 16 of Minor Trouble
“I’ll work on it over the weekend. It’ll be ready Monday,” I promised. Whatever it took, I’d made sure it was fixed.
“Thank you.” Her tone softened. “Make sure Noah looks at his homework.”
“Yes, absolutely.” This time my promise wasn’t as strong. “Come over after school on Monday to pick up the car.”
“Thanks, Seth. You have a good weekend.”
The line went dead, and I stared at the phone, a sense of foreboding washing over me.
“Everything okay?” Maddox leaned on the doorframe, the stupid grin on his face he always got after seeing Lyla growing wider.
I leaned back in the chair. “You havenoidea.”
“Who was that?”
“Ainsley Coren. I told her she could have the car back on Monday. I’ll work on it over the weekend if I have to.” I paused. “She told me to make sure Noah does his homework. Shit, Maddox, I can’t even get him to talk to me properly let alone sit down with a math problem. I’m not cut out for this.”
“You’re still adjusting to each other. Remember, this is a big thing for both of you. And you have to step up—you’re all Noah’s got now.”
“How did you get to be so wise?” Maddox had nailed it.
He shrugged. “Dunno, maybe I’m growing up. Look, instead of spending all weekend cooped up here, why don’t you come and hang out with us tomorrow? Me, Lyla, Andre, Willa, Jack, Lo, and Scarlett are getting together for a picnic in the park. We’ll throw a football around, chat shit, have fun. What do you say?”
The idea sounded good.
But would Noah want to spend the afternoon with a bunch of twentysomethings he didn’t even know?
Hell, if it got him away from his video game for a couple of hours, it had to be a good thing, right?
Saturday dawned bright and sunny when I woke around ten, after another fitful night’s sleep. I tiptoed through the living room so as not to wake Noah and headed into the garage to make a start on Ainsley’s car. As I suspected, it was a simple oil change and took me a little less than an hour. Seriously, I should have just done it earlier in the week and letMs. Corenhave her car back. Once I’d finished, I kicked back in the office for a while until it was time to get showered and go and meet the others.
I went back upstairs to find Noah awake and sitting up on the sofa bed, already playing his game. “Hey, buddy. I’m gonna grab a shower, then it’s your turn. We’re going out.”
He screwed up his face. “Where? Can’t I stay here?”
“Maddox and the guys have invited us to the park for some food and a ball game.” Ha, the way I said it sounded like I hung out with Maddox all the time. Sure, we’d been for a few beers, but I hadn’t spent much time with his friends before, except Lyla.
“I’ll be fine here.”
“Come on, Noah, cut me some slack. I want us to go out and have some fun. You can’t be enjoying yourself being cooped up here all the time when you aren’t at school.” The words of my own parents came back to haunt me. I almost laughed, if I hadn’t been so desperate for Noah to agree. “Give me one afternoon.”
Noah sniffed. “Can we go to the mall after? There’s a new game I want to look at.”
“Whatever you want, buddy.” Seriously, I’d have let him do almost anything. “Why don’t you go and get ready, and I’ll tidy up here?”
He disappeared into the bathroom without being asked twice, which I clutched onto like a life raft. When I heard the shower running, I took the sheets off the sofa bed and put them in the washer. I picked up all his school stuff and shoved it back into his rucksack, but not before I’d caught sight of the big red F on one of his tests. Hearing him coming back into the living room, I ignored it and put it into his back with the rest of his things. I didn’t want to ruin today by confronting him about it now.
While we walked to the park, I pointed out all the places Hannah and I had hung out when we were kids. Noah listened intently. I hoped he wanted to know more about his parents and their pasts. Not that I planned to tell him everything about mine; I didn’t want him to know his father was a jail bird. At least not yet.
“Noah, Seth!” Lyla rushed over to us, embracing each of us in a hug. Noah stiffened as she pulled him close, not knowing how to react. “Noah, come meet the others.” She dragged him by the arm over to the group, pointing out everyone in turn and introducing them. Lyla seemed so natural around him, like he’d been in her life forever. I wished I could be the same.
After a while, Maddox, Noah, Andre, Jack, and I threw a football around. I made sure Noah’s side—including Andre and Jack—won. The winning team then carried on playing. Maddox went to talk to the girls, and I sat down under one of the trees, drinking greedily from a bottle of water I’d commandeered from the supplies, watching the other people in the park.
Maddox brought some food over, handing me a huge sandwich. “How’s it going? Looks like Noah’s having fun.”
Chewing on a mouthful of sandwich, which I’d crammed into my mouth, I shaded my eyes and observed the three of them, laughing and throwing the ball around. Noah seemed to be enjoying himself for the first time since he’d been staying with me. “Yeah, it does. That’s good.” I raked a hand through my hair. “It’s going to be rough again pretty soon though. I found a paper graded with an F.”
Maddox spread his hands wide. “He’s been back at school a week. In an unfamiliar environment, probably with subjects he doesn’t know much about.” He shot me a look. “You can’t tell me you were a grade A student?”
