Page 115 of Stuck With You
I roll my eyes. They might be total pains in my ass, but I’d follow these misfits to the front line anytime, anywhere.
And it doesn’t totally suck to have them in my corner as I navigate the intimidating unknown, either.
Chapter 27
SARAH
He sits, his forearms resting on his knees, his attention solely on his phone.
I glance at Ollie. He wipes his nose on his sleeve and then makes airplane noises as his jet takes off. I rock Frankie, who still has a slight fever and snot pouring from her nose.
I shiver, ready for him to leave so I can lie down.
Ollie coughs, and Miles’s eyes flick to him. He leans away, inching back against the couch. “You need to cover your mouth.”
My entire body aches, but I roll my eyes despite the effort. Even my hair hurts.
Ollie ignores him. “D-d-do you want to see my c-cars?” He asks tentatively, expecting Miles to say yes. “They’re in my room.”
“Um. . .how about you get them?”
Ollie heads to his room, and Grover follows close behind.
Miles’s gaze turns to me. “He still talks like that? He can’t start school that way. They won’t even be able to understand him.”
If I didn’t feel like I was in the process of being run over by a truck and had the energy, I’d punch him.
He pulled up an hour ago, sliding out of his luxury rental, and tiptoed in here, as if this were the low-income housing I grew up in. His eyes lingered over Frankie for only a moment. She tucked herself into a ball against my chest as he sat on the edge of the couch to perusehis phone. Ollie clung to me for the first fifteen minutes but tried to get Miles’s attention multiple times to no avail.
His eyes survey the space. “So, this is where your dad grew up?” His nose scrunches slightly.
Thisis what he wants to talk about.
I rest my head against the back of the recliner, ready for him to go. “You’re aware I don’t know the answer to that. He was listed as the beneficiary, but since he’s dead, I was next of kin.”
He twists, still examining the space. “How old is it?”
I exhale. “Miles, why are you here?”
He straightens and huffs; that familiar smug look reminds me I’m an idiot. “You know why? This is ridiculous. You living here.” He glances around again, disgust filling his freshly facialed face. “You made your point. Are you done now? I got the job in New York. Sunday mornings are only the beginning. This is it. This is what we always wanted.”
I stare at him. “Uh. . .what?”
His leans forward again. “Sarah, I gave you the life you wanted. I got you out of that dump you grew up in, and now I’ll take you all the way to the top. If you want to go to school, fine. You can do that in New York. You’ll be beside me as we sweep in as Manhattan’s new ‘it’ couple.”
My body heats to a thousand degrees as my mind explodes into a million pieces. I stare at him. He’s fucking serious.
Ollie slowly walks back into the room, using his shirt as a cradle for a pile of Hot Wheels. He spills them on the couch next to Miles and begins to line them up.
“Dis one is a c-c-cupcake car? Grandma Susie j-just sent it to me.” Ollie holds up the tiny, pink cupcake with wheels.
Miles only looks at it.
“And dis one has a turbo engine. It goes s-s-super fast.” He races it along the couch and up Miles’s leg, then holds it in front of his face.
Miles leans away. “Can you say cup-cake?”
Ollie’s eyes move from the car to Miles. “C-c-cupcake.”
