Page 113 of Off Limits

“No, I’m not, but somebody needs to keep you on track.” She had managed to do well enough in school and on her SATs to get into Cornell, but I’m worried if she’ll be able to keep her GPA up enough tostayat Cornell.

Lochlyn is staying unnervingly quiet. We’ve already talked about my concerns with Chelsea and how she’s doing in school.

I turn around to look at him, but he’s staring at his lap. “You could help, ya know.”

His eyes flip up to me. “With what? I’ve done my part for Chelsea. If she wants to flunk out, let her.”

“Nice, Loch.” Chelsea shakes her head.

“Oh, I’m sorry, princess, did I not do enough for you when Mom and Dad decided they’d rather travel alone than spend time with their kids? Was making sure you went to school and cooking all your meals not enough?”

To calm the storm before it starts, I put my hand on Lochlyn’s arm. He turns to me, eyes angry, but quickly softens.

“You okay if I leave to get us some food?” His voice is low, tight. I know he has to be extra irritated and in need of a breather if he’s actually leaving me.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. You alright? Want me to come with you?” While I’d rather stay in his immediate vicinity, I know he needs some time to cool off.

“No, you stay. I’m good.”

He slides off the bed and pulls his sneakers on, grabbing his phone, wallet and keys from my desk. Giving me a quick kiss on the temple, he walks out, ignoring Chelsea completely.

“What’s his problem?” Thankfully, she waits until the door is shut to ask.

While I’m not entirely sure, I have a pretty good idea. “Chelsea, have you ever thanked him for everything he’s done for you?”

“Thanked him? Are you serious?”

A bit dumbfounded, I stare at her. “He was a teenager, left in charge of another teenager. Who he had to watch out for and cook for and make sure you went to school.”

“They were only gone for like a week at a time. And your parents were always checking in on us.”

“Do you really not see how much he’s sacrificed for you?” Irritation sweeps through my body at her complete blindness.

“Sacrificed for me? Are you serious? He still had fun, he still partied, he still slept around.” There’s a slight twinge of discomfort at the thought.

“So he had his life too, but he was there for you. I mean, did you starve? Did you not eat all week? I was there a lot, you’d eaten real, cooked meals. Somebody did that and it sure as hell wasn’t you.” My voice is stronger than it ever has been. Gone are the days I let Chelsea walk over me, and especially Lochlyn. He may shove it away, I won’t anymore.

She shakes her head, nostrils flaring. “So, what, you guys start having sex and now you take his side on everything?”

“I always pointed out how much he did for you then too, how he was around and checking in on you and making sure you were taken care of. I’m trying to barter peace here. He’s hurt, Chels. For a lot of things. Not recognizing what he did for you, it’s just adding fuel to the fire. In the past few weeks, you’ve done a lot that’s about you. Really, you always have, at least where Lochlyn’s concerned.”

“He’s my brother.” The way she says it is like her excuse for treating him like shit.

“You’re right. He is. That doesn’t mean he has to do everything for you. Bend over backwards and jump at your command. We both denied our happiness foryearsbecause of you. And we broke up because of you. Now, we’re back together, we’re happy, I’ve been able to move past it. But you’ve never apologized to him or thanked him. It’s just one more thing you’ve been selfish about. I think he’s just tired of it.”

Chelsea doesn’t say anything else, and we sit in silence until Lochlyn returns twenty minutes later.

“Now, I know it’s not the deli by the high school, but this place has pretty decent bacon, egg, and cheeses. And I got fresh coffees.” Balancing a bag in one hand and a coffee tray in the other, he walks in and kicks the door close, setting both down on my desk before pulling out a coffee and handing it to me.

“Here, Chels, I got you one too.” He holds out a coffee with a sandwich balanced on top.

My eyes dart over to her with a look that I hope conveys ‘see I told you so.’

“Thanks.”

Climbing up onto my bed next to me, he takes a big bite of his sandwich, jutting his chin at me to eat mine.

It smells good. But the ones at the deli back home are legendary. He even gets one each time he’s home for breaks. Slowly, I pull back the foil wrapper and take a tiny bite. It’s not as good as back home, but pretty close.

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