Page 77 of Wanted You More

He breaks free from my hold. “You need a face transplant.”

We stop outside of the front door to stare at each other for a second before we both break out into a fit of laughter.

***

With sweets inhand, we walk down Main Street and browse the window displays of a few stores as we eat. “Dad said he had plans with coworkers,” I tell him, hoping he’ll give me some updates on how it really is at home.

Whenever I ask over the phone, he seems to evade the question and changes the topic to something else. I’m not planning on letting him get away with that this time.

“He’s been doing that a lot lately,” he grumbles, kicking a pebble with his sneaker and watching it roll in front of us.

I elbow him. “We talked about this. He deserves to be happy and have friends.”

My little brother is quiet for a second. “I looked up the English department online. It’s mostly made up of women.”

It’s not uncommon, I guess. The last college he was at had a ton of women working in his department too. That’s how he and Mom met.

“That doesn’t mean anything,” I reassure him, though I can’t make a promise one way or another. What Dad does with his life is up to him and him alone.

He doesn’t stop there. “I looked some of them up online. Four of them aren’t married. One of them is gay, so that’s one less to worry about. But there’s one who looks like Mom and she teaches classic literature.”

I give him a funny look. “You stalked Dad’s coworkers online? I don’t know if I should be worried or impressed.”

He glares. “You stalk people all the time. Don’t act like you wouldn’t do the same.”

I point out the big difference. “I cyber stalk boys I like, not people that work with our father. Especially because I may be in their class one day. That’s weird. And Dad wouldn’t go after someone that looks like Mom. That’s weirder.”

He blows out a loud, exasperated breath.

Hoping to change the subject, I break apart my brownie and ask, “How’s chess club?”

Wolfe steals some of my treat. “I quit.”

“What?” I grab his arm to stop him from walking. “Why would you quit? You like chess.”

His lips twist. “Yeah, but I don’t like the people. Apparently, chess club isn’t like it is in the movies. It’s a bunch of popular kids who are smart too. Since when did nerds get hot?”

I can’t help but laugh at his ridiculous rant. Maybe Dad is right. We watch way too many stereotypical movies. “You do realize that you’re not totally ugly, right? For a dweeb, you’re okay looking.”

He shoots me a look. “You’re just saying that because you think I’m lame for not wanting to be part of a club.”

Well, that’s part of it. “Nah. I’m saying that because if you’re ugly that means I am too since we share DNA. And I’m hot as hell.”

He gags. “No brother wants to hear his sister say they’re hot. It’s against the law.”

I shove his shoulder as we start walking again. “And you accuse me of being the dramatic one of the family. Maybe you should join drama club.”

The finger he lifts isn’t a very nice one, but it only amuses me more. “I’m not cut out for clubs, Austen. You can guilt Dad into doing stuff like that, but not me.”

“I didn’tguilthim into doing anything,” I inform him, offended he’d accuse me of that when I’m trying to be a good daughter. “And stop trying to avoid talking about yourself. I want to hear about you, not Dad.”

Whatever he’s thinking weighs down his shoulders as we keep walking. “There’s nothing about me I want to talk about.”

Such a cop-out.

The only thing that makes me forgive him is when he lifts his gaze back to me. “I lied before. I have missed you. I don’t like being the only kid at the house.”

I already knew he was lying, but it still makes my chest warm to hear him admit it. I pull him into me and laugh as he squirms from my affection. “I’ve missed you too. My roommate and I watch movies sometimes, but she doesn’t like the bad horror films we do. It’s not the same.”

---