Page 22 of Wanted You More

I come up behind him and remove the headphones before dropping into the seat directly by his. “You could at least try being more social,” I tell him, ignoring the dirty look he gives me as he catches his headphones and sets them on top of his reading material. I don’t see a tray anywhere, so I ask, “Did you eat something?”

He pushes his glasses up and looks back down at his comic book. “I’m not hungry.”

There’s rarely a day he isn’t hungry, so I roll my eyes. “I’ll be right back.”

He tries stopping me, but I wave him off and head toward the lunch line. After grabbing two burgers, fries, and sodas for both of us, I make my way toward his table again. Wolfe sighs when I set the tray down and distribute the food, not saying a word as I crack open the can of his Pepsi and set it in front of him.

When I set the orange next to his other food, all I say is, “You’ll be hungry by seventh period if you don’t eat now.”

Dad probably forgot to give him money today before going to work. It’s happened before, and Wolfe never says anything about it. I told him to tell me, and I’d let him borrow some, but he chooses to handle it himself.

We eat in silence together for a few minutes before he breaks it. “You don’t have to sit with me.”

In an unladylike way, with my mouth full of hamburger, I reply, “I know.”

He toys with one of the semi-soggy fries before dipping it into the ketchup I got. “I heard Dad talking with Mr. Kingsley about some phone call we got the other night. He was upset.”

My brows pinch with concern at the new information I hadn’t heard yet. “Another reporter? Or was it that nasally secretary from the senator’s office again wanting a meeting about the campaign ad they’re trying to run?”

All my brother does is shrug, picking a piece of cheese off the side of his burger. “I don’t know. But he got angry. And somebody came to the door the other day when you guys were still at work, but I didn’t tell him.”

“Who was it?”

“Some guy in a suit.”

That’s helpful. “Politician wanting to shake hands and kiss babies?”

“Maybe.”

“And you didn’t tell Dad,” I reiterate. Sometimes getting answers from him is like pulling teeth. He always tries to protect people when it’s not his responsibility to. “Why didn’t you say something to me sooner? I would have called Noah or Ben.”

“Exactly,” he grumbles.

Despite Dad getting past some of his personal issues with the Kingsley men, it’s obvious Wolfe has no intention to. “What’s that supposed to mean? They’re good people who want to help.”

He grabs ahold of the orange and squeezes it, evading my eyes. “You always do stupid stuff because of Noah. I never know what you’re going to do if you two get into a fight because you’re too unpredictable.”

I’m about to argue when I stop myself after realizing he’s right. Noah does bring out some of the worst parts of me when we argue. He’s one of the few people who’s always been able to get under my skin. “If it makes you feel better, I’m trying really hard not to keep doing stupid stuff but it’s in my blood. I’ll need some sort of cleanse or exorcism to fully cure myself of my own stupidity.”

He nearly cracks a smile at that.

I elbow him playfully. “Look, whether you like it or not, Noah and Ben are good people with even better connections that could benefit us. So we should keep them in the loop if something comes up. Like weird guys in suits randomly coming to our house when you’re home alone.” I give him a look when he makes no effort to say anything. “I’m sorry that I do dumb stuff when Noah pisses me off. But that’s just who I am as a person. It isn’t likewedon’t fight.”

The noise he makes is comical. “It’s different though. You and him aren’t siblings and you don’t fight like them.”

How would he know? “Well, I’ll be better. Just like you need to be better about not closing me out. I don’t like when you’re mad at me, Wolfe. I missed having cheesy movie nights with you, even when you picked out the worst movies ever to watch.”

The laugh I’m greeted with makes me smile in victory. “You were the one who picked last, so you can’t blame me for all of them.”

I lift my burger. “Fair. I guess making fun of them is half the fun anyway, right? Although I’ve been wanting to see that new superhero one. Maybe we can go to the theater and see it.”

He perks up. “You’d really want to?”

“Yes, dork,” I muse, shaking my head at his surprise. “I don’t want to hear you complain about my food choices. I refuse to sit through another two-and-a-half-hour movie with you complaining about my popcorn and pickle juice, even when I’m not forcing you to eat any.”

He scoffs, throwing a fry at me. “You literally shoved a handful into my face and told me I had to try it. It was the grossest thing I’ve put in my mouth.”

“I’ve seen you pick food up off the floor and eat it after like a minute,” I point out.

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