For her to meet him, to see what a disaster he is.

To find out what she's in for if she stays with me and has to deal with my family.

"Well, look who it is!" he says, dropping his backpack inside the front door. He's wearing the same jeans and The Offspring hoodie he wore when I last saw him, though they do seem to have been washed. "Sleeping in, huh? You know it's a Wednesday, right."

I can't say I knew what day it was, but I cross my arms and frown. "I'm aware."

"I've been calling," he says. "They said that I was all set to go, and then I couldn't get a hold of you."

"I lost my phone for a few days," I tell him. "Adam...can you give me a second? I didn't know you were coming—"

"Yeah, because you didn't care."

"Hey, you can't just—"

"Quinn? Is someone here?"

Madison's voice comes from the bedroom, and Adam and I both look down the hall. Stanley trots down the hall and slips through the cracked open door, the bell on his collar jingling.

Adam's eyes meet mine.

"You've got a girl in here," he says. "No way."

"Yeah," I admit with a sigh. "Can you hang out in the guest room for a while? I just...I wasn't expecting you."

"You said that already."

"Because I really wasn't expecting you, and I'm obviously in the middle of something."

Adam gives me a wry smile. "I thought it smelled like sex in here, but I never thought this was you, bro. I can't even remember the last time you had a girlfriend, always working and playing so fucking responsible."

To my chagrin, the door creaks open at the end of the hall, and Madison appears wearing one of my t-shirts and a pair of boxers. She's got Stanley in her arms, cradled like a baby—a position he absolutely does not let anyone else hold him in—and she stops dead when she sees Adam.

"You..." she blinks. "This must be your brother?"

Adam grins, and I feel the most absurd flash of jealousy. I know he looks like a younger version of me, ten whole years younger—which puts him much closer to Madison's age. I've partially never introduced him to anyone in my life because he's dangerous, and because he has a tendency to use people.

I know how to deal with him.

Madison doesn't.

"Yeah," I say. "This is Adam. Adam, this is Madison."

"Madison..." Adam says. "Wait a minute. Your buddy's kid?"

Madison tenses, staying poised at the door to my bedroom. Stanley squirms a bit then jumps out of her arms and winds his way around her ankles as she crosses her arms over her chest.

And I don't know what to say.

"Breakfast?" I ask helplessly.

Madison nods and gestures at the bathroom. "I'm just gonna take a quick shower and get dressed," she says. "I have class today."

She disappears into the bathroom, and I groan, raking a hand through my hair as Adam snickers.

"Class?" he says. "What...is she like a co-ed or something?"

"She's a grad student," I mutter. "An architect."