“So Ezra, what are you studying for?” Mr. Vincent asked sending me a smile as he handed me a bucket of biscuits.
I grabbed one out of the tub before passing it to Kody. “I think I want to teach. But I’m also taking courses in psychology.” I said grabbing a little prepackaged packet of honey.
He nodded. “That’s a very respectable career. I’ve always admired people who had the patience to teach. When I was trying to potty train Aiden I just-“
“Dad.” Aiden interrupted, his mouth full of chicken. “Why is this always the first story you try to tell people. She’s Kody‘s girlfriend. Tell her something embarrassing about him.”
Kody simply stared at me, his expression completely unreadable. He didn’t seem mad, just intense. I could tell he wasn’t paying attention to anything that was going on and it unnerved me. On the plus side, I was to busy stressing over Kody to worry about what his dad thought of me.
Mr. Vincent laughed. “I’m saving all of the good stuff for thanksgiving. Anyways, he caught onto going number one quickly enough but he just couldn’t get the hang of-“
“Dad. I will set this house on fire if you continue with this story. I have rights.”
Again, Mr. Vincent laughed and I laughed with him.
I was actually comfortable.
My hair was pulled in a low ponytail and I was dressed in biker shorts with a large grey sweater thanks to Kody’s wandering hands. However, I didn’t feel like a bum.
Mr. Vincent was a nice man. He was also very handsome. He made it easy for me to relax. Aiden also helped as I found myself teasing him as I’d heard older siblings often did.
“Aiden.” I said smiling wide. “Did you have some bathroom problems as a kid.”
Aiden growled snatching the hot sauce out of my hands. “That’s none of your business. If I would have known this was going to be the ‘screw with Aiden’ show, I would have stayed at Darien’s house.”
Mr. Vincent frowned at that and it got awkward all of a sudden.
“I told you I don’t like that kid, Aiden. He’s trouble.”
Aiden shrugged, sitting back in his seat. “He’s my friend dad. It’s not like we’re out robbing banks on our lunch break.”
Mr. Vincent scratches the back of his head nervously, “Yeah, I know. I just-“
“Darien Washington?” Kody spoke now, for the first time in a while.
Aiden narrowed his eyes. “Yeah- and?”
Kody eyed his little brother. “I know his brother. Maybe you should stay away from him.”
Aiden groaned now, grabbing his plate, “you don’t run my life Kody. I’m gonna eat in my room.” He headed up the stairs leaving the room in an awkward silence.
“So there’s a ninety nine percent chance that your kid’s going to have an attitude problem.” Mr. Vincent said lightly.
I smiled, but I felt bad. I didn’t like seeing Kody and his brother fighting.
*******************
The baby didn’t understand time yet, so I couldn’t really blame it for waking me up at three in the morning to pee, but I was going to plot my revenge.
I stumbled around in the dark in Kody’s guest room looking for my house shoes before stumbling out to the bathroom.
The house was quiet except for the low creaking of movement on the stairs.
I was going to ignore it, assuming it was probably Aiden or Kody coming back from the bathroom but then I heard the hushed voice.
“You saw her?”
It was Aiden’s voice and his tone stopped me in my tracks. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop but his tone was so hurt that it stopped me before I could register what I was doing.
“Well that doesn’t mean shit to me.” He growled, his tone rising before he calmed himself down.
“Well then I’ll go by myself.” There was a pause. “Because her fucking dad called mine. They’re supposed to go to Florida for thanksgiving.”
Who was he talking about?
“Yeah, well fuck you too Darien.” I could actually hear the person on the other side of the phone yelling now.
When Aiden ended the call, I didn’t think. Instead I cleared my throat forgetting all about my bladder.
He turned his head quickly, his expression unbelievably angry in the moonlight. For a minute I was shocked that a fifteen year old could hold so much anger.
“Problem?” I asked softly waddling down the stairs to meet him.
“No. Fuck.” He said in the same breath tossing his phone to the ground. “What the hell is wrong with girls?”
I laughed, squeezing beside him. “Well, that’s a long story. Why don’t you narrow it down and I can help you.”
His hands went to his hair which was already disheveled. “Fucking Darien, he was supposed to give me a ride.”
I never thought that he would actually tell me his problem, but I guess three in the morning brought out the emotion in people. I kept my expression neutral. “A ride where?”
He turned his head to look at me, studying me before rolling his eyes. “To go pick up my other friend.” He waited a beat. “Grace.”
Ah, this was the ‘she’ he spoke about.
Still, I kept my tone light. “And where is Grace.”
When I said her name I watched his fist clench. “Somewhere she shouldn’t be. She doesn’t fucking listen to me. She doesn’t want to be friends anymore.”
I felt bad, because obviously Aiden was going to get his heart broken by this Grace character.
“Sometimes, girls need time alone Aiden.” I said softly. “And sometimes they need a really good friend to talk to. The problem is, it’s hard to know which one they need.”
Aiden leaned back on the steps. “I guess we haven’t really been friends since freshman year. She changed a lot.”
I pursed my lips. How did I end up playing relationship counselor. “How so?”
Aiden looked at me now, like he’d been waiting for someone to ask him this question for some time. “She wears her hair all curly and gelled up. And once she wore heels to school. Yesterday she had on this dress that barely covered anything. I had to kick Jared’s ass when he-” he cut himself off, clenching his fist. That explained the black eye.
“Seems like she’s just stumbling into girlhood.” I said shrugging. I’d stumbled myself.
“She drinks.” Aiden continued, his voice lowering a bit more. “She got suspended for having liquor on campus. She never used to. And there’s this guy, Bryce. He’s in college and he keeps-” He broke off taking a deep breath.
College? I was assuming Grace was a sophomore.
“Okay. Where is Grace now?”
Aiden’s eyes were still closed. “She’s with Bryce. Darien saw her. He was supposed to take me to go and get her because he has his license. I have Rory’s old car but I just have a permit and it’s not daytime so I can’t-“
I cut him off. “I’ll drive. We’ll try to talk to her. Let’s just hurry before your dad or Kody wakes up.”
Aiden must have trusted me because he was already standing and helping me to my feet.
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