Chapter 38

CHAPTER38

Mikey didn’t say anything, but then again, she didn’t have to, not when she had the teenage boy sitting next to her trained. It had taken a few months, but now, Braxton knew what was expected of him, which was why she wasn’t surprised when his eyes narrowed on her as he bit out, “You’re a pain in my ass,” and grabbed his iPad off the floor.

“I’m your best friend,” Mikey corrected him as she gestured for him to get on with it.

Lips twitching, Braxton reluctantly shifted his attention to his iPad and-

“Nothing yet.”

-chuckled when she dropped her chin back on her arms with a grumble.

“It hasn’t been a week yet,” he reminded her.

“I know,” Mikey mumbled sadly as she once again found herself wondering about something.

“Any idea why Sebastian won’t stop glaring at me?” Mikey asked, watching as intense blue eyes narrowed on her from across the large living room. She also couldn’t help but wonder what he was doing here since he usually picked up a shift at the Fire & Brimstone on Friday night.

“I have a few ideas,” Braxton murmured absently as he shifted to get comfortable on his sleeping bag.

Nodding, Mikey dropped one arm off her folded knees and gestured to the teenage boy sitting next to Sebastian. “And the reason why Jonathan is glaring at me?”

She considered asking why Cole was glaring, too, but since his glare was aimed in the direction of a certain teenage girl’s house, Mikey decided to focus on the two Bradfords currently glaring at her instead.

“I think it’s a twin thing,” Braxton said, clearing his throat awkwardly while Mikey sat there, trying to figure out if this had something to do with the reason Sebastian was barely around anymore. She promised herself that she wasn’t going to ask, but…

She had to know.

“Has he told you why he’s been working so much?” Mikey asked, watching a muscle in Sebastian’s jaw clench tightly before he shifted his attention back to the romance movie the girls picked out.

“No clue,” Braxton said, making her frown.

“You share a bedroom with him. How the hell do you not know what he’s up to?” Mikey demanded.

“Because I’m not obsessed with him?” Braxton said, shrugging it off as he laid down on his sleeping bag. “It also doesn’t hurt that he’s barely there.”

“I’m not obsessed with him,” Mikey muttered pathetically.

“Why don’t you just ask him?” Braxton asked, throwing her a curious look as he folded his arms behind his head.

“Because I know better,” Mikey said, refusing to ask him what he was hiding from her at this point for the sake of her pride.

“He hasn’t told anyone if that helps,” Braxton offered, taking pity on her.

“It really doesn’t,” Mikey mumbled, earning a chuckle that had her watching him for a moment, taking in all the changes that happened over the last few months. He’d put on muscle, was taller, and had a smile that came easily these days, which made him look incredibly handsome.

“How’s life with the Bradfords?” she found herself asking him.

“Chaotic,” Braxton said dryly. “They’re loud, love to torment each other, steal my food every chance they get, and-”

“And you love it,” Mikey said.

“And I love it,” Braxton admitted with a teasing smile that had her worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as she found herself wondering about something.

“Have you heard from your parents?”

“They haven’t called me since they let me know that I’m a disappointment,” Braxton said, shrugging it off. “They called Aunt Haley after Christmas to try guilting her into taking me in until they came back, which was probably their plan all along.”

“And when she said no?” Mikey asked, wondering how anyone could treat their child like this.

“They threatened to send me back to boarding school.”

“What changed their minds?”

“Grandma,” Braxton said with a fond smile.

“Probably out of fear that she’d beat the hell out of them with that cane,” Mikey said, earning a chuckle as she looked at the woman in question, watching as her gaze flickered between her grandchildren as she slowly reached over to help herself to the Coke that someone left on the end table only to end up glaring when Sebastian plucked it out of her hand.

“Probably,” Braxton said as he glanced past her, drawing her attention in time to watch Joshua try to tear the remote out of Elizabeth’s hand only to have his sister-

“That’s probably going to leave a mark,” Mikey murmured absently as she pulled out her phone and hit record.

“If it didn’t, that will,” Braxton murmured as they watched Jessica throw herself onto Mathew’s back when he snatched the remote out of Elizabeth’s hand and switched it from the romantic comedy that they’d been forced to watch to-

“He should have made a run for it when he had the chance,” Mikey said with a pitying shake of her head when Jessica grabbed Mathew by the back of his shirt and dragged him back down so that Elizabeth could ram her knee into the middle of his back as she tore the remote back out of his hand and moved to shove it down his-

“Can I ask you something?” Braxton asked, drawing her attention to find him watching her curiously.

Sighing heavily, Mikey muttered, “Why must everyone always try to take over my interrogations?”

“Because we love to live dangerously,” Braxton said dryly.

Nodding, Mikey said, “I can see how that would be a problem,” making his lips twitch.

“Why haven’t you gone to any of the school dances this year?” Braxton asked, watching her curiously as her gaze flickered to Sebastian, who was still glaring at her for some reason.

“Because no one asked me?” Mikey said as she glanced back down at her phone and ended the recording.

“The football team and half the freshmen class have asked you out,” Braxton pointed out.

“That’s because I’m a pleasure to be around,” Mikey pointed out as she glanced at Braxton and-

“You should just tell him,” he said, reaching up and gave her braid a playful tug.

“What should I tell him exactly?” Mikey asked, clearing her throat as she focused back on her phone.

“That you want him to take you to the next dance,” Braxton said softly, making her sigh as she absently scrolled through her email.

“Sebastian doesn’t go to dances,” Mikey said, not bothering to point out that he didn’t go to dances with her.

She was his best friend and…

That was it.

She was the little pain in the ass that annoyed the hell out of him for her own entertainment and that was all he was ever going to see her as. He-

“If he doesn’t take you, then I will,” Braxton said, and before she could respond, a small chime drew her attention back down to her phone.

Swallowing hard, Mikey said, “This is it,” when the notification that she had an email from Coach Jackson popped up on her screen.

“Wait. You really got an email?” Braxton asked as he reached for his iPad. “He wasn’t supposed to send them until next week.”

“I guess he decided to send them early,” Mikey said, slowly exhaling as her gaze flickered up to Sebastian and quickly decided that she’d wait to tell him when he stopped glaring.

“I didn’t get one,” Braxton said, sounding confused.

“Maybe the internet connection’s slow?” Mikey said as her finger hovered over the email app while she willed her stomach to calm down.

“Maybe,” Braxton mumbled absently as she took a deep breath and opened the email before she lost her nerve.

“Did we make the team?” Braxton asked as she read through the email before moving onto the list below, letting her know the names of all the players that would be hitting the field this year and-

“You made the team.”