5. Josephine

5

JOSEPHINE

E verything moves in slow motion as my life flashes before my eyes. My chest seizes from panic before Mom-adrenaline kicks in for me to dash after Jett. Up the steps and through the front door takes seconds, but after rushing through it, I'm confronted with a mass of giggles and shouts. My younger brother, Collin, swings Jett around his body like an acrobat.

I slam the door behind me to get them to stop, shouting, "WHAT THE HELL, COLLIN? You scared the shit out of me."

My nineteen-year-old brother stops twirling his nephew around long enough to put him down and do some secret handshake they made up.

"I texted you like three hours ago, Jo. Why haven't you checked your phone?" he asks, and that's when I notice something is wrong.

The cashew hue of his skin shows he's been spending the bulk of his time outdoors. But the blackening puffiness under his right eye shows he's been fighting, too. I pull out my phone to see absolutely nothing. Holding the phone up to him, I show him the absence of new messages.

"I didn't get anything from you, and what happened to your face?"

"That's because I got the message." Jett grins with pride and pulls out his phone. "You only let me have six people text me on this phone. I thought the message was for me."

Collin tousles Jett's curls, telling him, "It was for the both of you, but you should still tell your mom I'm coming by."

"Jett, you go and get ready for bed. Collin, what happened to your face?"

"But Mom, I gotta tell him how lucky his socks made us today."

"I'm going to need those back, too, little man," Collin says, running his fingers through his dark brown curls with streaks of blonde. Thankfully, Jett looks more like Collin than Duke. It seems like the only traits Jett got from his father are his blonde hair and blue eyes.

"You can have them back," Jett says, nodding. "That black eye means you need them more than I do."

Jett pulls his sneakers off to reveal the lucky socks sticking to dirty fabric softener sheets to suppress the odor. Collin squints and turns his face away.

"Exactly. Absolutely horrendous. By the looks of them, they can probably walk out of here on their own. So, yes, baby bro, take your rancid, magical cotton tubes back to the dorms." I laugh as my pulse finally returns to normal.

"About that." Collin purses his lips together. I can see the hesitation in his expression. It's a familiar one from our younger days, when he hated disappointing me as much as Mom and Dad. I've been taking care of my little brother since they brought him home and tonight doesn't feel any different.

He lets out a deep exhale. "This black eye isn't really a big deal compared to what happened after I got it. First, there was a fight in the dorms. Some asshole was being too pushy with his girlfriend, so I got pushy back. We slugged it out until I knocked him out. Then campus security came. One of them cracked me in the eye because I didn't know it was security. I thought it was the dude's friends trying to jump me from behind. Swing fists first, ask questions later."

"All that happened today? Are you hurt anywhere else? Is there someone we can talk to about security giving you a black eye?" I ask him.

"Technically, I started the fight. The asshole kept slamming his hand against the wall right by the chick's face. Shit, it pissed me off. No one deserves to be treated like that. Now that I'm big enough to do something about it, I will every fucking time. Anyway, I got kicked out for the next two weeks which means I'll be crashing here unless Shannon lets me bunk with her."

"No, don't bunk with your—" My gaze shifts to Jett, being mindful of how I speak. "Your puck buddy."

"I want a puck buddy," Jett says with all the innocence in the world.

"You,” I say, pointing a stern finger at my son, “shower, bed, now." He frowns and stomps his way up the stairs.

"No, you don't, little man. They're annoying and Shannon doesn't play hockey,” Collin says to Jett’s retreating back, “and neither do I, Jo."

"I don't care, Captain Chaos. Don't sleep over at the girl's house or in her dorm room. If she has roommates, they'll all be annoyed by you intruding on their personal space."

He waves me off. "I have a rule to never spend more than two nights in a row or else she'll think I'm her boyfriend or something. I also lost my scholarship for next semester."

"Wait, what? Why?" My eyes widen with shock as my pulse races again.

Collin moves from the hallway of the house into the living room, plopping down on the couch where I see he's already made a plate of food for himself. His nonchalance is grating, but it's his life and his education at stake. Still, I can't help but feel partially responsible as he continues detailing this destructively chaotic day. I'm the reason he's always going to intervene.

"Well, this was kinda my third strike. Did you know that Cal East Tech's Tigers, one of the worst football teams in all of the D3 universities, has the balls to put their best players on the team on a contract with a morality clause? A clause that says if I'm fighting in my team uniform, I forfeit my spot on the team for a semester. I can't play, can't even consider myself on the team, and because I can't play or be considered a player, I no longer qualify for my athletic scholarship."

"For fuck's sake, Collin. You really should take those stupid socks. How much is your tuition?"

"We're looking at around twenty-five without the dorm, and thirty-eight if I stay on campus."

"You can stay in the garage apartment. Did you tell Mom and Dad? Can they help at all?"

He chuckles. "Yup, I spoke to them while waiting for you guys to get back. They're not paying for anything because it's my fault."

"Did you video call them? Mom needs to see your face. Fuck. This is going to eat away at my rainy-day fund. I was going to use that in case I didn't book any gigs this week."

"Chill, Jo. Yes, I video called them. Dad said if I wanted their help, I'd have to sit through an entire semester's worth of his lectures on the perils of delinquency in academia and financial risk management. He said I'm too risky of an investment. Can you believe that?"

"Yes. Yes, I can. Your being here is proof of that."

Collin rolls his eyes. "They invested in you. They let you keep this house after they moved. You got Jett. You get to do whatever you want for work. Even though you got pregnant at fifteen, they still invested in you. I stand up for some girl about to get her face smashed in and simply because I'm in my gear, I'm too risky of an investment."

"I get why you did it. That time when Duke got in my face?" I plop down on the couch beside him.

"I should have been able to stop him." Collin murmurs.

"You were twelve, Collin. He would have done worse to you. Dad straightened him out though. He's been a pain in the ass since, but the most he'll do is yell, or even better, terminate his parental rights."

"My lucky socks?" Collin asks with a smirk and a glance upstairs.

"Yup, happened this morning. I have to meet him at the courthouse tomorrow morning. Right before I head to Luca Brisco Studios to discuss my possible leading role for the next Scream Queen horror flick."

He bumps my shoulder playfully with a smile. "You are definitely worth the investment. Congrats, man."

"Thank you, Captain Chaos. How about we help each other out?" I ask him.

Collin raises an eyebrow. "I'm listening."

"I'll call Mom and Dad back and get them to cover half your tuition. I'm supposed to be getting a lump sum payment from Duke with this termination order, so I can use some of that with my savings to pay the mortgage and get you partially paid up. You're going to have to grovel to your coaches and deans to see if they'll let you work off the rest. Don't do anything stupid like take out a loan for it or stay with Shannon. "

"That sounds great, Jo! I knew I could count on you." He hugs me and pulls out his phone, ready to leave.

"Freeze." I beckon him back to the couch with a finger. "This isn't one-sided. You have to do something for me."

"What?" he groans.

"Since you'll be staying here, whenever you're free, if I need you to watch Jett, you have to do it. I already booked one role today, and I'm probably going to take the second one I was offered, too. That means long days and multiple sets. I need all hands-on deck. Especially since Duke's no longer pulling his weight."

"He's such a shit." Collin shifts his eyes upward. "I'll go check on Jett before I head out. I'll be back tomorrow to clean out the garage to make sure that apartment is livable."

He doesn't wait for me to say anything else, darting up the stairs to ensure Jett's actually getting ready for bed. My mind drifts to my conversation with Luca; lucky socks or not, he was right. I'm going to agree to be his leading lady. There are too many things happening pointing me right into the arms of Luca Brisco Studios' sexy owner.

My heart flutters when his face flashes across my mind. His sharp cheekbones and piercing blue eyes ignite desire and lust when I can barely remember what those emotions are supposed to feel like. I have to shake him out of my head. It was harmless flirtation for the scene. That spark between us wasn't real. The kiss was him acting. We were both acting. I'm going to tell myself that until I believe it. Instead of letting my imagination delay the inevitable, I call Luca.

To my surprise, he answers. "This is a lot sooner than forty-eight hours."

"Hi or hello is the appropriate way to answer a phone, Mr. Devlin."

"You're right. Hello, Josephine." His voice is low with a huskiness that speaks to the woman inside of me that misses a man's attention. "Am I right that we need to schedule a meeting in the morning to discuss the role for Starlight?"

"Yes, you're right. I have to make a stop near City Hall to pick up some documents, but that shouldn't take long. We can meet for coffee, if that's okay with you? I would come out to the studio but I don't want to make you wait."

"I'd wait an eternity for you." The subtle pause brings us both to laughter as he continues. "Be honest, was it that bad?"

"It's not bad if we'd known each other longer than ten minutes, Luca."

"You are right. I'll leave the exaggerated romance writing to my script writers, and instead will tell you I enjoyed reading lines with you today. I want to apologize for ambushing you with the new role, but I'm happy you're considering it. By the time we've finished our coffee tomorrow, I promise you'll have all the answers you need to make your decision."

An exhale of relief pushes from my lips because I truly need the role. I hope it's everything I want and more, but I automatically think of our kiss. "Thank you, Luca."

"Don't thank me yet. Do it after we iron out the details. Until tomorrow, sweet Josephine. Have a good night."

"Good night, Luca." We end the call and my skin tingles with goosebumps. The fluttering in the pit of my stomach is from joyous anticipation. It's a stark contrast to walking on eggshells whenever I speak to Duke. However, before I dedicate the next few weeks of my life to being a full-fledged actress, I have to make sure Jett and Collin are taken care of. I make the last call of my night.

"Evening, Jo," Mom answers the video call as my Dad walks around behind her. He's pacing, and she's already shaking her head no. "I saw his eye, Josephine. He should have looked before swinging. If it came from the other guy and not security, we'd be more lenient. He's out of control."

"Mom, you and Dad both know why he did it. It's not his fault security got in the way. He can stay here at the house. I can keep an eye on him, but he can't take the semester off. He'll never go back. I'm taking on two acting jobs, and Collin's going to help me with Jett. I'll need your help with half his tuition."

Dad shouts from behind her while continuing to pace in circles. "You already have one child to take care of, Jo. Your brother doesn't deserve for you to still baby him. He has to be a man and face the consequences of his actions."

"There are going to be much deeper and financially burdensome consequences if we don't help him. Let me paint the picture. Collin doesn't sleep here, but goes to see that girl, Shannon. He'll stay with her. She'll get pregnant. Whether they stay together or not, Collin's spending the rest of his life paying for this action. We have the means to help him."

"She's got a good point, Henry. You know we wouldn't let any of our grands go without, which means we'll be footing a lot more bills if Collin brings a child into this world. It's sounding like we can pay a little now to delay paying a lot with the arrival of an unexpected baby." Mom talks from over her shoulder.

"April, I don't want to pay at all," Dad grumbles. "We'll pay for room and board. That money will go to you since Collin can't be trusted to make good decisions right now. However, what you use it for, Jo, is up to you. I'd make him hustle and work to pay the full tuition on his own."

"Thanks, Dad."

Dad keeps his tone serious as he warns me. "Josephine, make him work hard for that money. He has to realize we won't always bail him out."

"I will, Dad. Love you both, gotta go. Night, Mom." I end the call and turn around to see Collin coming down the stairs with a shit-eating grin on his face. I hurl one of the sofa pillows at him.

"Jo, you're the best."

"I know." I laugh, and he heads out for the night. It doesn't take long after a hot shower for sleep to find me. Dreams of a sexy kiss with a sexy studio owner allow me to revel in my fantasies until the sun snatches Luca away from me.

Its rays are like an imaginary hand shaking me awake fifteen minutes before my alarm. Collin takes his part of our bargain seriously, and gets Jett to school, giving me time to pick the perfect outfit for my meeting with Luca. I have to get rid of Duke as quickly as possible.

Traffic is abysmal, but nothing's going to upset me about this day as I make my way to the Family Court building. It doesn't take long to spot him. Duke's standing outside on the grand steps leading up to the stone pillars.

"Josephine," A voice calls from behind me. They're trying to get me to look their way. I can tell they're close, but not giving Duke my undivided attention is a surefire way to cause a scene on the steps of the courthouse.

I glance over my shoulder, but Duke yells at me. "It's about time you got down here. Who's that?"

A large hand attached to a muscular arm in a crimson dress shirt extends from behind me to shake Duke's hand. My heart thumps hard as I look over my shoulder once more to see the man of my dreams introducing himself to the man of my nightmares.