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I snorted at Drake’s question, not upset over the conversation change in the least. “Considering we aren’t in the same grade and I have more bullies than buddies, you could say that.”
“Bullies?”
Shrugging, I broke down the box I’d emptied while hoping a non-cavalier tone bled through my words. “I’m the only carrottop in my class, I’m the last to hit puberty, and my voice still cracks with every other word. Add the pettiness of other rich kids who are jealous of your status, and what do you expect?”
“For people to be decent human beings,” he stated, his voice pissed off. “But yeah—it hardly ever happens. Teenagers especially are assholes. But don’t worry. I’ll be there for you. Anyone gives you shit, you let me know.”
“I wouldn’t want you to get into trouble.” And I could only imagine how Jacqueline would go into a rage if he caused any drama for the Casswell family even though his surname was different than ours.
“Taking care of what’s mine will never be trouble.”
I stared at Drake’s wide shoulders as he shoved an armload of jeans into his bottom drawer. He thought of me as his? A strange twinge radiated through my chest, a feeling I’d never experienced before. Appreciation, probably since most days I swore even my own mother would rather I hadn’t been born.
I’d always wanted a brother, someone I could confide in, someone who had firsthand experience of living with a particular mother who found everything about me lacking regardless of how hard I tried to please her. Gain her love.
Now I do.
My throat tightened, and the sight of Drake’s back went hazy. I shuddered with an exhale.
He turned, but I couldn’t make out his face. “Hey.” He hopped up, arms opened as he moved toward me.
It was easy as breathing to step into his embrace. I closed my leaking eyes and clung to his old Aerosmith T-shirt again. He smelled like soap with a hint of dryer sheets. Clean. Untouched by Mom’s negativity and money.
Drake Hemmings was the most real guy I’d ever met.
I wanted to keep him forever.
Chapter 3
Drake
It had been ten days since I’d arrived in New York, and Preston hadn’t escaped the penthouse once. I’d asked him to show me downtown Manhattan, but he claimed to dislike crowds and noise. Seeing how easily he grew anxious around just his mom and my dad, I’d eventually left him alone. I ended up checking out the city by myself since even Dad couldn’t be bothered to leave his new wife’s side and had accepted a lowly position in her family’s business.
One afternoon was all it had taken for me to know bustling New York City wouldn’t ever grow on me with its noise and people who couldn’t be bothered to make eye contact. Central Park might be okay for the occasional morning run instead of the treadmill, but that was about it. I’d returned to sit inside the glass building that would be my whole world until I graduated.
There was a gym on one of the lower floors, exclusively for those who lived in the building, but Preston had no interest in joining me there either even though I’d begged him often enough. I thought I’d intimidated him when we’d first met, but I quickly learned he avoided people as a whole. Even the seamstress who’d come for our uniform fittings had made him uncomfortable. That and the how Jacqueline kept snapping at him to hold still or turn a certain way.
Fuck did I hate how she made her son cower in on himself. She, without doubt, was the sole source of his low self-esteem. It was too bad he couldn’t just tell her to fuck off and go live with Nancy.
But he’d explained how Nancy had her own life to figure out and couldn’t afford to provide for her son.
At least we had school to disrupt the boredom and allow us an escape from Napoleon reborn.
“I’ve got this.”
I barely made out Preston’s whisper to himself as he stepped onto the elevator in front of me.
We both carried backpacks, his fuller than mine with supplies for his freshman year.
That promised limo waited downstairs to take us to Dupont Prep for our first day of school, but there was no hiding both of our underlying nervousness.
Dad and Jacqueline had seen us off at the front door, Dad’s hard hug hurting my ribs. Upon seeing how Dad bid me goodbye, Jacqueline put her arms around Preston in an awkward as fuck half-hug that seemed to make both of them uncomfortable. Even her smile in wishing us good luck looked fake as hell.
I didn’t know what the fuck her problem was, but I didn’t like it—or her—at all.
But my father was happy for now, and I had a clock counting down the minutes until I could return to where I belonged. Sure, I would miss Dad when I went off to college, but I felt sure we had the type of friendship bond atop our dad/son thing that wouldn’t ever be broken. If he and Jacqueline even lasted that long.
I doubted he and his new wife would miss us that morning though. They couldn’t keep their hands off each other, so rather than going into the office like they usually did on workdays, I expected they would spend the day in bed since they had the place to themselves for the first time since we’d moved in.
