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I refrain from rolling my eyes. “You’re his brother.”
“And?”
“You know what?” Miles interrupts. “You should start giving me gas money, Justin. You have me running you around town way more than she does, anyway. Maybeyoushould look for a job.”
“I don’t want a job. I’m in high school,” he argues.
“So is she,” Miles argues back.
“She shouldn’t get a job either.” He turns his attention back to me. “You barely have free time as it is, if you take this job I’ll never get to see you.”
Of course I had thought about that, and it did make me sad. Knowing that I’ll have to run to work after school instead of here to hang out with him. It just isn’t an option for me right now like he thinks it is. I don’t have the luxury of expecting anyone to do anything for me. Regardless of what Miles said, he’s not going to stop giving Justin rides. That’s how it’s supposed to go when you’re family. You do things for each other without needing anything in return.
Unless you’re mine.
“It’ll take some getting used to,” is all I say.
Justin and Miles go back and forth, pushing each other's buttons. I like that Miles isn’t a pushover when it comes to his younger brother. Justin gets away with a lot in life. I don’t resent him for it, it’s just nice to see him receive a little resistance every once in a while.
I flip through the pages, skimming the words and signing where needed. Dress code, harassment policy, etcetera. When I get to the emergency contact portion, I freeze. Who do you put as your emergency contact when you don’t have parents?
The guys must notice the look on my face because they both move their attention to the form in front of me.
“Can’t you use Jade’s mom?” Justin asks.
“She works like all day every day. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I don’t think it matters really, they probably only call them if you die on the job or something.”
Jade’s mom is a delivery nurse, and I wouldn’t want her to get a call about me in the middle of something much more important.
“And how would you know?” Miles chimes in.
“I’m assuming,” he snaps.
I’m running through options in my mind when I blurt out, “What about your mom?”
Justin looks at me like I’m joking and then he scoffs.
“No. That’s weird.”
“How is that weird?” Miles and I ask at the same time. I say jinx before he can. He just chuckles before our attention goes back to Justin.
“She’s not your mom.”
“Neither is Linda.”
“She’s more your mom than mine is.”
I don’t know why that stings so bad, but it feels like a physical blow. I love Amelia, and we’ve been spending a lot of time together. She includes me in family things I’ve never done before, like cooking dinner, or going grocery shopping.
I like to think about what my life would be like if I’d had a mom like Amelia instead of my own. To hear Justin undermine it… even if it’s just because he's possessive of her in some infantile way, it hurts.
“Are you really crying because I said that?” he moans. I don’t bother to answer, afraid my voice will crack. He waits for a few seconds before sighing and heading off to his room.
I don’t follow, I stare down at the paper that’s making me feel way crappier than I could have imagined.
Miles leans in like he’s reading it, but I know he already looked it over.
