Page 101 of Trust Me

He blinked a few times as my words settled. I wondered if he was going to argue. My resolve felt thin, and I prayed that he would just listen to me.

It took a minute, but eventually he released me and got to his feet. My gaze followed him around the room. Every step. Every moment of hesitation. When he stopped at the door, my heart tried to evacuate through my throat.

“Goodnight, Broku.”

Once he was gone, I put a hand over my mouth. What just happened? There was no way I’d just admitted to possibly having feelings for Oliver goddamn Bennett.

With a groan, I grabbed my phone from the nightstand. It was late, and New Mexico was an hour ahead, but he might answer.

It rang almost to the end before the line clicked. “Hey, what’s up?”

The sound of my brother’s voice made my eyes close. Even though we weren’t all that close anymore, he’d helped raise me. When things were bad and I didn’t want to bother my parents, or if it was something I just didn’t want them to know, I called him. And he usually picked up.

“Just wanted to talk,” I replied. I kept my back to the door, but I couldn’t help but wonder if Oli could hear me. Dropping my voice lower, I pulled the blanket over my shoulder. “It’s been a while.”

“Adulthood, where we’re all busy and too exhausted to check in enough.” He chuckled, and I heard a door close on his end. “You been alright? Dad mentioned you’re living on your own now, or with a roommate or something.”

“Yeah, it’s cool. One step at a time, right? That’s what you always said when I was struggling.”

“Are you struggling?”

“No,” I said quickly. “Not any more than usual, at least. It’s just school and work and my social life, you know? They take a toll.”

“I feel that. Gotta say, I’m glad I didn’t go to college.”

“Now you just work in god-awful weather and go home with a sore back.”

“Not as much anymore. I’m supervising now.”

“Damn, really?”

“Yup. I’m thinking about starting my own business, actually. Being independent has its perks, and some of these guys are looking at getting out from under these big builders.”

“Wow. Good for you, Blake.”

“If you’re tired of classes, you could come work for me.”

I snorted. “That’s funny.”

“I’m serious. The money is damn good. Just imagine what we could do with the business. Kennedy Brothers Housing or some shit like that.”

With a laugh, I rolled onto my back. “It has a nice ring to it, but it’s not my dream.”

“Yeah, I know. When you’re done being a slave to your student loans, maybe you’ll hire me, though.”

“Only if you give me a big discount.”

He made a skeptical sound. “We’ll see.”

“I have a better idea. Build Mom and Dad a new house. Somewhere away from the city.”

There was silence on the other end, which made me close my eyes. That was my goal, and I couldn’t imagine seeing it any other way. One day, I’d get them out of the hole they’d been stuck in for so long. Even if I had to sacrifice for a while, I’d make sure they got to relax after how much they’d put in for us. All those hours that were destroying my mom’s body. The pain my dad was in every day. The way they’d been screwed by broken systems that existed on false promises.

“Yeah, maybe I will,” he said after a while.

I wasn’t sure if he meant it, but it was better than nothing.

Now that we were talking, I didn’t want to bring up anything that was going on. I just wanted to have a conversation with my brother and shoot the shit. That was what I needed—a little slice of normalcy in this whirlwind I’d been swept up by in the past couple of months.

The whirlwind was still waiting out there, but right here, I was just Dean Kennedy. A simple, unassuming linebacker who didn’t stand out in any meaningful way because I didn’t want to.