Page 119 of Trust Me

“Yeah.” I smiled as I watched Dean mock Brooks, waving his arms in the air with a girlish squeal.

“This caught me by surprise, but Dean looks happy.”

“I hope he is. I mean, I hope I can make him happy.”

“Hey, I’m the only one allowed to be an anxious mess, okay? Don’t go and steal my thing.”

With a laugh, I splashed him with a handful of water. He made a disgruntled sound as he backed away.

There was a buzz, then he looked down at the phone in his hand. His nose wrinkled as he held it away from him. “Dean, it’s doing a thing.”

“What?” Dean shouted from the other side of the pool.

Tilian held up the phone, showing him the screen. “It’s”—he put a finger in his mouth and gagged—“ringing.”

“Can you answer it?”

His eyes widened. “Absolutely not, you psychopath.”

“Well, who is it?”

“Your mom.”

Dean growled and started moving closer. I held my hand out, motioning for Tilian to pass it to me.

“Hello,” I said cheerily into the phone.

“Dean? Is that you?”

His mom’s voice put me on alert immediately. My eyes shifted to Dean, who had started messing with Brooks again after he saw me take the phone.

“Uh, no. This is Oliver. Are you alright, Mrs. Kennedy?”

“Oliver, I’m sorry, but can you get him for me? It’s important.”

“Of course. Dean.”

He looked over at me, the smile on his face faltering when he saw my expression. We met halfway, and he took the phone from me, bringing it to his ear.

“Hey, Mom. What’s going on?”

I wished I could hear what she said, but it would be rude to ask him to put it on speaker. This was a family thing, and I wasn’t part of their family.

Dean pulled himself out of the pool in one fluid movement, then walked toward the locker room. I took in the tight set of his shoulders and his rushed movements. Unable to stand it, I followed.

“How did that happen?” I heard him ask. “How long was he there before—Jesus . . . No, I know. You said that . . . I’ll get on a plane . . . Mom.”

I trailed my hand along the wall as I turned the corner. Dean was standing in front of the sauna door, pacing back and forth. When he turned and saw me, my chest constricted at the pained look on his face. Not sure what to do, I just stood there watching. After a second, he looked away from me and lowered his voice.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Okay . . . What’d they say? What the hell do you mean you don’t want me to come? He’s my dad!”

I flinched at the outburst. My eyes closed as I listened to him, trying to read between the lines.

“Okay . . . Yeah, okay. Did you talk to Blake yet? I can call him for you . . . No, I don’t want you to do it. Just stay with him, okay? Yeah, I love you too, Mom . . . I promise I’ll be fine. Just update me as soon as you can.”

Something touched my face, making my hand fly up as my eyes opened. He caught it, and I let out a breath.

“Sorry.”