Chapter Twelve: Hailey

I was in the kitchen making dinner while Noah babbled on about his day at daycare and the new friend he made that day.

It hadn’t been long since we got home and I was so very glad that Noah was able to be on campus with me. It made my life so much easier because I didn’t know how else I would have been able to juggle classes, mothering and working part time.

I savored spending the quality time with my son, treasuring the minutes because they were becoming rarer with the demands of school.

Dinner was a simple pasta fare with cleverly cloaked veggies that Noah downed without realizing. We had his favorite desert – a slice of chocolate cake.

He helped me clean up afterward. In the way of kids, he made more of a mess in the process but I had fun watching him have try.

Next, we moved to the bathroom and he had a bath. I would have to clean up after that too because he got to rigorous in his splashing.

After Noah was all cleaned up and dressed in Spiderman pajamas, we read a bedtime story and tucked into in to his bed.

“Good night, baby boy,” I said, smoothing his hair back to kiss his forehead

“Good night, Mommy,” he returned, speech slurred.

He yawned and I knew that his droopy eyes meant he would be fast asleep within minutes.

After cleaning up the bathroom and tidying up the living room, I pulled out my books and knocked out some homework before studying up the chapter that would be discussed in one my classes tomorrow.

I yawned and wiped my sore eyes after some time had passed.

Looking at the clock on the wall, I saw that three hours had already passed in what felt like the blink of an eye.

I put my books away and got up to stretch the kinks out. I checked on Noah, confirmed that he was sleeping peacefully then went to take a shower.

I dressed in an old tee shirt and a cotton panties. I pulled my hair up into a messy bun then patrolled the house one last time to make sure everything was secure.

I was about to turn into bed when my cell phone rang.

My heart jumped in my chest thinking it might be Wyatt despite the horrible way the talk we had had gone a few hours before. I had mostly been successful in keeping my mind off him and what had transpired between us earlier but there was no avoiding it now.

I was resolved in keeping my distance from him.

For a moment while we talked earlier I had faltered, thinking I saw pain his eyes at my words but the imagined emotion was gone as fast as I thought it appeared. He had been his old, no-care self.

I was slightly disappointed. A small part of me had harbored a secret desire that he would have fought to convince we that we could be more than fuck friends. His phone calls after we had parted ways at the library made me think he might want more than “benefits”. But when his last words to me have been about sex in bio class, I knew it was hopeless for us.

Our talk just convinced me that I had made the right decision.

A clean break from Wyatt was for the best.

Still, I was frozen for a moment as I watched the phone vibrate on the bedside table.

I slowly reached for it and looked at the caller ID.

I released the breath I had been holding as I read the name.

It wasn’t Wyatt.

It was my dad.

I answered, “Hey Dad, what’s wrong?”

It was minutes to midnight. He wouldn’t have called so late unless something was wrong.

“Hi honey, I’m sorry to call so late but I just had to talk to someone. I just had a big blow out with Joe and he ran out. I’m worried about your brother. He has been hanging with bad crowd lately and he gets testy every time I try to talk to him about it. I’m just worried he will end up in trouble.”

I bit back a sigh.

My parents adopted a very overprotective style of parenting and Joe hadn’t been reacting to the helicopter parenting well lately. He was a young man starting to form his own opinions about the world and their attempts to figuratively keep him protected in bubble wrap was causing tension.

They had had several blow ups as of late and if Dad didn’t let up, it wouldn’t get better any time soon.

Dad was most likely worried for nothing. Joe had a good head on his shoulders and wasn’t easily swayed by others. Still, I told my father what he needed to hear.

“I’ll talk to him, Dad.”

He made a sound of relief and replied, “Thanks, sweetie. If anyone can get through to him it is you.”

***

That next morning, Joe and I were seated at Angie’s Bakery having scones. I had kept my promise to my father, I’d check in. We’d eat some delicious baked goods and Joe would tell me he was fine and then we could all move on. I was sure of it.

Except when I arrived, it looked like Dad had been a least a little bit right. I noticed how tired Joe looked. Haggard even.

Finally, Joe broke our carb induced silence.

“Let me guess? Dad asked you to speak to me.”

Looking even closer, I saw that he had lost some weight and his movements were a little nervous in nature.

I frowned. Dad may be right to worry this time.

“He is just worried about you, you know,” I said.

Joe made an exasperated sound and put his scone down as if it suddenly left a bad taste in his mouth.

“God, not you too,” he groaned.

“Why are you being so defensive?” I asked him. “I just want to know how my little brother is doing. Why is that wrong?”

“I do not need you to look out for me. I’m a big boy,” he replied.

“You’re never going to be too old for me to look out for you. I’m your big sister. It’s what big sisters do.”

I reached out and took a hold of his hand. “You would come to me if something was wrong, right? You can trust me with whatever.”

I was suddenly worried that I had been so wrapped up in my own life that I had been neglecting on my older sis duties. My family may have their annoying moments but I loved them with all my heart and would do anything for them.

Joe rolled his eyes like I was being dumb, pulling his hand away. “Of course I know that.”

“Then talk to me,” I said and I remembered someone else besieging me in a similar way not too long ago.

I pushed that thought back.

“There is nothing to talk about,” Joe said and that response sounded hauntingly familiar too. “I have everything under control.”

Joe wiped his hand on a napkin, most of his scone left untouched.

His last statement didn’t sit well with me and I opened my mouth to grill him more but he beat me to the punch. He stood, towering over me. I stood as well.

“Look, I have some place I need to be. See you later, sis,” he said.

Although he leaned over to kiss my cheek, our meeting ended far from satisfactory.

I watched him leave the bakery and hated to agree with my father by my brother was definitely hiding something.

I was going to find out what.

I grabbed my book bag and headed back to campus. I still had one more class for the day before I had to pick up Noah from daycare.

As I drove, I was plotting how I would uncover what was up with my little brother.