I was happy he was doing that for me.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Sloane
“Is this really necessary?”
My brother groaned as we passed under Windsor Preparatory’s familiar crest. I’d driven him to school on his first day back.
And yes, it was necessary.
He may be cleared for school, cleared for driving, but I wanted to drive him. I also didn’t mind it, and he’d get the fuck over it.
“You’ll be fine.” I patted his leg, and he shoved it over. I chuckled. “Anyway, we’re bonding. Let us bond.”
“You mean you’re hovering.” He cut his eyes in my direction, but he did grin at me. He shook his head. “Whatever, but I’m driving my own ass the rest of the week. What the fuck would I look like?”
He’d look like a kid who’d been sick out of school for a while. A long while. Me driving him, at least for today, was me making sure he didn’t have any trouble with anything.
I obviously couldn’t be with him in his classes, but during our video call with Callum at breakfast this morning, Callum had said he’d spoken to the school. The academy said they’d make any accommodations my brother would need. Bru could also opt for shorter days as needed if he was feeling too weak or anything.
As of today, Bru was pretty much good as far as his strength, but since none of us knew what bug he’d had, it was better safe than sorry.
I pulled into a parking space. “Just humor me for like a solid minute,” I growled. “I basically watched you die for like ever.”
“I wasn’t dying.” He said this, but he really couldn’t say that. He hadn’t been on the other end. He hadn’t had to watch him be sick. In my silence, Bru faced me. “I’ll be fine. If I wasn’t, I sure as fuck wouldn’t be going back to school. Please, just stop worrying for once.”
I made no promises and jumped when someone tapped Bru’s window.
Ares lowered his head of curly hair directly in front of Bru’s side. He grinned. “He lives!”
“Hell, yeah.” Bru chuckled, and I rolled my eyes, getting out. Bru did too, and I grabbed our bags out of the back while he greeted Ares.
“Back at school and in the fucking flesh.” Ares shook Bru’s hand, giving him one of those handshake-hug things that guys did. Ares snapped his fingers. “I see your sister didn’t make you come in a wheelchair today.”
“Not for lack of trying,” Bru joshed, and I snarled at him.
“Yeah, screw you,” I shot, then jutted a chin at Ares. “And screw you even more.”
Ares mock-pouted. “I’m hurt, little. And here I was trying to bid you both good morning.”
That would be a first, but apparently, one of many when it came to him.
In addition to visiting my brother in the hospital, we’d worked on our project every night this week. He was also often the first person I saw in the mornings recently too. The pair of us had to do double duty with that mural since my brother had gotten sick.
I’d been seeing Ares Mallick’s face way more than I thought I would, and interestingly enough, not in a bad away. We really did work well together, and I’d be lying if I said the project hadn’t been therapy since Bru had returned home. I got to do that instead of hovering over my brother.
Ares dropped an arm across Bru’s shoulders. “In all seriousness, it’s good to see you back.”
“It’s good to be back,” Bru said, the pair of them jostling each other like they did on the field. I missed that, seeing my brother with friends. Things had been so different before he’d gotten sick, and well, other things.
Those other things loomed in the air when I noticed we had an audience. The three of us may have been by ourselves, but there were definitely three onlookers nearby.
Dorian, Wells, and Thatcher hung out by their Audis, the three of them passing a joint around. In fact, they appeared so much like that first day I’d seen them I got chills. That hadn’t been a good day and had basically set the tone for a lot of crap that came after.
I supposed a lot of that had been my fault, and though I was over Legacy and how hot and cold they were being, I couldn’t help how it felt to see Dorian again. I’d been at school since Bru had come home. I had to. If anything, to make sure Bru and I graduated on time. I had to get his coursework and stay up on mine, but in all that time, I’d never seen Dorian. I’d seen Thatcher, Wells, and even Wolf in the courtyard at lunch, but Dorian had always been absent.
I never knew the reason why. Didn’t care why, so seeing him now definitely jarred me.