Jesse was the one in the apartment last night.
Why would Allison keep this from me? Because she’s stubborn. She doesn’t want me involved. Maybe even part of her doesn’t trust me to involved after the mix-up on Tuesday.
So, what am I going to do about this?
I drive into Brooks’ driveway and park my bike, pulling my helmet off. The old man is there, working on a blue car, and he frowns at me as he looks up.
“You’re late,” he says severely.
“Sorry, old man, something came up,” I say.
Brooks’ brow creases, and his eyes search mine. I look back evenly. I adore the old man, because he gave me my life back, but I’m not going to apologize for this, not when I know something is going on with Allison.
“Is everything alright?”
Brooks asks after a moment.
I smile slightly. He can always read me like a book.
“Allison broke up with me this morning,” I tell him.
Brooks blinks. “You don’t look upset by it.”
“That’s because she’s lying,” I say, taking my jacket off and laying it over the seat of my bike. “She’s doing this for my sake, somehow, but I can’t figure out why.”
“Huh,” Brooks says, handing me a can. “Check the oil, boy. Why do you think she lied to you?”
“It’s her ex, Jesse,” I explain, twisting the cap on the oil line and wiping the dipstick on a rag I found on the table behind me. I stick it back in. “He broke into her apartment last night, and she’s refusing to tell me about it. I think she wants to handle it on her own.”
“How do you know he broke in?” Brooks asks.
I remove the dipstick and look at it. The oil is low, so I open the can Brooks gave me.
“I saw the signs,” I say. “The frame was broken. So was the lock. I don’t even know if she can close the door properly. And she knew about it, because she rushed to the door to try and stop me from noticing.” I scowl. “What I don’t know is how he got in there without either of us noticing.”
“You were there last night?” Brooks asks with the hint of a smile.
“We went on a date last night,” I say seriously. “An actual one, and we asked each other questions and got to know each other. Allison even let me take her for a ride on my motorbike, and I booked an Italian restaurant for us. Then I stayed the night.” I find a funnel and brandish it at Brooks. “It was a great night. Which is why it was really fucking confusing when she broke up with me.”
“I bet,” Brooks agrees, bemused. “But have you considered the possibility that she just wanted to break up with you?”
I went quiet. Yes, I have considered that. Of course I have. Even if I know Jesse broke in last night, there’s still a chance that Allison already wanted to break up with me, and she was just hiding the signs so that I didn’t feel like I had to be involved with her any more.
“Yeah,” I say roughly. “And if that’s the case, then that’s alright, too.”
Brooks is silent for a long moment. Without him asking, I check the fluid, finding that that’s low as well.
“You’ve really grown up, boy,” Brooks says finally, his voice quiet.
I almost drop the bottle of coolant, I’m so startled by his words.
“What?” I say.
Brooks smiles at me. “You’ve come a long way from that idiot nineteen-year-old that wanted to take on the world for taking your father from you. I’m glad I decided to train you.”
I look away, suddenly feeling awkward. I’m not sure what inspired him to say those words, but I can’t deny the warmth that rushes through me.
“It was all thanks to you, old man,” I say gruffly.