4
EASTON
“Babe, what’s wrong?” Hollis asks, a frown marring her pretty face as she tugs at my sleeve.
“Nothing,” I lie, not wanting to tell my girlfriend how bad things are between me and my brother at this point. I close my locker on autopilot as I stare at my brother down the hallway.
“Is it Bodhi?” she asks, sliding her arms around my waist as she follows my troubled gaze. “What’s he doing hanging around with those guys? I didn’t know he was friends with Otis and Mahlik.”
“He’s not.” Easing her arms off me, I bend down and peck her lips. “I’m gonna catch up to him. Go to class. You don’t want to be late.”
She grabs the sleeve of my uniform jacket, halting my forward trajectory. “You don’t want to be late either. Bodhi has gotten you into enough trouble lately.”
Hollis’s parents found out about our recent suspension, and to say they weren’t happy is an understatement. Her family comes from old money, and they live by old-world values and traditions. They are super strict with her. She isn’t allowed out on school nights, and they impose a curfew on weekends. I might respect that if it didn’t limit our time together and the opportunities to hookup and if her dad wasn’t a giant asshole.
He looks down his nose at my parents because of their celebrity status and how they made their money. I couldn’t give two shits what Mr. Astor thinks really, except it matters to my girlfriend, and I’m crazy about her. We got together at the end of summer break, and we have been pretty much inseparable since then.
Best two months of my life.
“Stop worrying.” I kiss her again, hating I can’t linger. “I’ll see you at lunch.”
She palms my cheek and smiles sadly at me before turning around and walking in the direction of her first class. I sprint down the hallway, calling out to Bodhi as he starts walking off. He ignores me, and I clench my fists at my sides as familiar annoyance bubbles to the surface.
I am so sick of this bullshit.
I wish to fuck we’d never watched that damn movie.
“Wait up!” Grabbing a fistful of his shirt, I yank Bodhi back. Otis and Mahlik slow their pace, turning to look. “I need a word with my brother—in private,” I say, hoping they get the hint.
They don’t. Leaning against the wall of lockers, they stab me with hostile looks that might scare some people, but not me.
“Fuck off.” Bodhi wrestles out of my grip and turns to glare at me.
“You can’t keep ignoring me forever.” I eyeball my brother, pretending like the two assholes aren’t listening to every word.
“I don’t want to talk to you.” Bodhi purposely shoves me, and I can’t get over how much he has changed in such a short span of time. Unless he was hiding this part of his personality for years, stewing over the past, and now it’s all come rushing to the surface, like a dormant volcano sprung to life.
Bo works out with Dad in our home gym, and he’s bulked up a lot this past year, but he’s still not a match for my strength, and I don’t so much as flinch when he shoves me. Coach puts us through our paces every morning before school and most evenings at practice, and my body is a solid block of muscle. “I’m your brother, and this shit isn’t cool. I’m not the enemy, Bo.” I lower my voice as I lean in closer to him. “Why are you shutting me out? We need to talk about this. Turning on one another is not the way to handle it.”
Bo has always been quiet and introspective. Except with me. We always tell each other shit, and it hurts that he’s pushing me away and refusing to speak to me. This past week has been a total shit show. Mom is crying all the time but trying to hide it. Dad is attempting to break through Bo’s walls and get him to open up, but he’s getting nowhere. My little sisters have picked up on the tension, and they’re acting out. “You’re not the only one hurting. It’s hurt me too.”
He snorts out a laugh and levels me with a look that can only be described as hateful. “Of course, you would make this about you.” He shoves me again, and I’m starting to get angry now. “You are so fucking selfish and so self-centered. What the fuck do you have to be angry about? You’re not the one who was dumped on and abandoned his entire life. But poor E. The attention is on me this time, and you don’t know how to handle it, so you try to make it about you. Fucking typical.”
Otis and Mahlik laugh, and my hands clench at my sides. I want to knock their two ignorant heads together and unleash some of the burning frustration racing through my veins. I am literally speechless. I cannot form a single word in response to the utter bullshit that has just streamed from my brother’s mouth.
I grind my teeth to the molars as I stare at the stranger in front of me. This is not my brother. I don’t know who Bodhi is anymore, and he’s really starting to scare me.
We need to have this out but not here.
“We’ll talk at home.”
“Are you deaf?!” Bodhi moves to shove me again, but I step back.
If he pushes me one more time, I will not be responsible for my actions, and I really don’t want to fight my brother.
“I want nothing to do with you,” he hisses. “Leave me the fuck alone.”
Pain spreads across my chest as I watch him walk away, and I hope it’s not prophetic.