“Me? What did I do?”
Tossing me down on his bed, he pulls the covers over me and then gets in on his side. “You sleep there. Not on the other side of the penthouse. Right here, next to me.”
“Oh? And don’t I get a say in this?”
“Do you want one?”
I shrug. “I might. You’re old, and old people tend to snore.”
He lets out a deep belly laugh, one that makes me feel things I’m not sure I’m okay with. “There’s the sass. I was afraid you lost it for a minute there.”
“You wish,” I quip. “Besides, I think you secretly love it when I fuck with you.”
Wrapping an arm around me, he pulls me in close and kisses me before laying his head on the pillow and closing his eyes. “Goodnight, Cherry Bomb.”
I roll my eyes and smile at the nickname. “Goodnight, Caveman.”
THE NEXT MORNING, I wake up to find the bed empty beside me. The time on the alarm clock reads 9:13, telling me that Asher knew going to school today wasn’t something I planned on doing. I know I’ll need to go back soon, but the last thing I need right now is for Easton to try talking to me again, or worse, my dad showing up there. No. Laying low here is the best thing for me right now.
I get up and go into the living room in hopes to find Asher making breakfast, but instead, I find Colby. He’s eating a bowl of cereal and watching a recording of some football game. Clearing my throat, it gets his attention and he smiles at me.
“Hey, Spyro.”
A small chuckle bubbles out. “Spyro?”
His brows raise. “Uh, yeah. The little fire-breathing dragon!” He puts the bowl onto the coffee table. “Tell me you’ve heard of Spyro.”
I shake my head, looking at him like he’s lost his mind.
“Okay, well, now I know what we’re doing today.”
As he grabs the PlayStation controllers and switches something on the TV, I walk around to sit on the couch.
“Where’s Asher?” I question.
He waves me off dismissively. “He had to work and told me you’re staying home another day, so I figured I’d come over to keep you company.”
I level him with a look. “You mean Asher asked you to come babysit me.”
He stares at me with the guiltiest look on his face, and I groan. Of course, Asher told him to come here. It’s like he doesn’t trust me to be alone. Yesterday, when I told him I wasn’t going to school, he called out without question. It was just immediately determined that he wasn’t going in either. I understood it then, being as the day before I literally had a breakdown in front of him, but this?
I pull my phone out of my pocket and type out a text with a little more force than necessary.
Tessa: A babysitter? Really?
Just as I hit send, Colby sighs. “Don’t be mad at him. I mean, you did burn a house down a couple days ago. He probably just wanted to make sure he has a home to come back to.”
“Ha. Ha,” I reply sarcastically.
He hands me a controller with a dimpled grin. “I promise to be fun, and I won’t even make you eat your vegetables.”
I take it from him just as my phone vibrates on my lap.
Asher: Good morning to you, too.
Okay, he wants to play it that way.
Tessa: Well, at least Colby is nice to look at. You could have picked worse.