Jenson
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
I heard Dad sigh. “Yes. I’m fine. Now stop worrying and enjoy college.”
Why should I stop worrying? He would worry about me.
“Is Mom there?”
“Yes, she’s here and she’s not letting me off the sofa.” I heard Mom’s voice in the background, muffled yet I knew she was telling Dad off.
“Okay, okay.” Dad sighed again, clearly becoming exasperated by my mom. “Your mother says hi and to also get off the phone. Apparently, the phone causes me stress.” I could almost hear Dad’s eye roll and I smiled.
“Tell Mom I love her and that I don’t cause you any stress … the twins do, though.”
Dad chuckled, then sighed again as I heard Mom’s muffled voice once more. “Look, son, I gotta go. According to your mother, I’m not resting like I should.”
I could just imagine my mother standing over him, shoe in hand, ready to beat him to get off the phone. And then tell him he’s not relaxed enough.
Honestly. My mother…
“I’m going now, Dad.” I glanced across the room at Adam, who was sitting at his desk, head in a book. “I’ve gotta get ready for work.”
“Okay and … uh … thanks for calling.” I could hear the smile, and that brought out my own smile.
“No problem.” I sat up on my bed. “Love you, Dad.”
“Love you too, son.”
Pressing the end button on the call, I tossed my phone onto the bed, then swung my legs over the side, placing my socked feet on to the thin carpet.
“So.” I watched as Adam flinched. “What are we gonna do?”
Adam lifted his eyes from his book and frowned. “What do you mean?” He glanced at his watch. “Thought you said you had to get ready for work.”
“I do.” I stood up and stretched my arms over my head, feeling my back muscles flex. Mmm. That was better. “But I meant, what are we gonna do with you?”
He dropped his book on his desk and spun around in his chair. “What are you talking about?”
Dropping my hands back down, I smirked at him. “I mean … you want to see Thomas again, right?”
Adam immediately ducked his head, his cheeks taking on a bit of colour already. Kind of thought the mention of Thomas’s name would have that effect on him.
Chuckling, I strolled over to him and leaned on his desk, trapping him on his chair between the wall and my body.
“Thought so.” I reached over and squeezed his shoulder as he looked at the floor, his cheeks flaming red. “If you want to see him again, why don’t you come home with me over Thanksgiving? Thomas only lives about an hour away from my house. He lives near Caleb.”
Adam pulled the sleeves on his long-sleeved t-shirt over his wrists, bunching them in his hands.
“But … what about your mom?” He muttered, his eyes on the desk in front of him. “You can’t just invite me to your house without talking to her first.”
“My mom will love you. She’ll just make a huge fuss out of you. Feed you up. Constantly refilling your water glass.” I leaned back and folded my arms across my chest as images of my mom flittered across my mind.
Over the years, Mom had done the same thing to all of my friends … fussed over them, made sure they had plenty to eat, plenty to drink. She especially loved Oliver and had kind of adopted him and his brother for a while after their own mom died. She’d also supported their dad during his grief by making him meals to heat in the microwave. Bought some groceries. Even cleaned his house a time or two.
Honestly, Mom would love to have Adam for a few days. She’d make it so that he wouldn’t want to leave. I knew that was how Caleb felt whenever he came to our house, although I was sure that some of the reason he didn't want to leave was to do with me, too.
“My mom would wait on you hand and foot.” I nudged Adam’s chair with my toe. “And she’d love every second of it.”
“What about your dad?” He raised his dark eyes, a look of worry etched onto his face. “You said he needed rest after … well …” He looked away again, his hands in his lap fidgeting.
I blew out a breath. That had been horrible, watching my big strong father fall to the floor.
Fuck.
I never wanted that to happen again. Ever. I was glad that I had the mother I did … there was no way she would let him go back to work until he was completely ready. And even then, he would have to get through my mom’s checks, which I was sure would be far more thorough than those the doctors would do.
“Yeah, Dad needs his rest.” I sighed. “And Mom’s making sure he gets it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t stay, you know.” I nudged his chair again. “And you know what else would be awesome about coming home with me?”
Adam raised his head once more. “What?”
“You get to see me.” I flashed him a smile and wriggled my eyebrows. “Isn’t that worth it?”
Adam rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sure. Whatever you say.”
“Hey.” I leaned over and shoved his shoulder. “A little more enthusiasm, please.”
I started to laugh, but the sound caught in my throat as I watched him rub his shoulder, his face pinched as if he was in pain.
Shit.
“Are you okay?” I leaned over once more, but he dodged my touch.
“Yeah,” he muttered. “I … uh … just slept on my shoulder a bit weird last night, that’s all.” He shrugged, then winced, and rubbed his shoulder again, avoiding my eyes. “Just hurts a bit.”
Yeah, right.
It was more than that.
After seeing the purple bruise on his arm, I had been wondering if there were any other parts of him that were marked up, too. He’d come back to college with that bruise, and by the looks of it, there was something wrong with his shoulder. He didn’t have those injuries before the summer break. I’d told Caleb about what I thought, but had asked him to not say anything to Thomas. I kind of figured I’d give Adam the chance to explain, to tell me what happened.
But already he was making excuses, it seemed.
Adam rose to his feet, still clutching his shoulder. He cast me a quick sidelong glance. “Didn’t you just say that you had to get ready for a shift at work?”
“Not till you answer my question.” I stood up, my arms still across my chest. “Will you come home with me over Thanksgiving?”
Adam blew out a breath, then winced as his fingers squeezed his shoulder. “I’ll think about it.” He walked around me and over to his wardrobe to open the door. “Think I’ll grab a hot shower. The heat may help my shoulder.”
