Bad Teacher

“But he doesn’t,” he growls. “He actually said I don’t give a shit about her because I haven’t checked in with him or Mom in so long.”

I rub his back. “He’s just afraid he’s losing you.”

“Fuck him.”

“No.” I squeeze his shoulder to make him look at me. “He’s your brother. You love each other. That’s why you’re both so mad.”

He grinds his teeth and looks away. “I only did it because I couldn’t focus on my work, and I couldn’t let go of my work. No way. This is too important.”

“You made a sacrifice.”

“How else was I supposed to concentrate on keeping the company running?”

“But now you feel guilty for making that choice,” I say.

He nods again, and I wipe away the tears running down his cheeks. “You can only make one choice in life, TJ. You made yours.”

“And now I have to live with the consequences, which is a mother who thinks her oldest son is dead.”

I bite my lip and pull him in for another hug. “I’m sorry you’re going through this.”

It’s quiet for some time as I hold him tight. His fingers curl around my clothes, and he buries his face in my chest, sniffing hard. I know the smell comforts him, and soon his breathing becomes much less ragged.

“Thank you,” he says as he looks up at me. “For being here.”

“That’s what good girlfriends do,” I say.

I’m proud to belong to him and proud that he belongs to me. Because underneath all that fun and ridiculousness lies an emotional, sensible, and loyal man who I’m so happy I got to know. And now that he’s let me into his life, I can only feel grateful.

But I do hope he didn’t hear the word I said because I’ll be damned if I admit I like him that much.

“Girlfriend?” he mutters, raising his brow. Shit. I guess he did hear. “And here I thought you weren’t planning on becoming my anything.”

“Don’t get your hopes up,” I reply. “It still doesn’t mean you get to flaunt me around the office. It just means I decided I like you. That’s all.”

“Aww …” He makes a pouty face which immediately makes me wanna slap and kiss him at the same time. “So are you saying I can’t introduce you to my mother either?”

My lips part, but I don’t know how to respond.

I’m just wowed.

He wants to introduce me to his family already. That means we’re pretty serious. But the funny thing is, I’m not even sure I wanna say no.

Somehow, the idea of him introducing me as his girlfriend makes me feel giddy inside.

And that, in turn, makes me think, What the fuck is wrong with me?

But I guess that comes with falling head over heels with your boss.

You don’t get to decide what you feel … only what you do.

And what I’m doing right now is grabbing him by the collar and kissing him right on the lips.

He smiles as he kisses me back, murmuring, “Well, I guess that’s a yes then.”

I grin. “Damn right, it is.”

Chapter 23

TJ

We’re in the car together, driving toward my mother’s home. Well, home … more like a room. She shares the building with a bunch of other seniors, and nurses run around all day long. There’s no real sense of ownership even though she could say it’s ‘her room.’ Still, I guess it’s better than being out on her own.

I sigh as I stare out the window, mentally preparing myself. A hand curls around mine, and when I turn my head, I see Lesley smiling at me. She can be so kind. Like she really wants to help me feel better. I can definitely tell she cares about me, and it only makes me fall more in love with her even when I’m not supposed to. I guess there’s no stopping it. She’s quickly becoming one of the few people I trust. I just hope she won’t run off after seeing my family.

“You look worried,” she says.

“Yeah.” I shift in my seat. “I haven’t seen my mom in a long time.”

“It’ll be okay,” she says.

“But what if she’s mad at me? I should’ve been there for her,” I say, rubbing my forehead. “It’s not okay.”

“You had your reasons, and there’s nothing wrong with them. You can explain it to her, can’t you?”

“Yeah, but I’m not sure she’ll understand.” I swallow and stare out the window again. “Besides, my brother will probably be there, and he’ll judge the shit out of me.”

“Maybe you guys just need to talk it out.”

She keeps staring at me as if she can look right into my soul, and it’s kinda scary. Am I that easy to read? Maybe she’s just become skilled at seeing straight into me. Still, she doesn’t know how bad it’s gotten between me and my brother. And I’d rather not discuss it.