“It was an accident,” I shouted before Jackson could defend himself. “I had the flu and was feeling crappy, but I ran out of Tylenol for my fever and fell asleep until it was dark. I was dumb and went out dressed all in black, not even thinking about the fact that the spot in front of my building needs more lights on the streets at night.”
Marcus’s eyes squinted as he listened, flicking between his twin and me. “So he mounted the sidewalk?”
“Uh, no. Jackson hit me as I was crossing the road.”
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Marcus took in a deep breath like he was trying to calm himself down.
“Why didn’t you tell Mom?” he asked Jackson, then opened his eyes on me. “Do your dads know?”
“I told him not to tell anyone.”
Sadie looked like she understood it even without an explanation, but Elijah was looking at me now like I’d grown a second head. Maybe even a third one, if his gaping mouth was anything to go by.
“You told him not to tell anyone?”
Throwing my good hand up with exasperation, I tried to explain it.
“My dads are way overprotective, and after shit happened at my first college, they were going to make me move home and do my course online. I said hell no and swore blind I could look after myself. If they’d found out that I’d been hit by a car while I had the flu, that I had a concussion and broken limbs, they’d have either wrecked trying to get here faster than is humanly possible, or they’d have started back on getting me to move home.”
I stopped and tugged at the bottom of my shorts, grateful that this time they weren’t as indecent as the sleep shorts. “I don’t want to put them through that amount of stress, but I also want to graduate from college and experience freedom and life a bit.”
“What happened at the first college?” Elijah asked, leaning forward and bracing his elbows on his knees.
I looked away as Jackson filled them in, recounting the things that’d happened but seeing it all clear as day in my mind.
I still had nightmares about some of it, and I swear I had shampoo and body wash PTSD because I couldn’t just pour it and scrub like you were meant to do. No, I put a small amount on my arm, waited to see if it burned or did anything while I sniffed it, and then I’d use it.
“What a bunch of bloody Helen Hunts,” Sadie seethed. “Where do they live?”
Frowning at how tightly clenched her fists were, I replied without thinking. “Florida.”
“Well, now,” she smirked, getting up and pacing in front of us. “That’s incredibly convenient. Here’s what I’m thinking, we—” She was cut off as she passed by Elijah, screaming when he pulled her down onto his lap.
“I love it when you get bloodthirsty, pixie, but now’s not the time.”
I was smiling at the sight they made together, but Marcus was still focused on my issue. “Did they get arrested?”
I shook my head. “Not enough evidence. The police said it was hearsay.”
“Are you ever going to tell your dads about this?” he pressed, pointing at my leg and arm.
“Maybe?” I shrugged. “One day?”
Then I thought about it a bit more. “Probably not.”
His lips pinched together slightly, but then something must have occurred to him. “I don’t know if you’re going to get that option. Mom sent us first to make sure Jackson didn’t need help, but she’ll be on her way to check him over for herself.”
I felt like I imagined a balloon felt when it was deflated. “Shit.”
“Speaking of,” Jackson started, and I noticed that he was only supporting the baby’s butt with his thumb and forefinger instead of his whole hand now. “I think your daughter’s shit herself.”
Instead of jumping up to deal with the problem, both parents crossed their arms and looked at him.
“How do you know?” Sadie asked. “It could just be wind. She farts just as much as her daddy does.”
“It’s a man thing,” Elijah snickered, getting nods from his brothers.
“She’s a tiny little girl,” Sadie hissed. “If she can fart like she does now, imagine what it’ll be like when she’s a teenager. No one will want to be friends with her because she’ll clear a room with one puff.”
This time, I joined in with the men when they laughed, getting a glare from her.
“I shit you not, you’ll hear it soon enough.”
“Can we stop talking about her farting and do something about the load that’s pressing against my hand, please?” Jackson whined, looking disgusted.
Marcus’s lips twitched as he watched his brother. “You might wanna put your whole hand under her ass, man. Babies move weirdly, and you don’t want her to drop. That’s what happened to Webb, and we all know how he turned out.”