Misunderstood (Neighbor from Hell (YA) 1)

“Yes, it is,” Sebastian argued, which really didn’t surprise her since he was stubborn.

“No, it’s–”

“He can have the scholarship back. I don’t want it,” Jonathan said, drawing everyone’s attention. “I got to go for three years and now it’s Sebastian’s turn. I don’t mind homeschooling,” he said, shrugging it off.

Nodding, Mikey said, “Let me go so I can slap him.”

“You’re not dropping out of school,” Uncle Trevor said firmly. “We’ll figure this out.”

“I don’t want your scholarship. It’s yours,” Sebastian said, leveling an impressive glare on his brother.

When Jonathan opened his mouth to argue, Sebastian said, “They’re not going to let someone with an arrest record into that school.”

“We don’t have to worry about that,” Reese said, drawing everyone’s attention back to him as he pulled a thick white envelope out of his back pocket.

“What happened with the school?” Uncle Trevor asked as he pushed away from the counter so that he could pick Nathan up, who’d fallen asleep on Sebastian’s lap, and settled him in his arms.

“The good news is that they’re not going to file charges against Sebastian or seek a restraining order. They’re also going to take the expulsion off Mikey’s record so that she can finish the school year. The bad news is that they’re not willing to give Sebastian another chance and allow him to attend the high school next year,” Reese said as Sebastian noticeably relaxed against his chair.

“Not that I’m complaining, but why aren’t they pressing charges?” Aunt Zoe asked.

“From what I understand, Garret pointed out that Sebastian should never have been able to gain access to the school in the first place and was only able to do so because they put the students’ safety at risk by leaving the gym door propped open. The fact that they chose to continue to allow that to happen after they became aware that it was happening so that they could catch Sebastian in the act was enough to get them to listen to reason.”

“What’s with the white envelope?” Jonathan asked as he finished his sister’s cake.

“This?” Reese said, holding up the envelope before nodding toward Sebastian. “I’d guess that this was the reason why Sebastian went to the school. They took it off him when he was arrested.”

“What is it?” Mikey asked, unable to help but frown when her father placed it on her lap.

“It’s your acceptance letter from Rerum Prep,” her father said as Mikey looked from the envelope in her lap to Sebastian. “They’re offering you a partial scholarship.”

“I hated to see you upset and I was hoping that would help,” Sebastian said with a helpless shrug.

Nodding once again, Mikey said, “You’re an idiot,” even as she couldn’t help smiling.

“I know,” Sebastian said, sighing heavily.

“When they let me out of this chair, I’m afraid that I’m going to have to h

urt you,” she pointed out.

Nodding, Sebastian said, “I know that, too.”

“You’re going to have to keep homeschooling until we figure something out, but we will figure it out,” Uncle Trevor said, sighing heavily only to lean down and kiss Nathan’s forehead when her baby brother grumbled something in his sleep.

“I think that covers everything,” Aunt Zoe said, worrying her bottom lip as she watched Sebastian reluctantly nod.

“Umm, Sebastian’s still stubborn,” Mikey pointed out since she felt that needed to be addressed and she was hoping to distract him so that he wouldn’t shut down on her again.

“And you’re still a pain in my ass,” Sebastian shot back.

Nodding, she said, “This is true.”

“What about school?” Jonathan asked as he glanced at Sebastian, who she’d like to point out was once again glaring at her.

“We’ll figure it out,” Aunt Zoe said as Mikey’s eyes narrowed dangerously on Sebastian, because they had one last thing to settle…

Chapter 41