Jack, and you’re not just about the money, then… What do you do here all night long? Are you drinking? Is it drugs?”
“No, no, it’s nothing like that.” I shook my head and had to fight the smile that wanted to creep up at the word “drinking.” There was definitely a kind of drinking going on around here, just not the one he had in mind.
“I’m just trying to understand why you won’t come home.” By then, he was nearly pleading with me, and it broke my heart. “I can get Mom off your back, if you could just try to get home before she does. And you don’t have to hang out with me all the time, but I’ll help you with your homework and I can make you supper. Then you could just come out here and hang out with them.
You don’t have to live here.”
“I’m not living here.” Swallowing hard, I tried not to look at him. When he was sad, he looked so young. He had big innocent brown eyes, and they were so forlorn. Really, he just didn’t want to be alone, and I didn’t blame him. “I just need some time here to figure things out, okay? But don’t think for a second that I’m going to just leave you behind. You mean too much for me to just walk away from you, not even for a foxy guy and a lot of money. There’s nothing for you to worry about.”
“What do you need to figure out?” Milo furrowed his brow, but I could tell that he’d relaxed a little.
I decided to tell him the truth on this one. “What I’m going to do with the rest of my life.”
“You’re thinking about college?” He brightened at that, and I knew that I’d inadvertently opened the door for all sorts of college talk that I really didn’t want to listen to.
“Among other things.” College had vaguely crossed my mind, as in, hey since I’ll be a rich vampire I won’t have to go to college anymore.
“I know you were mostly being sarcastic, but I started doing some research on med school and psychiatry for you, and there are lots of fabulous opportunities because we’re so close to the Mayo Clinic.” The tangent had started, and he was moving his hands and talking excitedly.
“Milo, you’ve seen my grades,” I tried to nip his enthusiasm in the bud.
“There’s no way I could get into med school.”
“You’ve got a year and a half to turn it around,” he brushed me off. “The U of M has a lot of great programs too, and if you really worked hard your first couple of years, it would be so fantastic for you.”
“I’m sure it would,” I murmured.
I decided to let him just go on, nodding and agreeing when the conversation required. He was happy to be talking about something he was an expert on, and something that still included me in his future. Especially if I went to college around here, it would keep me close to him. Or that’s what he thought.
After awhile, he finally managed to run out of steam and informed me that he’d brought over some leftovers to eat. Mae had gone grocery shopping yesterday, so there was some food in the house for me, but it didn’t compare to anything that Milo made, particularly since nobody here could cook. At all.
When we went downstairs to eat, Jack joined us, claiming that he had already eaten, of course. He sat with us at the table, scratching Matilda’s head all the while, and chattering along with Milo. It had been days since he’d been able to have a real conversation, so he had plenty to fill us in on. Like the impossibility of a level in World of Warcraft (something about orcs and letter abbreviations that seemed completely random to both me and Jack, but sounded very grave when Milo said them), and how bitchy Jane has been at school since I’ve been gone.
There was also some rather juicy gossip about this boy, Troy, at school, who Milo deemed “utterly foxy” and then blushed so red, it looked like he’d been burned. Apparently the young man in question had made some rather flirtatious advances towards Milo in gym class, and he didn’t know how to reciprocate. Jack advised him not to make any moves at school, in case things are being misinterpreted, he wouldn’t want an audience. Milo agreed that he should do some fact checking on myspace and facebook, and then maybe he’d escalate to text messaging from there.
It was getting late, and Milo started mentioning an Intro to Business test he had to study for, so Jack took him home. I rode with, just for the fun of it, and Milo was still an endless stream of conversation. He explained the finer points of running a small business, as he understood it from chapter twelve of his textbook, and Jack somehow managed to sound interested in all of it.
“That was fun,” Jack grinned at me once Milo had gotten out of the car.
“I don’t know if you’re being sarcastic or not, but it really was.” Then I smiled gratefully at him. “Thank you. For bringing him over. I really missed him.”
“It sounds like he missed you, too.” Sadly, he sighed, and at first, I didn’t understand why. We had all had fun, so I didn’t see what could be so depressing about that. “This isn’t going to be quite so clean cut for you, not like it was for me.”
“You mean leaving your family?” I asked. Up until Mae mentioned his family the other day, I hadn’t heard anything about them. The only thing Jack had ever told me was that he was from Stillwater.
“Yeah. My dad was a bastard, but he was dead anyway. My mom hated me because she hated all men, and my sister barely knew me. There was nothing to miss, nothing to leave behind.” Pursing his lips, he turned to me.
“Not like you. He’ll be devastated when you go.”
“I know.” Tears were brimming at my eyes, and I fiercely blinked them back.
“Don’t think that I’m saying this because I don’t want you to turn. You know how badly I want you to.” The way he said made him sound almost desperate for me to turn, but I understood. I wanted it almost as badly as he did. “But I know this isn’t going to be easy for you. And I don’t want you to make your decisions based on me or anyone else.”
“I won’t.” Sinking low in the seat, I crossed my arms over my chest. My heart was pulling me into separate directions, and the only solution seemed to be to tear it in two.
Chapter 16
Peter still hadn’t returned from the business trip, and I still hadn’t made a decision. My entire life felt like it was at an impasse. To keep me busy, Jack had taken me to a play and the zoo, but neither of those things really alleviated anything that was going on. Everything felt so up in the air, and I knew that I had to deal with things before the uncertainty killed me.
As soon as I woke up, I went downstairs, in my jammies with my hair all messed up and my eyes full of sleep. Ezra sat on the chaise lounge, reading a book, and Mae sat near his feet, doing a large puzzle on the hardwood floor.
When I had gotten up, I heard the shower running in Jack’s room, so I assumed that’s where he was. He’d be otherwise occupied, making the conversation easier.
“Is something the matter?” Ezra looked me over, sounding concerned.
“Are you alright, love?” Mae chimed in, looking equally worried.
“When is Peter coming home?” I demanded. A part of me I tried very hard to ignore was starting to ache painfully because it had been so long I’d seen him. My body apparently required a Peter quota that was not being met.
“I don’t know for sure.” Ezra adjusted himself so he was sitting up fully.
“Would you like me to call him and find out?”
“What’s going to happen when he comes home?” I crossed my arms on my chest, trying to look tough, even though I knew it was as ridiculous as it sounded. Fortunately, though, neither of them laughed. Instead, they just exchanged worried looks that made me nervous. “Well?”
“We don’t know exactly,” Ezra answered carefully.
“He hates me.” Just saying it aloud made it hurt, but it didn’t change any of the facts. “Or if you prefer, he hates the way he feels about me. That’s not gonna change when he comes home, is it?”
“We don’t really understand what’s happening with the two of you. I can’t answer that,” Ezra explained sadly.
“What are you trying to find out?” Mae asked.
“If Peter doesn’t want me, then what’s the point of me turning?” Again, they exchanged looks, but didn’t
