The Jock by J.L. Beck Page 0,35

I whisper.

“Blair! Shit! Thank God, I got you on the phone,” my brother’s frantic voice greets me, and instantly I’m sinking in worry. Fear coats my insides like sludge.

“What’s wrong, Ben? Is everything okay with Mom?” I walk further away from the door, not wanting Cage to listen in on my conversation.

“Mom is fine, it’s me. I’m… I’m in trouble.”

“Trouble, how?” I croak, placing a hand against my thundering heartbeat.

“I got arrested, Blair. They won’t let me go unless someone posts bail.”

“Arrested? You got arrested?” I’m shocked and angry, and I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Ben is a good kid. “For what?”

“I did something stupid, and I deserve to have my ass kicked, but I can’t stay in here. Can you please come and get me? It’s only five hundred dollars. You have that, right?”

Only five hundred? What the hell is he thinking? The only reason I have that kind of money is because of Cage. If he wasn’t paying me a ridiculous amount for tutoring, I would never have that, and Ben doesn’t know about Cage or how much I get paid, so why the hell is he expecting me to just have that kind of money?

“Please, Blair,” he begs. “Tell me you are coming to get me. I can’t stay in here, and if Mom finds out.” He sighs, and I can hear the worry and fear, each word filled with a new amount. “She’s going to have a mental breakdown.”

My hands start to shake, and I can feel tears pricking at the back of my eyes.

I will not cry. I. Will. Not. Cry.

“I’ll get a ride and come as fast as I can,” I tell him.

“Thank you. You’re the best. I love you.”

“I love you too,” I say the foreign words and hang up the phone, trying to think about the last time we had told each other I love you. Of course, he loves me when he needs me.

With my phone still in my hands, I call the only real friend I have outside of Mia.

“Hey, you,” Jude’s voice comes through the phone, her tone chipper.

“Jude, hey. I have to ask you for a huge favor. I know you’re busy, and I hate to ask, but–” That’s when I hear the baby crying on cue in the background.

Ugh, I can’t ask her. She’s got more important things to do. “Never mind.”

“Don’t be silly. Spit it out. Let me help you. What’s going on? What do you need?”

“I was going to ask you for a ride home, but it’s an hour away, and you are busy, which is completely understandable. I’ll find someone else.”

“Blair, listen. I love my baby, and I love Lex, but if I don’t get a minute without crying and poopy diapers soon, I’m going to stab a fork in my ear. So please tell me where you are so I can come and get you. Lex is here, and he’ll be fine by himself for a while.”

“Are you sure?” I whisper.

“Yes, now, where are you? I’m headed out the door right now.”

“Pick me up at the library, please,” I tell her and hang up the phone.

At least I’ll get to see my brother, even if it’s going to cost me five hundred dollars. I’ll do anything for my family, anything.

12

Cage

Did she seriously blow me off? She left ten minutes ago and never showed back up. I tap the pencil in my hand against the table. I really want to snap the fucking thing, but that might be a bit violent. She left her books too.

What the hell?

Maybe she had an emergency or something? I pack up all her shit and toss it into her backpack and sling it over my shoulder, then I shove my notebook into my book and slide it under my arm. If anything, she probably went to her dorm to grab something, or maybe she got her period? Or… the possibilities are endless here.

All I know is that Blair is a straight-laced girl, and she wouldn’t just walk out of the session, not when she gave me a lecture about being on time at the beginning.

I reach the glass double doors of the old library entrance, and that’s when I spot her. She’s standing outside, and I just know deep in my gut, she is waiting for someone, but who?

Rushing through the double doors, I open my mouth to say something, but the words never come as a Ford Explorer rolls up to the curb just as I’m