Burnout - Coralee June Page 0,40

broke through. “Didn’t realize you were meeting a fuck buddy,” he growled. Dad squared up, fists flexed like he was about to land himself back in prison. I placed a hand on his chest before turning my attention back to Decker.

“Decker, meet my dad, Frank Stewart. Dad, meet asshole and my brother, Lance.”

Simultaneously, Lance relaxed and Decker paled, realizing his disgusting mistake. “Shit, I’m sorry, Blakely. We were just so worried. It’s nice to meet you, sir,” Lance said in a cautionary tone, giving Decker the side-eye before walking forward and stretching his hand out for a handshake. He searched Dad’s expression like he was looking for something, and it confused me until my father responded.

“Nice to meet you, Lance. I’m not your father, by the way. Met Sharron three years before Blakely was born,” Dad replied lamely while shaking Lance’s hand.

“Oh, yes, of course,” Lance replied, a blush on his face. “Are you h-here to take Blakely?” I stared at my brother, completely and utterly shocked at the anxiety pouring from his pores. His eyes were wild, his head pelted with sweat.

“Nah. I’m still getting on my feet. Just got out of prison for killing a man.” My father gave Decker a pointed stare, likely trying to scare him.

“Shut up, you robbed a store,” I replied with an eye roll. Apparently, this wasn’t nearly as calming on Lance’s nerves because he gulped.

“Well, you should come over for dinner sometime.”

Dad dragged his eyes back from Decker to stare at my brother again. “Sounds like a plan.” Dad then turned to wrap me up in one more hug. “See ya, kid. Love you. Give the geniuses hell,” he whispered into my hair before turning away and walking out of the restaurant.

Once Dad was fully out of sight, I turned a snarl at Decker and Lance. “Why are y’all here?” I asked in a huff before walking past them and out of the restaurant. People were watching, and I wanted to go home to get a couple hours of sleep until my shift at Huck-a-poos.

Decker and Lance followed after me, all the way to my car. When they didn’t answer my question, I spun around to face them. “Do you need a ride or something?”

“You can’t just leave without telling us,” Decker gritted before cracking his knuckles in aggravation. It made my eye twitch.

“Sure I can. You never set rules about where and when I could go,” I countered.

“Well, maybe we should,” Lance piped up, his voice cautious but...sad. “Look, I just want to be informed of stuff like this. I know you aren’t used to telling someone what you’re up to, but I was worried sick.”

For the first time tonight, I actually felt bad. He wasn’t wrong. I never had anyone to care about me, let alone anyone that cared enough to want to know what I was up to. My eyes slid over to Decker, and I was met with sharp, dark eyes. What the fuck was his problem? It was an honest mistake.

“I’m sorry. He called out of the blue. I’m as shocked as you are that he’s here. But I haven’t seen him in years. I didn’t want to wake you up or bother you.”

“We thought you’d run away, Blakely,” Lance whispered. “I want to know what’s going on in your life. I want to support you. I don’t care what time it is, just let me know first, okay?”

I let out a shaky exhale before responding. Decker took a couple of steps forward until he was standing shoulder to shoulder with Lance, looking like an imposing bodyguard. “I like it here, okay? I was hesitant at first, but I don’t have plans to leave soon. I want to go to school. I want to get on my feet the right way and...I want to get to know you better, Lance.”

“And I want to know you!” he rushed out. “Look, I know you’ve been telling me a lot about our mother, and I really appreciate it. But from now on, I want to know about you, and I want to include you more in my life, too.”

His confession shocked the hell out of me. All this time, I thought the only reason Lance was keeping me around was because of some deep-seated need to understand the mother that gave him up. I knew he was kind and compassionate—maybe even too much. But I thought all I had to offer was lies about Mama. What would he do if

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