Keeping Casey (Keeping Him #1) - Amy Aislin Page 0,78
to Ethan tomorrow.”
No. He had to apologize now.
Before going upstairs, he ran back out to the car—which he’d never locked in the first place; this was Lighthouse Bay, not New York City—and got his phone. Warm and cozy under the covers after saying goodnight to his mom, he sent Ethan a series of texts.
I’m sorry.
I’m coming back, I swear.
Please don’t give up on me.
He couldn’t promise to never run away again when he got scared; didn’t mean he couldn’t start trying to be better.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ethan hurt like hell the next morning, although he couldn’t tell if it was his RA or the bruises from yesterday’s fight. Probably both. Despite it all, he forced himself to keep moving. If he sat for too long, he’d stiffen up. April was right about that, no matter how much he hated it.
At this point, he could rule out the flu. If Lajoie and VanSanten were any indication, if he did have the flu he would’ve been hugging the toilet by now.
Theo was sprawled on his bed, reading a graphic novel. Harkrader lounged on Ethan’s bed, phone held above him, playing some sort of game.
“You don’t have to hang out with me, you know,” Ethan said, packing his swimsuit, a towel, and a change of clothes into his gym bag. “I’m fine.”
Neither of them acknowledged him.
“And Britton’s not here if that’s what you’re worried about,” he added. “I saw him leave a while ago.”
Harkrader’s lip curled at the mention of his stepbrother.
A thought niggled the back of Ethan’s brain. Man, he hoped he was wrong. Tentatively, he asked, “Is it Britton?”
Harkrader didn’t glance away from his phone. “Is what Britton?”
Theo looked up from his book with a slow blink, as though emerging into the sunlight after years spent hibernating.
“You once told us that you had a crush on someone who was way out of your league.” Ethan zipped his bag. “Is it Britton?”
“What?” Startled, Harkrader dropped the phone. It smacked him in the face. “Ow, damn it. No, it’s not Cole.” He actually shuddered as he sat up. “Gross, no. It’s my older sister’s best friend. Sees me as a little brother.”
“That sucks,” Theo said succinctly.
Harkrader just grunted and fell back onto the bed.
“I’m heading out to—”
A knock at the bedroom door interrupted Ethan, and they all swiveled in that direction. April leaned against the doorjamb, arms crossed. “You weren’t answering my texts. Thought I’d come over and make sure you weren’t dead.”
“My phone broke.”
An eyebrow went up. “Did it break at the same time you got that bruise on your jaw?”
Oh, if only she knew that the jaw was the least of it. He shrugged.
“Dad wants you to call him.” She tossed her phone at him. “I told him what happened and he wants to know why you didn’t tell him yourself.”
“My phone broke,” he repeated.
“Yeah, I know that now.” With a huff, she sat in his desk chair. When he didn’t move, she huffed again and waved a hand at the phone.
“Fine.” Not that calling Dad would make any sort of difference. Ethan would tell him what had happened, Dad would make sympathetic noises, there’d be a long silence, and then he’d switch the topic to something that didn’t involve feelings.
He pulled on thick socks before slipping into his boots, grabbed his coat, a beanie, and his fingerless gloves, and took the back stairs down to the kitchen, aiming for the backyard for some privacy.
“Rain.”
Pausing by the sliding door, shame burned his cheeks at the missing screen. He shrugged his coat on and turned to Sommersby, who stood at the island buttering a slice of toast.
“All right, man?”
Ethan nodded. “Yeah. Thanks.”
“Want to tell me what happened? Britton’s not talking. Thought you might.”
“It’s nothing,” he said, tugging his beanie over his head. “But thanks.”
“I’m here if you need to talk. Or vent.”
With another nod, Ethan headed outside where the cold bite of fall nipped his cheeks despite the cloudless day. Sitting on the top step of the deck, Ethan dialed his dad’s phone, his swollen fingers clumsy, and shifted onto his other butt cheek. He must’ve landed on it at some point during his fight with Britton because ow.
The phone was answered almost immediately. “Did you talk to your brother?”
“It’s me, Dad.”
“Ethan! How are you, son? I missed your game last night but April says there was an accident?”
“It was nothing.” He picked at the knee of his jeans. “I got slammed into the boards, and since my RA was flaring up, I took