Loving Jared - Nikita Slater Page 0,13

shame and fear in them. Jared's blood boiled at that expression.

"I'm old enough to live on my own. I'm not asking, I'm telling you, I'm going to stay with Keith. At least he doesn't boss me around."

Amy took a deep breath, in through her nose and let it out in a long sigh through her mouth. She pinned her brother with a look that was stern but caring. Jared was impressed given the words the little shit had just hurled at her.

"Why don't you spend the night here, sleep on it, and we can talk about it in the morning." Her voice was calm and soothing as she spoke. Mature beyond her years. "There are things you can't get at Keith's house that you need."

“Yeah, like what?" he demanded belligerently.

Jared was beginning to understand what was going on. Amy's little brother was balking under her court mandated supervision and he wanted out. Jared wasn't surprised. Had he been in the same situation at that age, he probably would’ve felt the same way. Still, he couldn't have anyone speak to Amy that way, not even her brother. He was going to give her a few minutes to resolve the situation, then he would step in if the kid kept mouthing off.

"Like food, books for school, clothes, shoes, and someone to talk to." Amy's voice remained calm, though Jared could see the fluttering of her pulse in her throat. She was upset.

Out of the corner of his eye Jared caught a movement. He glanced over and saw two little girls peeking around the corner of the living room wall, determined to hear every word of the conversation. Amy's little sisters.

"I can get all those things at Keith’s; his mom will feed us and give us rides. She already promised." The kid hiked his backpack further up and shoved a hand through already ruffled black hair, making it stand on end. "She isn’t near as strict as you. She lets us do what we want."

Amy nodded her head thoughtfully. "And what is it that you want?"

"I want to be able to do whatever I want," he said sharply, waving his hand in front of him. "I don’t want to be told when to come home, when to take a shower, when to brush my teeth, when to go to bed. I'm sick of you smothering me."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Amy said softly. "I wasn't trying to smother you, I just wanted you to feel loved. Like with Mom."

"You’re not our mother though, there's a big difference. She did things right. You never do anything right."

Amy couldn't contain the flinch that rocked her body. She wrapped her arms protectively around her middle and stared at the ground for a moment. Teagan shuffled his feet, clearly half ashamed. In his mind, he'd spoken the truth, but it had come out harsh. Jared suspected he hadn't meant to hurt his sister. He just wanted a little more freedom.

Jared stepped forward and put a hand on Teagan's shoulder. Teagan whipped around and jerked out of Jared's hold, a fierce glare marring his features. Jared was surprised at how much the boy looked like his sister.

"Who the fuck are you?" Teagan demanded, taking another step back.

Jared was pleased to note that Teagan took a protective step towards his sister, placing his body in front of hers. As much as he talked a big game, he loved his older sister.

Jared lifted his hands and said, "I'm your neighbour. Name’s Jared. Couldn't help but overhear the argument. Kinda carried across the lawn."

Jared didn't bother to tell Teagan that he'd had supper with the kid’s sister and that was part of the reason he was more likely to be attuned to what was going on in their household. Jared realized that this type of argument could've happened many times before now and he probably never would’ve heard a thing. It hadn't come across his radar because he hadn't cared enough to actually check.

"Well, you can just leave then," Teagan said with a glare. "This is private family business."

Jared raised a brow. "Your private business became my business when you raised your voice to a woman with children in the house."

A tide of red covered Teagan's face and his frown deepened. He didn't like being reprimanded by an older man.

Amy stepped forward and touched Teagan's back, drawing his attention. "I've been getting to know Jared the past couple of days, he's a good guy."

Teagan jerked away from his sister, stepping