Misunderstood (A Neighbor from Hell YA #1) - R.L. Mathewson Page 0,53

to be wearing a suit,” she said with an accusatory glare like he’d done this on purpose.

“Wait. You didn’t mention anything about a suit,” he said, because he definitely would have asked more questions if she’d mentioned a suit.

Not that she’d actually stuck around after she’d ordered him to come here today so that he could ask questions, Sebastian mused as he watched her eyes narrow dangerously on him.

Was it wrong to be afraid of a ninety-year-old woman? Probably, Sebastian thought as he watched her gesture toward the living room with her cane. “I’m sure one of Cole’s old suits will fit you,” Mrs. Blaine said, gesturing for him to get on with it.

Knowing better than to argue with her, especially when she had that cane, Sebastian headed upstairs and after a search of his cousin’s closet, he managed to find a black suit and a navy-blue shirt that fit him. His cousin had a few inches on him, but they had the same build, which made it easier to find a suit that actually fit. The box of Twinkies hidden in the back of his cousin’s closet helped pass the time as he searched for shoes. Once he had a black tie in hand and had consumed most of the Twinkies, Sebastian headed back downstairs only to find himself rushed out the door and sitting next to Mrs. Blaine in the backseat of her car, heading toward the highway.

“Where are we going?” he found himself asking when they joined rush-hour traffic.

“We have work to do,” was all Mrs. Blaine said before she closed her eyes and settled in for a nap while Sebastian sat there, wondering how he was going to explain this to his parents. They were going to kill him, Sebastian thought as he pulled his phone out of his pocket only to frown when he saw the message waiting from his mom.

Have fun!

Wondering why she didn’t tell him what Mrs. Blaine had in store for him this morning, Sebastian slowly exhaled as he sat back. He found himself staring out the car window, absently watching the cars they passed by as the exhaustion from the last four days finally caught up with him and he found himself closing his eyes, wondering how he was going to pull off the impossible only to groan sometime later when something hard tapped his knee.

“We’re here,” Mrs. Blaine said as he opened his eyes and found himself looking at the Blaine Building, a twenty-five-story building in the heart of downtown Carta. He’d passed by this building every time they came to the city, which wasn’t often, but every time he saw it, he found himself wondering about Aunt Haley’s family.

He debated asking Mrs. Blaine why they were there, but something told him that she would just glare at him. God, the woman loved to glare, Sebastian thought as he climbed out of the car. Biting back a yawn, he walked around the car to the other side just as her helper placed the wheelchair next to the car and set the locks. When Sebastian saw Mrs. Blaine reach out with a trembling hand to grab hold of the door as she moved to stand up and transition herself to the wheelchair, he bit back a curse and stepped closer. Before she could argue, Sebastian was there, pulling her into his arms and picked her up, absently noting that she weighed less than Mikey as he carefully placed her in her wheelchair.

With a nod and a murmured, “Thank you, Sebastian,” Mrs. Blaine settled back in her chair and gestured with her cane for him to push her inside. With one last glance up at the large building they were entering, Sebastian pushed her toward the double doors where two security officers dressed in black suits waited with welcoming smiles.

“Good morning, Mrs. Blaine,” the larger of the two said as he gestured for Sebastian to stop.

“Good morning, Vincent,” Mrs. Blaine said with a warm smile as she reached over and took his large hand between her frail ones and gave it an affectionate squeeze. “How is Andrew doing?”

“He’s doing much better, Mrs. Blaine. He’s putting on weight and the doctors said that he should be able to come home soon,” Vincent said with a warm smile.

“That’s wonderful news,” Mrs. Blaine said, giving his hand another squeeze. “Tell Margaret that I’ve been thinking about her.”

“I will, Mrs. Blaine,” Vincent said, returning her squeeze with a very gentle one of his own before releasing