Page 78 of Designed for Disaster

I pulled over on the shoulder where he was sitting and popped the passenger door open for him. Jimmy scrambled to his feet and climbed into the car, holding his hands out to the vents, soaking in the heat.

“Holy shit,” I said, noting the shiner on his cheek. I took him by the chin to inspect the damage. “What happened?”

He winced at my touch, and I released him. “I needed a lift to the city, to get to the hospital for Nana Dee.”

“Wait…what? Dee’s in the hospital? When did this happen?”

“Not long ago,” Jimmy said. “She collapsed. You didn’t know?”

I shook my head, getting back on track. “That doesn’t explain why you look like you’ve just stepped out of a boxing ring.”

Jimmy’s face screwed up, on the verge of tears. I patted his arm. “It was so last second, and I couldn’t arrange any sort of ride with a friend, and I figured waiting around for someone to come out here to get me then drive me all the way back to the city would take too long.”

“So?”

“So…I tried to hitch a ride to New York.”

“God, Jimmy! You couldn’t just get an Uber?”

“My score’s really low,” he mumbled. “After I partied a little too hard and got sick in an Uber a couple of times. But I figured hitching a ride is not that different, you know? And the guy seemed nice enough, at first. But after he drove me partway, he beat me up and stole my wallet before kicking me out of the car.”

“What!” I massaged my eyes. This was so ridiculous I almost didn’t believe it. Except Jimmy was sitting next to me, a nasty bruise darkening on his cheek. “Did you at least tell your brother? And does he know you’re okay?”

“I was too embarrassed to call Trent after it happened. He’s already got enough on his mind, looking after Nana Dee. He shouldn’t have to put up with my BS. Like who the hell gets jumped nowadays? I’m such an idiot.”

“You’re not an idiot,” I assured him. “You were the victim of a crime. We have to file a police report.” God, too much was happening right now.

“No, we have to get to the hospital,” Jimmy insisted. “I don’t care about that douchebag or talking to the police right now. Screw him. I’ll be fine.” He gave me a small, pained smile. “I’ve got you looking out for me, right?”

“You’ve got me,” I agreed, starting the car and making a U-turn, heading back to New York. “God, I can’t believe Dee collapsed. Do you know how bad it is?”

Jimmy frowned. “I can’t believe Trent didn’t tell you.”

“We’re not exactly speaking right now,” I admitted. This was the last thing I wanted to drop on the kid considering what was going on, but I couldn’t lie to him.

“What do you mean ‘not speaking’?”

“We sort of broke up earlier today.”

Jimmy let out a strangled sound, gaping at me. “You’re joking! You two were so perfect together. What the hell did he do?”

That got a pathetic little laugh out of me. “I think it’s more what I did,” I said. Trent had said some awful things to me, but this was his kid brother, and I couldn’t make him out to be the bad guy. Not completely. I had a role to play here too.

“Tell me what happened?” he asked. “At least it’ll distract me from the throbbing in my cheek.”

I glanced over at him, pressing on the gas a little. “We’re getting that checked out when we get to the hospital. Something might be broken.”

“Sure. Whatever. Now, back to the story.” Jimmy looked at me pointedly.

I sighed, mustering up the energy to relive this morning. I started with the moment Trent burst into my office. When describing it all, I tried to gloss over some of the more hurtful things, but I wasn’t sure it made any sense in the end. It didn’t completely make sense tome—it all just felt nightmarish.

Jimmy nodded along, looking less confused than I’d expected, almost like he was putting the pieces together. “Mm-hmm,” he said flatly. “So, you’ve been in touch with my mom?”

“I—yeah,” I admitted. “The world’s biggest mistake, apparently. But not because I was selling her secrets. I’d never do anything like that. I swear.”

“Of course you wouldn’t,” Jimmy was quick to agree, sounding so very certain that it made my chest ache. “Mom lied about that part just to piss Trent off. And it clearly worked. He still letsthem get under his skin so easily, and she knows how to exploit that.”

“I don’t understand why Lara would do any of this.” The thought of a mother exploiting her child was unfathomable to me.

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