Page 122 of Rules

“Don’t joke like that,” Andrew scolds lightly. “Or I’ll have to tie you to me so I can keep my eyes on you at all times.”

She rolls her eyes playfully. Her lips part, but no words come out. Her whole body goes still.

“Jeanette?” I call, but she’s not looking at me. I’m not even sure if she can hear me. Her eyes are glued over the edge of the bed.

Looking over my shoulder, I notice Dad standing close to the door and looking at us worriedly. He’s been so quiet, I almost forgot he’s with us in the room.

“Y-you…”

“Jeanette, I’m so…” he starts, but Jeanette cuts him off before he can even begin.

“Out!” That one word is spoken so fiercely, with so much contempt and anger, it has me taking a step back. “G-get o-out.”

I look between my dad and sister, not knowing what the fuck is happening. Dad shakes his head, crying. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him break like that in my life. Jeanette’s eyes are filled with tears too, but she holds them in, not backing down on her words.

What the hell is happening here?

“Dad?” I ask, confused. I stand stoic between the two of them, not knowing who to look at for an explanation, but I don’t get a chance to ask more, because Andrew’s hard stare connects with my fathers.

“She wants you out, so get out.”

I’m not sure who’s more surprised by his words, me or Dad. But Andrew Hill doesn’t give a fuck. What he wants he gets, and apparently, what Jeanette wants she’ll get too.

Dad’s mouth gapes open. “Who do you think you are…”

“You’re upsetting her and making it worse,” he grits through his teeth. I can see the anger flash on his face, but he does a good job of reining it in. “She’s been through enough. I won’t let you upset her anymore.” Then he turns back to Jeanette, giving her his whole attention. “I’ll call the nurse. They have to check you out.”

Still in a state of shock at some fucked-up universe I just walked into, I watch Dad’s mouth close, lips pressing in a tight line. I expect him to protest and demand Andrew leave, but to my surprise, he actually does what Andrew said.

Running my hand through my hair, I can hear Jeanette and Andrew whisper. The machines that are connected to my sister continue beeping, but it’s all just background noise to my raging thoughts. Nothing about this day adds up. Nothing.

Turning around, I let my hands fall by my sides. “Jeanette, what…”

But right in that moment, the doctor and nurse enter the room. Everything is a blur of events as they rush to Jeanette, checking her machines and firing questions at her. I pull back to the background watching them work as one nurse, the one from earlier, looks at me. “You boys have to leave so the doctor can check her out.”

Giving Jeanette one last look, I nod and turn to leave. I expect Andrew to follow, but Jeanette’s voice stops us both. “S-stay.”

“Princess…”

“Miss Sanders…” the doctor starts, but Jeanette stops him, this time more determined. “I need you here with me. Stay.”

Andrew. She needs Andrew, not me.

The pang of jealousy is instant, but I push it back as I leave the room, slowly closing the door behind me.

For as long as I can remember, Anette always asked for me. Monsters underneath the bed, heartache or just somebody to hug her and tell her everything will be okay. I was always the one she called. Not our mom. Not our dad. Me. I was her person.

Not anymore.

I always thought somehow we’d get better. That if we try hard enough, we’ll be who we once used to be, but now I realize I was fooling myself all this time. Jeanette and I… we’re not the same people we once were. As we grew up, we’ve grown apart. There are times when it hurts, knowing I’m not her person anymore. And although we’re slowly healing and learning the people we’ve grown to be, things will never be what they were. Andrew is now her person. So of course, she wants him to stay with her. He’s the father of her child, for God’s sake.

Her child…The realization is like a punch to my gut.We never asked what happened to the baby.

“Max,” Dad says, stopping in front of me and preventing me from having a full-on panic attack.

“Dad,” I breathe out, my voice shaky as I try to tell myself everything will be okay. Then I remember everything that happened inside before the doctors came, so I concentrate on that instead. “What the hell happened in there? Why did Anette ask you to leave?”

His throat bobs as he swallows, eyes looking everywhere but at me. “I told you already; it was an accident.”

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