Page 59 of Off Limits

I roll my eyes and shake my head at him. “Come on, dude. Let it go.” And I head back to the dwindling group of football players who are all staring at Cal like he’s lost his mind. And rightfully so. Dude’s acting crazy. “Look, man,” I say when he catches up to me. “I get the overprotectiveness. Ellie told me about what happened with some of your teammates in high school.”

He jerks his head in my direction at that, shock written all over his face. “She did? When? Why would she tell you that?”

I shake my head and shrug. “After the last party. Remember you made me check on her?” That’s not when she actually told me, but that’s the most plausible answer. I wave away both his question and my lie, neither of those things are important right now. “Who cares? The point is, I get it. If someone acted that way about my sisters, I’d be an overprotective asshole too. But she’s old enough to make her own decisions. And you don’t get to push her around and make her feel like shit for wanting to go out and have a good time with her friends the same way you do.”

He grumbles. “Couldn’t she wait until next year so I don’t have to see it, at least?”

I let out a bark of laughter. “Dude, do you even hear yourself? She already had two years of high school without you. You don’t think she went to parties then that you didn’t know about?”

“That’s not the point,” he mutters.

I stop, waiting for him to stop too. “No, that’s exactly the point. You keep her away, tell her you don’t want to see her, but still try to boss her around like you’re kids and you’re in charge.”

“Mom and Dad—”

I cut off that argument with a sharp chop of my hand, like I’m actually chopping the words as they come out of his mouth. “Nope. I don’t care what your mom and dad said. She’s not a baby, and she doesn’t need a babysitter. If she needs you, she’ll call, right?”

He looks around. Takes a breath. Looks around again. Then finally meets my eyes. “I just don’t want something bad happening to her.”

“I know.” I don’t want anything bad happening to her either. And right now, her brother is actually the most likely source of something bad happening. Much as she might put on a show of not caring about what he thinks like she did tonight, I know she really does care. “But you have to trust her. She’s a big girl. She can take care of herself. I promise.”

He looks all around again, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. “I hear you,” he says, holding out his hand. “I really do. But, um, would you do me a favor?”

Wary, I cross my arms and narrow my eyes. “What kind of favor?”

“Could you, uh … Could you check on her? Make sure she’s okay? And, you know, if you don’t mind sticking around a while longer, make sure she’s safe?”

I bite down on my cheek to keep my laughter in check. Is he asking me to make sure she has condoms if she finds a dude to fuck or just make sure she doesn’t get roofied? But the answer is, “Yeah, man. I’ll make sure she’s alright.”

Because Cal just handed me my out. All I have to do is find Ellie, and we’re home free.

“Thanks, man,” he says, holding out a hand.

I clasp his hand in mine, coming in for a chest bump. “No problem.” Absolutely no problem at all. I watch him walk away, uncertain exactly how to feel about this turn of events. Proud of Ellie for standing up to her brother. Relieved that I can find her and duck out now instead of having to wait another hour. And torn about Cal’s trust in me. It’s not misplaced, but given that he’s in the dark about so much where Ellie and I are concerned, I’m not sure he’d agree with my assessment.

I won’t do anything to hurt his sister. He knows that. I know that. Hell, she knows that. But we all know that he’d have a problem with the things Iamdoing to and with his sister.

The problem is, I really don’t know how to resolve that. And much as I’d like to come clean sooner than later, I feel like he needs to see Ellie as a whole and distinct human before he can ever come to grips with her being in a relationship at all, much less one with me.

Her standing up to him tonight followed by my lecture is a step. But if he has to be pushed and poked and prodded into seeing her for who she is, how long is that going to take? Will he ever be ready to learn the truth?

And what am I going to do if the answer is no?

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Ellie

Cal: Our game this weekend is at NOU and I’m gonna stay with Mom and Dad after. You can drive my car down.

I stare at the phone in my hand, reading and rereading my brother’s text message. I like how it’s not even a question. It’s just a statement. I can drive his car down.

Me: What if I have other plans this weekend?

I don’t, but that’s not the point.

Cal: lol do you?

“Hey, Autumn!” I call from my bedroom.

---