Page 13 of Only Temporary

“Teenage girls. Not for the faint of heart.”

We both look down the hallway, where she tore off, and then he shakes his head. “I’m totally fucked.”

“You’re not,” I say with certainty because yes, today was rough, but there’s something about Kellan. Something I can’t really put my finger on.

Something that tells me he’ll be okay. And not only that, he’ll make sure his siblings are okay too.

SIX

“Okay, so I’ll be back in two days to check in. For a little while, you’ll hear from me quite a lot.” He says it like it’s no big deal, but it has me sweating. Not only because I have no fucking clue what I’m doing, but because he makes me feel...

I don’t really understand how the hell he makes me feel.

And I don’t have time to really examine that right now. I have four hungry, angry kids spread around the house, who are going to eat me alive. I knew they’d be mad at me for being gone for so long. They should be.

But the seething rage they’re all currently directing at me is not pretty, and I don’t know how to make it any better. I walk with Phillip out to the front porch, the one that needs a lot of work, so I quickly lead him down the steps to stand at the bottom.

“I know you think you can’t do this...” he starts, and even though he’s not wrong, my body immediately goes into defensive mode, my hackles up. “But you can.” He says it so firmly, I almost believe him. My eyes lock on his, and for a moment I’m kind of stuck, just looking into his green eyes like a creeper. His pink tongue pokes out between his red, full lips, and I realize way too late that I’m tracking the movement as he licks his bottom lips.

What the hell is wrong with me?

“You don’t even know me,” I say dumbly.

He just shrugs. “Doesn’t matter. I’m really good at my job, remember?” His lips go up in this cute little smirk—cute?Since when are guys’ smirks cute? Jesus. Fuck. “I know people. I’m good at reading them,” he continues.

“And you think I’m not a fuckup?” I test.

His smile only grows. “Oh, I wouldn’t go that far.” He winks at me.Winks. With his face lit up with a smile, and wow... my heart does this strange fluttery thing, and my gut tightens.

I don’t know what’s going on with me. “Um...” My throat is suddenly dry, and I have to clear it several times to get more words out. “I’ll see you in two days then.”

He just smiles, heading toward the van and holding his cell phone out. “I left some papers on the counter in the kitchen. My card is in there with my cell number. If you need anything, let me know.”

He stops by the van’s driver-side door, his eyes locking on mine again. That weird heart thing happens again, and man, maybe I need to get that checked out. As if there’s time or money for that.

“I’ll text you some resources, and I’ll be in touch.”

I nod my head dumbly, and he only smiles, climbing into the van and then taking off. I stand there like a total idiot, just staring after the van and trying to get my body and my head straight.

I stand out there, realizing I don’t want to go back in. I can hear the kids fighting and running around inside. How the hell am I going to do this?

I pull out my phone to text Tatum.

Me: You free?

He answers immediately.

Tatum: The gatekeeper gone?

I grin at my phone—but also feel this odd need to defend Phillip. I know he’s only doing his job, but honestly, how many social workers have I met over the years? They were just doing their jobs too, and I had no problem hating them.

Me: Yeah. Can you bring pizza?

Tatum: On it.

I put my phone back into my pocket and glance once more toward the street, where Phillip is long gone.

I take a deep breath and release it, trying like hell to go over everything I’ve learned in rehab, but failing pretty damn hard. It all sounds like empty noise in my head right now.

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