Page 12 of The Midseason Fakeout

I smile to myself. “Because it’s comfortable.”

“You never wear that.”

“Well, I do now.” I pat him on the head and grab the Froot Loops he must’ve added to his order for me and pour myself a bowl. It’s been forever since I’ve had Froot Loops, and I take a moment to smell the sugary goodness before diving in, leaning against the counter.

The house Mom and Dad rented us is fairly large. My bedroom is downstairs while Darrin has the entire upstairs at his disposal. He turned one of the extra rooms into a living room of his own, and he also has his own bathroom up there, too. The only space we really have to share is the kitchen, and I’ve already told him that I’m not cleaning up after his ass.

Instead of moving us in, our parents hired professional movers to help settle us in before classes start on Monday, which was fine by me. The sooner I got space from them, the better.

“What are you doing today?” Darrin asks, watching me over his bowl.

I study him a moment before an awful thought flits through my head. “Don’t.”

“What?” he asks. “I just asked what you were up to today. Is that a crime?”

I squeeze the spoon in my hand. “I swear to God, Darrin, if Mom and Dad told you to watch me, or something even more mortifying, I’m not having it.”

“What?” he asks with a little too much surprise. He knows he’s, like, the worst liar. He starts to laugh and sets his bowl down on the table. “Of course they asked me to look after you.”

I set my own bowl down. “Darrin, I need space. That’s the whole reason I’m here. I can take care of myself. Isn’t that what college is about? Learning how to go off on our own. Don’t you want to live your life without having to see if I’m okay?”

“One, I thought the whole reason you were here was because of Aidan? And two, I don’t want to have to worry about you, but Dad said if anything happens to you, it’s on me.”

My head falls back, and I groan. “Obviously, I’m here because of Aidan. I want Aidan and space. So let’s make a deal.” I walk up to him and stick out my pinkie. “You leave me alone and I’ll leave you alone. I promise that if I get myself in a tricky situation that I’ll come right to you. If I need you, I will definitely tell you.”

He eyes my pinkie, then me. “You can’t get in trouble.”

“What am I going to do?” I scoff. My list of things I want to experience here is fairly innocuous. It’s probably boring to most people.

He shrugs. “Get pregnant.”

I nearly choke. “What? And how are you going to stop that from happening? Follow me everywhere to make sure I’m not having sex?”

He points at me. “Don’t think I’m not going to have a talk with Aidan about that.”

Justshoot me now.

I grab his pinkie forcefully with my own. “We are roommates, but you are not my bodyguard. Understood?”

He clamps his mouth shut.

“And unless you want me to ask every single girl you talk to if she’s going to have sex with you, don’t even give my sex life another thought.” My face flushes. Of course my brain would take this moment to think about Aidan and me—and it’s a damn good visual, too. “And I’m not a child. I know how to prevent pregnancy. You don’t have to worry about me. Promise.”

We shake on it and both go back to eating, but Darrin keeps eyeing me all the same. It’s going to take a while for him to relax. Our parents must have given him a strict rundown of what I was allowed to do, but I don’t plan on following any of their rules.

It’s time formyrules.

After eating, I rinse my bowl out and place it in the sink. “I’m going to go walk around. Get a feel for campus,” I tell Darrin. He jumps up from his chair, and I spin to pin him in place with my hard stare. “Alone.”

He sighs. “You got your cell phone on you?”

I nod.

“Send me updates.”

I give my big brother a hug. “I love you, but no. I’ll see you when I see you. Let me know if you want to have lunch or dinner together.”

Turning away feels good, and I’m almost at the door when he says, “Please don’t make me regret this. Actually, better thought: Please don’t make me regret trusting you.”

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