Page 69 of Fake It Till You Break It
“And?”
“And, I guess, I ended up having to pick up the slack. I had to be the man of the house and dowhateverI could to make her happy.” My voice got louder and louder, and I was just getting started. Taking in a deep breath, I let out all the anger that was bubbling to the surface. “You’re off doing whatever you want to, but I’m stuck here.”
Even I was surprised with everything I was saying, but it was as if once I started, I couldn’t stop. I would have continued,but Mom wrapped me in a tight hug. Crap, was she crying? My shoulder and sleeve were rapidly getting soaked. I didn’t mean to make her cry. I knew it. I shouldn’t have said anything. “No, Mom, I didn’t mean that. I just—”
“No, you listen to me, Jake Nathaniel Adler. It isnotyour job to keep me happy. It’smyjob to make sure that you’re happy. And healthy. And to live your life however you want to.” Her fist pounded on my back with every sentence she said. And it hurt. “That’s the only way I’ll really be happy. That’s what I signed on for when I brought you two home, and I’ve never regretted it for a minute.”
“But… I don’t even know what I want anymore.”
“Then you just have to figure it out together.” She finally pulled away from me and smiled at Finn. “All three of us will figure out what we want from now on. Like a family. Okay?”
Finn glanced over at me, waiting for my answer. To be honest, I was still worried that he would disappear on us again, but for Mom’s sake, I caved. “Okay.”
With a sparkling smile, she ruffled the top of our heads affectionately. “How about we celebrate being together? Go out for lunch.” She backed up toward the hall. “I have to make a few calls, but I’ll get ready in an hour. Okay?”
“Sure.”
Nodding in agreement, I grabbed the cereal box from him and poured myself a huge bowl, suddenly starving.
Finn washed the few dishes in the sink before turningaround to face me. He wiped his hands on a white towel. “I saw your performance at the festival last weekend.”
I paused midpour. “Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah, you were good. Really good.” He laughed. “I almost didn’t recognize you at first. I know you said that you didn’t know what you wanted to do, but I really think you should continue with the music thing.”
Avoiding his eyes, I concentrated on pouring the rest of my cereal. I wanted to not care, but his opinion still mattered to me no matter what. “I don’t know…”
“You don’t have to do it my way. Stay here. Take some music classes; just don’t give it up.”
Not knowing how to respond, I nodded again and took a big bite of the cereal.
He sat down hard on the stool across the island from me. His fingers tapped on the countertop. “I still need to get back to the cruise ship for the rest of the year, but I’m thinking of maybe trying the college route. Mom said you were thinking of going to University of Houston? I’ve already contacted the dean of admission about my application for next year.”
I choked on the Frosted Flakes, and Finn had to smack my back several times to clear my throat. Between his and Mom’s hits today, I wouldn’t be surprised if my back was black and blue by now.
“You can’t—you can’t actually be planning on going to college with me, right?”
“Might as well since we’ll be roomies again.” He reached over and pulled me into a headlock like he used to when we were kids. “We could even carpool to classes together. Think of how much fun it’ll be!”
I pinched his underarm until he let go. “God, in that case, I think I might go to community college instead.”
“Point taken. Figured you’d want to be carpooling with Mia anyway. I don’t want to be the third wheel.”
“Right. About that…”
Finn leaned forward and lightly punched my shoulder with a crooked smile. “Let me give you a bit of advice, Little Bro. Don’t let your pride get in the way before you lose her for good.”
I eyed him. “Are you speaking from experience? Did you meet someone on the cruise ship?”
“And now the personal sharing time is over,” he said without answering my questions. Finn got up and headed toward the doorway. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, though. Girls like Mia don’t stay available for long.”
Damn it, what he said was starting to make sense. And it was really starting to annoy me. Especially since I was still really mad at both Mia and Finn. But I could already feel my anger with Finn starting to fade. Just a tiny bit. And the whole reason I was mad at Mia was because of him.
Then again, Mia wouldn’t have been Mia if she didn’t butt in and try to help. She instinctively knew what I needed beforeI even did. Just like two years ago when she knew the last thing I wanted after Finn left was to talk. And now, she knew that I would finally be ready to listen to him.
But what if she was wrong? What if I wasn’t actually ready?
With a sigh, I stirred the soggy cereal left in my bowl but didn’t feel like taking another bite. Instead I dumped the rest of the cereal in the trash and washed the bowl before putting it away. I glanced over at the Les’ house, and I could still see Mia’s car parked in the driveway.
