Page 31 of Wylder and the Almost Rockstar
The meeting ended before she could say anything else to make them feel sorry for her, and she followed her parents outside to the visitor’s parking lot. Suddenly, she didn’t want them to go.
“Honey.” Her stepmom wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “We love you.”
Her dad wedged her between them, squeezing her tightly. “And we know none of this is your fault.” He leaned down. “Plus, maybe that Luke kid deserves all of this for fighting with my boy on Twitter.”
If Wylder wasn’t utterly exhausted by all of this, she’d laugh at the idea of her dad following Becks’ Twitter war. “No, Dad. No one deserves this.” Not even Luke Cook. “Love you guys too. Can I come home for dinner sometime?”
“Of course, honey.” Her stepmom released her. “All you have to do is ask, and we’ll call in to get you a gate pass. Any day, any time. We miss you.”
“I miss you guys too.” She’d been so busy the last few weeks, so wrapped up in her own problems, she hadn’t taken the time to go see her parents. But they’d never hold that against her.
As she watched them drive away, she thought of a twelve-year-old Logan losing both his parents. That would destroy Wylder even at nineteen.
When she turned back to the sidewalk that led to the quad, she found Sebastian waiting for her.
“Don’t you have another class to go teach?” She walked past him.
He fell in step beside her. “I wasn’t lying to your parents. You are a bright girl, Wyld Child.”
Hearing that nickname didn’t confuse her as much as it once had. It no longer drew her to Sebastian, so she didn’t correct him. “I don’t know if a teacher has ever said that to them before. At my old school, all the teachers loved Becks. He wasn’t the best student, but he tried, and he’s the kind of guy adults fawn over. Me… I was the little sister who could never live up to that.” She paused, looking around at the ivy-covered buildings at each corner of the quad.
“Defiance Academy has never treated me like that.” As much as she fought coming here, it was home. They wanted to protect her, to help her figure out who she was.
“This place is special.”
“Is that why you’re back?”
He didn’t answer for a long moment. “I’m back for my brother.”
“So, you convinced Logan to come? I figured when I didn’t get to see him in Nashville, I wouldn’t see him again.”
“It wasn’t me who convinced him, but that’s probably something you need to ask Logan about.”
She nodded. “I will.” Her shoulder bumped his. Well, it bumped his arm since he was much taller than her. “For a moment there, when I saw you in class, I worried you’d come back for me.”
He rubbed his neck and blew out a breath. “I think… Wylder… I think that ship has sailed. You and I aren’t a good idea.”
A smile spread across her face. “And what brought you to that conclusion?”
“Well.” He looked down at her. “There was this girl who came all the way to Nashville for my brother. She made me realize something.”
“And what was that?”
“If she was willing to go to that effort, I needed to do the same. I don’t know how much Logan has told you, but I’ve had some issues in the past.”
“He did tell me that, but he also told me you spent years devoting every minute to making sure your younger brothers had everything they needed.”
He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Then I let them down.”
“So, this girl…”
“She made me realize it was time to get back to who I used to be, the guy who’d do anything for his brothers. Sober. Not prone to bad decisions that could get him fired.”
“You mean me.”
“Yeah.” He laughed. “I never should have suggested we continue our relationship.”
“No, you shouldn’t have. But I can forgive you. I’m pretty hard to resist.”
