Page 28 of Desperate Pucker
Anna is quiet for a second. “I feel so stupid. They seemed really cool. I wouldn’t have gone out if I had known they were going to leave me stranded at a party where I didn’t know anyone.”
“How long have you known them?”
“A few weeks. I met them while watching one of Nick’s hockey games. Kayla’s dating one of his teammates.”
My jaw goes tight thinking about what he’s up to. Probably getting shitfaced at some other party on campus.
“He didn’t think to come out and accompany his twin sister to her first frat party?” I mutter.
Anna shoves my arm. “Don’t talk about him like that. He’s your brother too. And he didn’t know I was going to a party. It was last-minute. Besides, I don’t need him to babysit me, Ryker.”
“No, that’s my job, right?”
Her eyes water, and her bottom lip trembles. She looks away at the window. Guilt hits me in the gut. I shouldn’t have said that.
My twin sister and brother are polar opposites. Nick is a typical hockey bro. All he cares about is playing for his college team, partying, and hooking up. Anna is a brainiac. She’s on a full-tuition academic scholarship. She’s always been more interested in reading and studying than parties. She never drinks. The fact that she let herself get this drunk worries the shit out of me. She’s never done this before.
I’m quiet for a while.
“You’re not going to take me to Mom and Dad’s house, are you?” She sniffles again.
“No. You can stay at my place tonight.” If I take her to our parents’ house and they see she’s drunk, they’ll flip out. I can already tell how awful she feels. She doesn’t need to be told off by them too.
“Oh my gosh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” She hugs my arm. “I promise, I won’t ever drink again. Ever.”
I let out a breath. “Anna, you can drink, you just need to pace yourself, okay? You’re small, and you’re not used to alcohol. It doesn’t take much to get you drunk.”
“Yeah, I know,” she says in a sad voice. “I just wanted to keep up with Molly and Kayla. They drink a lot more than I do.”
“That’s not something to be proud of.” I take the exit off the freeway toward the RiNo neighborhood of Denver, where I live. “Did they tell you they were leaving?”
She shakes her head. “They were playing beer pong with these guys, and I started to feel like the fifth wheel, so I went into the kitchen and drank in there by myself for a while so I wouldn’t feel so awkward. By the time I went back out there, they were gone. I looked for them all over the house, but they weren’t there. Someone said they left with the guys to go to another party. I tried texting and calling them, but they wouldn’t answer.”
“Wow. Great friends.”
She wipes the tears from her face, and I feel bad for my sarcastic quip. I’ve already given her enough shit.
I pull into the driveway of my townhome, kill the engine, and turn to look at Anna. “Listen. I won’t lie, I’m not happy that you drank too much. But I’m glad you called me. I always want you to call me, whenever you need me, no matter what. Especially if you’ve had too much to drink. Okay?”
She nods. Her light brown hair falls in her face, and she pushes it away. “Okay. Thanks, Ryker.”
“And I’m sorry I made those smart-ass comments. I’m just mad that your friends ditched you.”
She looks down at her lap. “It’s okay. I’m mad at them too.”
I go to hop out of the car, but she stops me.
“Ryker, wait. Are you sure you’re not mad?”
“I told you, I’m more mad at your friends.”
She shakes her head. “No, I mean…are you ever mad that Nick and I rely on you so much? You’re our older brother, but sometimes it feels like you’re our third parent. You take care of us almost as much as Mom and Dad do.”
My parents got pregnant with me when they were in college. Money was tight, but they made it work. And when they saw how much I loved hockey as a little kid, they sacrificed so much so I could play. For most of my life, we lived in a small, run-down two-bedroom, one-bathroom house in a not-so-nice part of the city so they could pay for my hockey training camps, equipment, and extra coaching.
When they had the twins, my mom gave up her job to be a stay-at-home parent and take me to all my hockey games and tournaments. My dad worked two jobs to support our family. So when I got drafted into the NHL and started making insane amounts of money, I vowed to take care of my parents and my siblings. It was the least I could do after all they did for me.
“I’m not mad, Anna. I’m your big brother. It’s my job to take care of you.”
