Page 16 of Play With Me
Just flat-out told him.
“You need to marry Hailey so you can be my son.”
He teared up and everything. I think he wants it as badly as she does.
“Thanks for letting me hang out with you guys today,” Paulie replies.
“Oh, anytime. You know this,” my mom says, patting him on the cheek and then pointing to me. “Myles, while you’re here, I have a few projects for you before you leave.”
I knew it. She always saves these up for me. Little repairs she can’t quite manage or ever get to with her work schedule. Honestly, I don’t mind. She’s done so much for me as a single mom. I’m here to help her in any way I can.
“You have a list for me?”
She pulls one from her pocket and hands it to me. “Thanks, love.”
“Anytime, Mom.”
“I can help too,” Paulie says, but my mom tuts loudly.
“You will absolutely not. You’ll sit down and tell me everything that’s been going on in your life since I last saw you, and eat some food. You’re far too thin.”
That’s not true. He’s shorter than me but just as muscular. But if we aren’t actively eating when we walk through the door, my mom thinks we’re starving.
She leads him to the kitchen where the flatbreads are baking, and I sigh when I see her hand him a slice. I’ll get some after I’ve done the list of chores she needs me to do.
“You’ve been replaced, little bro,” Maya says, throwing her arms around my middle and squeezing. She looks a lot like our dad. I don’t remember much about him other than that he had dark hair and strong arms. But the pictures Mom has hangingaround the house have made him a memory, one she won’t let us forget.
“Seems so.”
She laughs and then punches me in the stomach. Hard. I even wheeze a little.
“Come on. I’ll help your lame ass. Plus, I have questions.”
“I don’t have answers.”
“You sure do,” she says. “You’ve been awfully quiet, which means you have a secret. And I’m a PI now, so I can find shit out. Don’t think you’ll sneak past this.”
I don’t respond, knowing she’ll see right through any lie I try to tell. We make our way outside as I open up the list Mom gave me.
The note simply reads:Kill that goddamn vine, son of mine!
“Shit, not the damn vines again. I thought I pulled those all out last time. Are they seriously back?”
“Yep. They refused to die and have come back full force. They’re vengeful, it seems.”
I turn the corner and sure enough, there they are.
“It’s been two weeks. How have they grown this much? This has to be a freak of nature!”
Maya cackles as she hands me some clippers and then grabs a garbage bag. “This is our life, bro. We need to accept it. For the rest of our lives, we’ll be here trimming these back. Whatever critter planted these needs to die.”
I huff a laugh and get to work. Maybe snipping these infernal vines will help take my mind off Colton and his hands. And his damn mouth.
And everything about him.
But that only works for a few minutes because Maya is asking questions like some kind of FBI agent.
“So,” she begins. “What’s new with you?”
