Evelyn smiled. “What do you plan on doing, brother?”
I glared to her. “Not what you think,” I said. “I just need to talk to him about something.”
Evelyn looked me up and down while Eric toyed with the keys in his hands. “You’ve got a phone for a reason, dude.”
“I’m grounded,” I reminded them.
“How?” they both asked me at the same time. I shrugged, not wanting to get into anything. My mind was still spinning from breaking up with Haven, and I was unsure if there was really any chance for me at school tomorrow.
⟴. I have homework.
“Can you drive me or not?” I asked Eric.
My older brother shrugged before he put his keys back down on his bed. I didn’t really care what deal he wanted to make, as long as he’d let me take the keys at night. “Imma make a deal with you,” he said.
“Go,” I challenged.
Eric smirked. “You let us come with you, and I won’t tell Mom and Dad about you sneaking around all the time.”
I looked at him like he was crazy. “What? Wh-why would you even-no.”
“He’s just worried about his emotions,” Evelyn said, rolling her eyes. “It isn’t the worst thing in the world, Ez. Plus, I wanna talk to Callie.”634Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡykbB7jpVap
It’s like I can never have a private conversation with somebody. “Then call her on the phone,” I said. If Evelyn wanted to be friends with Calliannah, that was her business, not mine. I could care less about whatever happens in their friendship, as long as she doesn’t ruin my time with Delcan. Sure, he doesn’t listen, and he can annoy me for hours at a time, but it’s better being around him than with Haven. Or Evvie, for that matter.
Eric shrugged. “Alright,” he said. “Then I guess you’re gonna have a fun talk with Dad.”
Gym.
“Fine,” I said. “But I swear to God, Eric if you ask a single-"634Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcvMZzUb44Y
“Oh, chill.” Eric rolled his eyes. “I don’t want any of those details, in the first place.”
Evelyn shook her head with her eyes closed before she opened them again and looked at me. “You should probably text him.”
“What does grounded mean to you?”
Evelyn looked like she was about to flip me off, but I was surprised that she didn’t. “Do you know his number?"634Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡohSGC43a5x
The only people’s numbers I know are my parents, and that’s because of when I was younger. I can’t even remember the first few digits of it, let alone the entire number. I didn’t even know the actual address of his house.
I want my phone back.
“No,” I said.
Eric pulled out his phone within a second. “I’ll text him,” he said.
I looked at him, raising my eyebrows. “When did you get his number?”
“You’re dating a guy who literally slept with people for money,” Eric said. I looked down at the ground. “And you’re asking me how I got his number?”634Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1sJkkNWP9I
“Was it from Ethan?” I asked.
Eric nodded with a straight face.
I got past whatever information Ethan could possibly share about Delcan (that would actually be lies) and tried to think of a way out of this. “Why do you even want to be around Delcan? He doesn’t like many people.”
“I’m shocked,” Evelyn said sarcastically.
“He responded,” Eric said, looking up from his phone. Since they were already butting into my business, I might as well listen. I sat down next to Eric as he gave his phone to me.
Delcan Heslop:
Okay, stop. How the ⟴ did you get my number?
“Told you,” I said.
Eric shrugged and took his phone out of my hands before he began responding to him. Delcan had told me once on one of our dates that he didn’t care much about my siblings or friends, and he wouldn’t let anything come between our relationship - if we were to have one. “He’s texting back,” Eric said.
Evelyn finally got off the rolling chair from Eric’s desk and sat down next to me. “Ez, can you ask Delcan if he hates me?”
I smiled. “He doesn’t hate you, Evelyn,” I said. “He just has unique ways of showing his emotions.”634Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPhBwsHzGVt
“Like flipping me off,” she said.
Oh.
“Yeah,” I said, shrugging. It was really the most I could say because it was hard to explain how Delcan’s brain worked.
I don’t even think he knows how his brain works.
Delcan Heslop:
Whatever.
This better be something interesting, though.
It was odd how quickly he’d agreed to it. He never really does that. Evelyn stood up and pulled her hair into a high ponytail. “I guess I should get ready,” she said.
Both Eric and I looked over to her. “Why?” I asked her. “You look decent enough.”634Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa0OZw2vYY5
“I haven’t even washed my hair, Ezra,” Evelyn said, looking at me as if I’d just said the worst thing to ever say. “And my outfit needs to be changed.”
Eric shut his phone off, and set it down. He shrugged. “I will never understand women,” he muttered under his breath. Evelyn glared at him before she huffed and left the room, leaving Eric and I to ourselves.
“Eleven thirty,” I told him. He nodded without question, and I left his room. So we’re doing this. Once Mom and Dad are both asleep, we’ll be making our first move.
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