Gracious

Chapter 42

"Yeah, that'll happen", he laughed, "they do jack shit for me, I'd rather poke my eyes out with-,".

"Alexander", I warned him once more, twisting a ring on my finger, "enough".

"So you're on board with this?", he scoffed, shaking his head incredulously as I ran my tongue along my teeth.

"Did I say that?", I turned back to the teacher, "I don't think that's necessary, he won't be cooperative and I can't say they've been of any use up until now". Alexander snorted, attempting to mask it with a cough the second I glared at him.

"Very well", the teacher nodded, "is Alexander still attending therapy outside of school?".

"Nope", my brother rolled his eyes, "I don't need it, so stop trying to force shit on me".

Him claiming he didn't need it wasn't exactly the truth, the only reason he was no longer in therapy was because his therapist of eight years, Wren, had quit her job when she became pregnant. My brother claimed he'd only go if she was his therapist, so there wasn't exactly a lot I could do about that.

"That'll be all", I rose from my seat, needing to get out of here before they decided to expel him instead; he sure knew how to keep me on my damn toes.

~

"You're proud it wasn't a fight, right?", Alexander wiggled his eyebrows at me the second we were in my car, "you swear you'll drive me back for my car later?".

"Mhm", I confirmed, "will you tell me where you were for forty minutes if I ask?".

"No", he replied and I snapped my mouth shut, "but I was in school, just not in the building".

"That doesn't help me at all", I muttered, squeezing the wheel, "is all this sneaking around harming you in any way?".

"No", he scrunched his face up, "you worry too much".

"I'm worrying because I barely see you anymore, you don't tell us anything, you expect us to believe you're fine?", my voice was rising in volume and I knew I needed to tone it down, getting angry with him was the last thing I needed to do- for his sake and my own.

"I am fine!", he snapped, the heels of his palms digging into his eyes, "why can't we just leave it at that? What do you want? Photographic proof? My location at all times? I'm not a kid anymore Zane, never really was".

"I want to know that you're safe", the last word came out quieter than the rest, the whole car falling silent, "all I've ever wanted is you safe".

His jaw clenched, a fist squeezing in his lap, then turning into a flat palm, then squeezing again.

"I am safe", he replied just above a whisper, "I'm happy, for once in my life I'm happy".

Not what I expected him to say.

"And that's all I want", I reached over and squeezed his shoulder, "that's all I want to hear". Our brothers' suspicions that this was romance related was seeming more and more palpable, but I'd never be the one to push him to reveal something he really didn't want to.

~

"So this is what happens when I get into trouble now?", the grin on Alexander's face was worth it, worth potentially being deemed as a bad parent for taking him for food right after collecting him from school.

"That's not an invitation to carry on", I raised an eyebrow, "smoking? Really?". He took a bite of his burger and shrugged with a hum, I think being a delinquent ran through this boy's veins...and as he'd gotten older I'd become more and more certain that I wouldn't have him any other way.