WE FOUND BRENTON outside in the parking lot, sitting on a curb.
"What's wrong?" Niko asked as we approached him. "I thought dinner was going really well."
"I know."
Niko glanced at me, confusion on his face, before looking back at Brenton. "So what's the issue?"
Brenton slowly stood up. "I can't let him back into my life. I'm trying hard not to, but..." He choked on his sentence as he held back tears.
"Hey, it's okay, man." Niko extended a hand, but Brenton slapped it away.
He looked down at the ground to avoid eye contact. "You don't understand."
Dad, Alex, and Holden came outside to see what was going on. Niko retreated, so I approached my twin, but he stopped me before I could get close. "I don't think that's a good idea."
Ignoring Niko, I went up to Brenton and grabbed his face, forcing him to look at me. "I know you feel like you have to be the tough one and protect us all, but since Dad left that's all you've done. Whether it's your overprotectiveness, your anger, or even your stupid cape, your only purpose isn't to save us from all of the hurt and pain in this world."
He tore his gaze away, but it was too late. I already saw the tear.
"You're my best friend too, idiot," I continued. "Your whole life you've looked out for me, so as your best friend, let me look out for you."
When Dad joined us, I stepped to the side to give him space. "When Dani told me you were willing to see me, it felt like I was getting a second chance at being a parent. Nothing will ever forgive or justify what I've done but I promise to be there in every way that I can." He sighed. "I know it'll take time and I don't expect you to even like me anytime soon, but I just want you to know that this time, I'm not leaving."
That was the final straw for Brenton. After years of bottling up his feelings and being the tough one, he finally let them all out. His whole body wracked as he sobbed, years' worth of sadness, anger, and pain, all flooding out at once. At that moment, all I could see was the little boy whose father left too soon.
Brenton looked up at our dad and hugged him, taking us all by surprise. Dad hugged him back, and by the way he was shaking, I could tell he was also crying.
I wiped a stray tear from under my eye as I watched their heartfelt reunion. I felt Niko's presence next to me as he put his arm around my shoulders, and I rested my head against his chest.
"Not bad, Little D. Not bad."
~*~
Some time had passed since our reunion with Dad and although my brothers didn't mention him in front of Mom, I knew they were all happy to have him back in our lives. While Alex and I saw him almost every other day, Niko called him once a week, and Brenton... Well, he was taking baby steps.
I was sitting on the porch doing some work on my laptop when Alex and Brenton burst out of the house. "Where are you guys off to?"
"The baseball game!" Alex announced, waving his massive foam finger in my face.
I cocked an eyebrow at my twin. "You're going too?"
His mouth curved up into a sly smile. "Peter knows the guy who owns the stadium and he got me an extra ticket." Brenton still hadn't warmed up to the idea of calling our father Dad.
"I hope you have fun," I told them both.
Dad's car pulled up on the driveway and he got out of the car. Alex ran over and hugged him, while Dad tossed his keys to Brenton, who happily ran to sit in the driver's seat. I held my breath when Mom came outside.
"You look good," Dad told her.
"Have them back by midnight," she answered briskly, immune to his compliment, however still behaving in a civil fashion.
"I will," he promised.
"And no caffeine for Alex after nine," she added.
"Okay."
"And..."
"I've got it, Mel."
She scowled at him. "It's Mayor Melinda Parker to you."
He grinned at her. "I always knew you liked the name Parker."
"Goodbye, Peter."
He chuckled as they got in the car and sped off. I could only imagine how much fun Brenton was having driving Dad's car.
"I have no idea how you got Brenton to warm up to him," Mom said to me once they were gone.
"Makes two of us," I admitted.
"Have you given any thought to my offer?" she asked.
Honestly, I had completely forgotten about her offer. "There's just a lot going on right now, but I promise I'll get back to you soon."
"Very well," she said. "But it won't be on the table forever."
~*~
Later that night while my brothers were still at the game, I was bored in my bedroom trying to find something to do when my phone rang. I saw Amber's name flash across my phone screen.
"Dani!" she squealed. "It's me, Amber!"
I rubbed my ear from her loud voice. "I kind of figured, you know, since I have caller ID."
"Oh, right! You're so smart, Vangie!"
Vangie? Amber only called me by the shortened version of my middle name when she was...
"Are you wasted?"
She snorted. "No..."
"Amber!"
"Just a teeny tiny bit," she admitted.
I sighed. "Send me the address. I'll come get you."
After spending ten minutes deciphering her text message, I was able to find the house where the party was happening. Amber never partied alone so I was guessing this must have been her cost-effective therapy session, but still, I couldn't leave her alone.
I tiptoed out the front door, about to leave, but I stopped when I realized two things: my jeep was still not released from the police station, and Brenton hid the keys to his sports car to ensure no one else could use it. James and Niko were at Penbrooke, so I called the only other person who would be willing to go on a rescue mission in the middle of the night.
No later than eight minutes later did a car pull into my street. I walked across the driveway and sat in the passenger seat. "Thanks for doing this," I said.
Holden shrugged his shoulders before driving down the street. "I had nothing better to do today."
When we arrived at Amber's destination, the party was in full swing. We walked past drunk and high teenagers and college students as we scoured the crowd for Amber.
"It'll be faster if we split up," Holden said. "Message me if you find her."
We parted ways and someone approached me with a tray of drinks. "Welcome to my house," she said in a bored tone.
"Thanks. I feel so... welcomed."
She rolled her eyes. "Do you want a drink or not?"
I wasn't going to argue with her, so I quietly took a plastic solo cup off of the tray. I didn't have the best track record when it came to getting drunk so I just held onto the cup, not taking a sip, as I searched for my best friend. I was weaving my way through a bunch of sweaty people when someone tapped my shoulder.
"Daniella Parker?"
It was Stefano, my mom's colleague's son who I ran into at our backyard party.
"What are you doing at a traffic light party?"
I raised my eyebrows. "What the hell's that?"
He gestured to the people around us. "Look at everyone's cup, it's either red, yellow, or green. Red means you're in a relationship, yellow means it's complicated, and green means single." His gaze flickered to my cup and he smirked.
I looked down to see what earned that reaction from him. My cup was green.
"I guess it didn't work out with that boyfriend, hm?"
"Dani!"
Just in time, Holden came up to me.
I glanced at him before looking back at Stefano. "Actually, he's right here." I playfully punched Holden's arm. "Hey... you."
Stefano laughed dryly. "No way this is him. Isn't this your brother's friend?"
Holden looked at us confusedly. "What's going on?"
I punched his arm again. "Shut up... you."
Stefano rolled his eyes. "If you're not into me, just say so instead of making lies."
"Okay, I'm not into you," I told him bluntly before grabbing Holden's arm. "Let's go."
Stefano scoffed at my response. "It's always the ugliest bitches with the most confidence."
I stopped and turned around. Someone was walking past us, so I grabbed his cup and tossed the liquid in Stefano's face.
"You bitch!" he bellowed.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" I apologized before also throwing my cup at him. "I'm such a klutz."
Leaving him with the mess, I left to go find Amber, Holden following closely behind. "It's never a dull moment with you, Parker."
"Who even comes up with stupid party themes like these?" I grumbled.
"Who doesn't know what a traffic light party is?" he laughed.
I looked at him and my eyes zeroed in on the empty green cup in his hand. "How much did you have to drink?"
"None."
"Holden," I said sternly.
"I swear," he promised. "All I had was some sprite."
I snatched the cup from him and sniffed it, my eyes burning from the strong smell of alcohol. "I think someone spiked your drink."
He blinked in surprise. "I'm flattered... and more so terrified. Can we go?"
We continued searching for Amber, finally locating her on a couch with a guy. My mixed feelings of curiosity and worry turned into secondhand embarrassment when I saw her sobbing to this boy she found.
"And then he forbade guys from dating me!" She blew her nose on a tissue and then placed it on the guy's lap. "Can you believe that?"
I swooped in before she could further embarrass herself. "I'm so sorry," I told the guy as I grabbed Amber and dragged her away.
"I'm going to need another drink," Holden slurred.
I grabbed both drunken idiots by the hand and led them out of the house and to Holden's car.
"Give me your keys," I ordered. When he didn't respond I turned around to see him staring back at me, his eyes wide. "What are you... Screw off."
This idiot had put his keys in his mouth.
"Open wide," I barked. Holden tried to scurry off, but I grabbed a fistful of his hair to keep him in place. Using my other hand, I pinched his side, forcing him to open his mouth, and I grabbed the spit-covered, wet keys out of his mouth. I wiped them against his shirt before using the keys to unlock the car. I lugged both drunken dummies in the backseat before sitting in the front and driving home.
Amber lived closer so I decided to drop her off first, making sure to call Chastity and give her a heads up so Amber wouldn't get in trouble with her parents. A few minutes into the drive to her house, Amber began to cry.
I couldn't tell if this was a drunken stupor or if something was really eating at her. "What's wrong, Amber?"
"I miss him," she choked out.
"Brent?" I asked.
She nodded her head and continued to wail. "I'm such an idiot!" Using the corner of Holden's shirt, she blew her nose into it.
I tried to hold back my laugh while Holden shrieked. "What the hell, you red-haired demon?"
"You'll survive," I assured him as I continued driving. I looked at Amber through the rearview mirror. "What happened?"
"I want him back," she continued. "I never should've left him."
"Hold on, I thought he dumped you."
She covered her face with her hands. "I lied!" Amber broke into tears as I tried to digest the newfound information.
"You guys are a mess," Holden said before breaking into a fit of giggles.
I wanted to ask Amber some more, but when I heard the soft sounds of snoring I realized she had fallen asleep. We arrived at her house and Chastity dragged her sleeping body in.
"Thanks for bringing her in one piece," she told me. "Amber's dead in the morning."
"Go easy on her," I said through my open window. It looked like she was going through a lot. I watched as Chastity brought her inside before driving away. I wasn't entirely sure what to do about Holden. If I dropped him off that meant I'd have to walk home and I wasn't sure that was the best idea.
"You're not walking home," he suddenly said, voicing my thoughts.
"What about you?" I asked.
"I'll figure it out."
"What does that mean, Holden?"
He unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned forward in the space between the two front seats. "Why'd you say my name like that?"
"It's Holden," I said.
He shook his head. "You said Hol-den. It's Hold-en."
"No, it's not," I scoffed.
"Yes, it is," he argued.
"You're just drunk."
"I think I'd know how to pronuniciate my name, Daniella."
I rolled my eyes. "That's not even a real word, Giuseppe."
He gasped. "How do you know that? Who are you?"
I turned into my street and parked the car on the side of the road. "What's the plan?"
"I'll sleep in my car," he offered.
In any other situation, I'd have no problem with that, but knowing someone had been lurking and spying on me for months had me on edge. Although I was fairly sure nothing would happen to Holden, I wasn't certain.
"Maybe you should come inside."
"So Mrs. Stick-up-her-a... I mean your mother, can tell my parents I showed up to her house drunk?" he said incredulously.
"I can sneak you in Niko's room?"
"So Brent can find out I let his sister —who doesn't have a licence, may I add— drive my car while I got hammered?"
"Fine," I huffed out of ideas. "You can sleep in my room."
"So—"
"Shut up," I snapped. I put the car in park and slowly crept to the house with Holden beside me. I gestured for him to wait outside as I entered through the front door to see if anyone was awake.
"Where'd you come back from?"
Mayday, mayday, location compromised.
Oh, it was just Adam. Wait a minute...
"Why are you in my house this late?" I asked.
He offered a sheepish smile. "Your brothers aren't back from the game yet..."
So much for that midnight curfew.
"...and your mother asked me to keep her company until they came home."
More like she wanted to flaunt her new boyfriend to Dad.
"Darling, who are you talking to?" Mom called out from her office.
I locked eyes with Adam, pleading with him to not say a word.
"I'm just on a work call, hun."
Phew.
"I don't know what you're up to, but we never spoke," he said before turning around and walking away.
I breathed in relief before slowly opening the door. Holden opened his mouth to speak, but I slapped my palm over his lips before he could, and I dragged him up to my bedroom. It wasn't until I closed my door behind me did I let go of his mouth.
Holden gasped for air. "You could've killed me!"
"Next time use your nose, mouthbreather."
He looked down at his shirt and wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Can I change? I still have Amber snot on me."
"No. You're going straight to bed before anyone else finds out you're here."
"Please?" he whined.
"No."
"Dani?"
"No."
"But—"
"Holden," I said in a firm tone, unwilling to put up with his nonsense. I was adamant about not letting things get out of hand, and I just wanted him to go to sleep.
"Fine," he grumbled. "But I'm taking the bed."
"What? No!"
It was too late. He sprawled himself on my bed without a care. I was trying to figure out what to do about my sleeping arrangements when I heard a low whistle. Looking straight ahead and out my open window, I saw the neighbour kid staring into mine, a bucket of cotton candy in his hand.
"Can I help you?" I asked, feeling my right eye twitch.
"Whatcha got over there?" He jutted his chin towards Holden.
"Long story," I said with a wave of my hand.
"I thought your boyfriend was blonde," he continued.
The twitching in my eye didn't stop. Although nothing had happened between Holden and me, I didn't want to risk this stupid kid running his mouth to James. "I'll give you ten bucks to keep this to yourself."
"Double or nothing," he bargained.
I sighed in defeat at his proposal. Grinning, he tossed his cotton candy bucket through the open windows to my bedroom, and I shoved a ten-dollar bill in there. I checked my pockets in search of more cash but the ten was all I had. I walked up to Holden's near-dead figure and patted his pockets in search of his wallet. When I felt the budge of what I was praying was his wallet, I yanked it out of his pants pocket and slipped out two tens. I put one in the bucket and the other in my pocket before chucking the bucket at the kid, narrowly missing his head.
"You've got a good arm," he remarked. "Pleasure doing business with ya, hot stuff."
I showed him my middle finger as I shut my window and curtains. Holden's soft snores filled the air so I took this as my sign to sleep as well. Since he had taken over my bed, I grabbed the beanbag chair on my floor and dragged it to my door, before slumping on it. I wasn't going to take the risk of anyone else walking in on this situation, so I slept with my back pressed against my bedroom door.