Sabrina averts her gaze, and she looks to Brody for a second. “I can come to Sunday dinner? He didn’t tell me about that.”
I shrug.
My mom has an open door policy for my friends, and she’s always had a particular sweet spot for Brody. I know she wouldn’t care if he brought a plus one, especially if that plus one has him smiling again.
“Trust me, Nic’s mom won’t care. She loves me, and a friend of mine is a friend of hers. The whole gang will be there, so you’ll get to meet the kiddos. Plus, Miss Alicia is making carrot cake." He pauses to give her a shy smile. "I know that's your favorite."
Sabrina smiles back at him, and then her gaze meets mine. “Wait, did you say Michele? Like Michele Michele? She's going to be there?”
Brody tenses up a bit, and I make it my business to do damage control. I don't want her to worry about Mich, and I for sure want to give her The Talk. After all that Brody's been through, I feel like it's my duty to make sure he never gets hurt again.
“B, why don't you go to the Vans store and get Case and Dalis’s shoes?” I ask.
I’d told him when we first got here that I would buy his younger brother and sister school shoes so that he wouldn’t have to waste his money on that stuff and could instead buy food for them. I know he struggles with school and trying to find steady work to make ends meet, so my family and I do our best to help him out as much as possible. A couple forty dollar pairs of shoes surely won’t break my bank.
“You sure? You don’t want to come with me? I don’t want to waste up all your money, Nic,” he protests.
“I have a job, Brody. And besides that, I have parents, brothers, and a boyfriend who’ll give me money if I need it. Get your brother and sister the shoes they asked for.” I hand him my debit card. “My pin number is 0206. Go crazy. Bree and I can have girl talk.”
Reluctantly, he takes it, and then stands up. He glances between Sabrina and me, and then shakes his head. “Be nice to her,” he says.
“Aren’t I always?” I give him a grin.
He shakes his head again before leaning over the table and kissing Sabrina’s forehead. “I’ll see you guys soon.”
I give him a two finger salute right before he walks away.
Once he’s a far enough distance away, I turn to Sabrina and narrow my eyes a bit. Before, I only saw her as my coworker. Now, I see her as a potential threat. Not to me, but to Brody’s well-being. As much as I love Michele, she did a number on him, just like the one he did on her. But she’s the one on top now and he’s the one who has to suffer. But Sabrina…I don’t know where she stands.
She could be the one to put all the little pieces of him back together, or she could be the one to break him for good.
“What are your intentions with Brody?” I ask, getting right to the point because I don’t know any other way to be.
She laughs a little bit, but she doesn’t sound nervous. She just seems amused. That’s not at all what I was going for. “Really? That’s what you wanted me alone for?”
I shrug. I may as well be honest. I don’t want her to get the impression that Brody’s the kind of guy who can just have fun, nor do I want her to put her whole heart into something before knowing what Brody’s really like.
“I just want to know where you see this going. I’m curious because of my friend, and because I potentially see you as a friend of mine. I don’t want either of you to get hurt.”
She sits forward on her elbows, her hair spilling to the front and she starts nibbling absentmindedly at her lower lip. “You want the truth?” When I nod, she pushes her hair back and away from her face. “I like him. I like him a lot. I liked him even before he apologized for calling me a bitch. But I don’t know what I’m going to do about it. He seems like he’s returning fire, but I can’t really be sure. He’s hard to read.” She pauses. “But I don’t want to hurt him. I refuse to do that because I can tell how badly he’s been hurt before. And there’s no way he can possibly hurt me. I’m already broken.” She averts her eyes with a low gasp after her admission. “You don’t have to worry about me hurting him. I swear it.”
From the look in her eyes, I can see that there’s something hidden beneath them. There’s a world of pain and hurt that no one has unearthed yet. I know, because I would recognize that look anywhere.
“Well, it’s not just him I’m worried about. It’s you, too. Brody’s a complicated man, Sabrina. If you like him as much as you say you do, just…be patient with him. And try to understand that there’s more going on in his life than what you see on the surface. If you can do that, you’ll be fine.”
She nods, and gives me a smile.
I order her a pretzel of her own, since Brody took his with him, and we sit and talk for a long while. She takes the final bite of her pretzel and looks up at me, scores of questions in her eyes.
“So, about this week in Big Bear,” she says, drawing out every word. “Your friend Michele’s not going to try and kill me is she?”
Laughing, I shake my head. Michie’s been itching for a fight since her last encounter with Mads, but she knows better than to start drama while on vacation. Once I tell her who Sabrina is, I’ll make sure they stay away from each other if civility is impossible.
“No. You’ll be fine. Just enjoy yourself with Brody, and don’t worry about Mich. Everyone will be too busy with their significant others to deal with drama, trust me.”
I grin inwardly, thinking of how much I plan to enjoy myself with Colin while we’re away.
Eighteen.
“I don’t know how you talked me into doing this, but I’m sure glad you did,” Colin says, grabbing our suitcases out of the trunk and setting them on the floor as he closes it. He lifts my duffel bag—which is full of makeup and girly stuff—over his shoulder before pulling me into an embrace. “Although I’m not sure how this is going to be with Michele and Brody together for the weekend.”
I nudge him playfully, letting him lead us into my Nonna’s cabin out in Big Bear. “It’ll be fine. Brody’s not thinking about Michie, and Michie’s for sure not thinking about Brody. Don’t worry about their drama. They’re both here with two separate people, so I doubt anything will happen.” He opens the door to the cabin, setting our bags down just inside the front door. “Besides, we get the master suite with the Jaccuzzi. Are you sure you want to worry about what other people are doing this week?”
He closes the door, then grabs my hips in both his hands and pushes me up against it. Surprised and excited by this sudden turn of events, I grab onto his shirt and drag him close so that he’s pressed against me. His arms encircle my waist and he lifts me up. I wrap my legs around his torso and Colin leans up against me so that I’m pressed onto the wall with nothing but his strength holding me up. His hands slam on the wall beside my head as he bends forward and presses his lips to mine. I’m left speechless and breathless by how forward he’s being, but somehow, I find words to speak and breath to inhale before I tell him what I want to tell him.
“Thank you for coming with me,” I manage to choke out.
He grins, pressing another kiss to my lips before he reaches up and pushes my hair out of my face. “Did I have a choice?” he asks playfully.
“Of course you did. I’m just glad you made the right one.”
Before our conversation can go any further, Sabrina walks in, her hand clutching Brody’s. She grins as she takes in the inside of my Nonna’s cabin, and then frowns when she turns to see Colin and me in a compromising position.
“Well, well, well,” she says, a smug grin on her face. “You trying to be the first ones to christen a room in this house?”
Heat rises in my cheeks and I grab hold of Colin’s neck as I let my legs drop. He steps back, shoving his hands in his pockets. He looks as bashful as I feel, getting caught in the act. I notice that Brody hasn’t looked in our direction, and I know that’s a good thing.
We step away from the wall and Brody starts grabbing bags and suitcase
s off the floor. “Where am I taking this?” he asks.
Colin grabs our bags, and jerks his head to one side. “We’re in the first room to the left on the second floor. You guys can pick any room except that one,” he replies.
I turn to face Sabrina once the boys are out of the room, and she’s still smirking at me. I want to say something, but I don’t know what to say without digging myself into an even deeper hole. So instead, I smirk back.
“Want to help me bring the groceries in?” she offers, when the silence gets a bit unbearable.
I nod, grateful for something to do. We head outside and I pop the trunk of Colin’s car. I grab half the bags, and Sabrina grabs the rest, holding them over her shoulder as we walk back to the house.
Inside, Sabrina pops open all the cabinets and starts putting food away. I set my bags on the counter, but I don’t even get a single grocery out before she takes my bag from me.
“Ah, ah, ah,” she says, opening the bag and putting things where she thinks they belong.
“I can put away groceries, too, you know,” I argue.
She shakes her head, I don’t bother to press the issue. Instead, I prop myself on the counter and cross my legs. Sabrina pulls a bag of chips out of a grocery bag, so I extend my hand and she tosses the bag to me. I rip it open, staring at her as she continues about her business. After a few moments, she turns around, hand on her hips, lips pursed, and eyebrows furrowed as she glares at me.
“Who paid for Brody and me to come this week?” she asks, and her voice is small with a hint of defiance.
I shrug my shoulders. “He paid, technically. I just so happened to give the money to his sister Dalis and then Colin and me put in for his share.”
She looks confused as to what I’m saying, so I shrug my shoulders again. Right now, it’s not her place to know what the dynamic is between Brody and his family, but she does need to know that in this family, the one we’ve established since we were children, we look out for our own. Brody is one of our own and we’ll do whatever it takes to make sure he, Cason, and Dalis are taken care of at all times.
“I can pay my own way. I don’t want someone else paying for me.”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath, wondering how best I can explain this to her. I want her to know that all our intentions are pure, and whatever it takes to convey that message, I’m willing to do it.
“Sabrina, this isn’t a pity thing. It’s a family thing. Besides Colin, Michele’s boyfriend Hayden, and my sister’s boyfriend Trevor, we’ve all been friends since childhood. Sarah grew up next door and then moved away. She didn’t come back until she was fourteen, and then she fell in love with my brother. So all these people are my family. And in this family, we take care of our own.” I pause, watching her reaction. “You’re with Brody. I don’t know for how long. It could be for this break only or for the rest of your lives. But as long as you are with him, you’re one of our own. And I’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”
She seems to accept this answer. She purses her lips once more and then turns away to continue with the groceries. I, however, am a bit worried about what she thinks of the fact Colin and I footed her and Brody’s bill. So I feel the need to continue to explain, even though she’s not looking at me.
I shake my head. “When Brody paid, you hadn’t come around yet. He paid back in December, and his payment was for him and my sister, Naomi. I didn’t want him paying for her so I gave all his money to his sister and let that be the end of it. Then Naomi said she wanted to bring Trevor, and Brody really wanted to bring you, so I made it happen. End of story.” I sigh. “I’m just going to tell you, there’s a lot to this friendship and to his personal story that you don’t know yet. We take care of our own, Sabrina. You’re with Brody now. Don’t worry about a thing.”
She nods again, and I take that as her letting me know that she understands, at least to some extent.
I hear the front door open, and I lean forward as far as I can without falling off the counter to see who’s just entered. I don’t have to lean forward for long because my sister walks inside, followed by a tan-skinned boy with fitted pants, a leather jacket, and a nice pair of Nike’s, his dark hair in a crew cut. I can only assume that’s Trevor, considering the fact that they’re holding hands. He’s tall, and he makes her petite frame seem even smaller. His hand is twined with hers and she glows a bit as she strides toward me.
I lean forward again, thinking that she’s set to give me a hug, but instead, she says, “Hey!” and snatches the bag of chips from my hand. She hops up on the counter beside me, pulling Trevor so that he’s right beside her. “Guys, this is Trey. He’s my boyfriend.”
As soon as that word is out of her mouth, Nikkolas and Sarah enter the kitchen, followed by Colin and Brody.
Brody’s eyes scan the room, and when they land on Sabrina, it’s like his entire world stops for a few seconds. I know that look. I’ve seen it in Colin’s eyes far too many times to count. He walks past her, his hand caressing her waist. He glances at Trey, his hand still on Bree, and then he grins, giving me a wink.
“I didn’t know there was another Quinn,” he teases.
The minute he does, Nomi nudges him a little with her foot, though it barely even grazes him. “That’s Trey. My boyfriend. Be. Nice.”
She has a hint of a warning in her voice, and I know it’s because she knows how overprotective Brody can be. But it’s’ just in his nature to look out for those he loves. If it wasn’t, he probably wouldn’t be in the situation he’s in right now with his siblings. Besides Cason and Dalis, he basically adopted all of us. If someone were to ever hurt us, they’d regret it because Brody Durham doesn’t fuck around when his it comes to his loved ones.
“I’m always nice, Nomi! However, he does look like he could be Nikky and Kales’ long lost triplet.” His grin grows wider as Trey seems to grow uncomfortable at the fun Brody’s poking at him. Brody laughs when he sees Trey’s face turn red, and he lets go of Bree momentarily. “I’m Brody. I’m her big brother.” With those words, he stands a bit straighter, projecting himself so that he towers over Trevor a little bit. Trevor cowers, and that makes Brody laugh a bit harder. He strolls back over to Sabrina, and, grabbing her hand, he pulls her in close so that her back’s against his chest. He wraps his arms around her middle and her hands come up to rest upon them. If only he could see how she’s beaming right now. “This is Sabrina. She’s not my girlfriend. But she will be.”
He gives me a wink, and I happy dance a little bit inside. This is the first I’ve heard him stake a claim to her, and even though it’s soon, I can’t help but express a little joy for him. Sabrina’s grin grows with Brody’s words, and she holds him a little tighter, resting her head against his body.
Nomi exchanges glances with me, but doesn’t say anything. She hops off the counter and grabs Trevor’s hand. “Well, as much as I’m loving this Getting-To-Know-You-Kitchen-Pow-Wow, I’d rather be to beating Nikkolas to the room with the balcony.”
My brother rolls his eyes, but when Naomi takes off like a bat out of Hell, he follows suit, leaving Sarah and me alone with Sabrina and the other two boys. We burst out laughing, and Colin comes over to pull me off the counter. I kiss him lightly on the lips and smile at him.
“Knock, knock!” a male voice exclaims, and the sound of it makes me leap off the counter.
I rush toward the front door and grin the minute I see Hayden standing in the doorway with Skylar on his hip.
“HJ! Hi!” I exclaim, racing toward him. I extend my arms to envelop both him and Skylar. “Hi, sweetheart!”
Sky hugs me back, and when I release them, she’s beaming.
“Where’s Mich?”
Hayden gestures toward the car and smiles. “She’s talking to our babysitter for the week.”
I peer past him and see his sister, Lizzie, emerging from the car, and Michele trails behind her.
The first thing I notice is that Michie’s hair is completely different
from the last time I saw her, which was only yesterday. She’s cut it to her shoulders. And she’s even dyed it, which she hasn’t done since she was fifteen. Her roots to mid-shaft are a chocolate brown that fades to honey blonde, and the ends of her hair are so bright blonde that they’re almost platinum. She wears a center part and her hair’s curled up. If I hadn’t known her my entire life, I probably wouldn’t recognize her.
“Hey, Mich,” I say, smiling at her as I reach out to hug Lizzie.
Hayden sets his daughter down, and she clings to Michie’s leg.
“Sky wants to stay for dinner. Is that okay?” When I nod, he smiles. “Lizzie’s gonna take her home and Mich and I are leaving on Wednesday so we can have some family time.”
Hayden has full custody of his four year old daughter, and he has since she was born. While we were in Big Springs last summer, his ex-wife left Skylar’s life for good, and he’s had trouble being away from her for more than a few days since then.
“Where is everybody?” Michele asks.
“Everyone except Nomi and Nikky are in the kitchen,” I reply.
She nods and makes her way to where I’ve just directed her. It’s only then that I realize I never told her Sabrina was here. Hayden follows me into the kitchen without Skylar in tow. She stays with her aunt, which I have a feeling is a good thing. Once inside, we find Sabrina and Michele in a stare down of epic proportions.
Bree towers over Mich, her legs spread wide and Brody’s hand at her lower back as she places a hand on her hip. Mich has her arms crossed over her chest and her chin juts out in defiance.
“You must be Sabrina,” Michele says, giving my new friend a smile.
“And you’re clearly Michele. How can I help you?” Sabrina asks.
Michele seems stunned by Bree’s spunk, but that only makes her stand straighter and taller.
“I just wanted to see who Brody’s so taken with.” She eyes Sabrina up and down.
“Brody’s not really your concern anymore.”
Shit.
I hope they’re not about to fight in here. If they are, I’m kicking everyone out and keeping the cabin for Colin and me. I don’t have time, energy, or patience for other peoples’ drama on my spring break.
Almost Everything (Nickayla Quinn Trilogy Book 2) Page 16