Chapter Twenty - Mirabelle
CHAPTER TWENTY
Mirabelle
“OH, HE’S GOOD,” JJ says, laughing at the dilemma I’ve found myself in. I roll my eyes, looking out at the stadium from where I’m camped out in our family’s suite for my lunch. The world is quiet up here, especially in the middle of chaotic days trying to juggle everything for Stacey and prove that I’m still pulling my weight with the other interns.
“Yeah, I’m aware.” I groan, covering my face. I’ve spent the better part of the last few days trying to make this list, but so far I haven’t been able to write anything down.
“Like, I might need to write some of that shit down. Why the hell am I studying mathematics when I could be studying English and learning to put my degree to use by wooing girls? I mean, Henry’s a good-looking dude, and I already have a hard time looking away from him on the football field because of how he plays. But he also says shit like, ‘You’re the sun in the middle of a fucking hurricane.’ No wonder you’ve been holding out for him,” JJ says.
“Shut up, JJ. Does that mean you’re done trying to find Marley?” I ask, taking a sip of my latte.
“No, it doesn’t. She’s out there, and I’ll find her when I’m supposed to. In the meantime, can I ask that you don’t call me from the bathroom immediately after checking things off the list like you did with Emily?”
I snort, twisting the necklace I’m wearing today between my fingers. “It was an emergency, but I can promise you that I won’t call you from the bathroom if anything happens.” Nothing can happen until I make the goddamn list, but when Henry said to make a list, how many did he mean? Five? Ten? How many is too many?
“If? It sounds like he’s willing to do anything you want. What do you have so far?” JJ asks, and I can’t help laughing.
“Not a single fucking thing so you have no reason to worry about me calling you afterward.”
My brother sputters on the other end of the line. “I’m sorry. What?”
I know. I’m awful. “Henry hasn’t brought it up, but we’ve been swamped at work so it’s not like there’s been an opportunity to have a conversation about it. Hence why I’m calling you for help.”
“Sorry to pop your bubble, but I’m a virgin so I’m probably not the best person to help you fill out your golden ticket to sex.”
I wrinkle my nose in disgust at the analogy. “Don’t call it that. You’re making it sound like Henry’s dick is a trip to Willy Wonka’s factory.”
“Maybe it is.” JJ laughs, clearly finding this amusing. “There’s seriously nothing you want to do?”
That’s definitely not the issue. Reading romance books has given me a very active imagination as to what sex is supposed to be like, but I’ve found the real thing to be rather lackluster to say the least.
“There’s plenty I want to do, but how many is too many?”
If the whole point of this was to get me out of my head, then I’m failing miserably already.
“Mira, I love you, but as your brother, I cannot help you make this list, and if you love me, you won’t ask me to.”
“I know, I know. This is something I need to do myself,” I say, letting out a long sigh. I swirl the latte in my hand, the melting ice cubes clinking together. “I’ve been thinking about calling Mom.”
“Really?” JJ asks, and the phone beeps, interrupting.
“Hang on, I’m getting another call,” I say, pulling the phone away to see an unknown number. I quickly decline it, because if I don’t have the number saved, I don’t need to be answering it. “Sorry, wrong number or something.”
“Stupid scammers, they call me all the time.”
“Sam—” The phone begins to vibrate again. Seriously? “Sorry, I’ll call you right back. They’re calling again.”
I end the call with JJ to the sound of him laughing, before answering. “Hello?”
“Hi, this is Principal Rogers from Shoreline Preparatory Academy. I’m calling for Bailey Walker’s mother, Thalia Walker?”
My jaw hits the floor, and I quickly clear my throat. The principal? Why the fuck is the principal calling me, thinking I’m our mother? “Yes, this is she. May I ask what this is regarding?” I answer, trying to sound older.
“Ma’am, I apologize for interrupting your day, but I’m afraid that Bailey will need to be picked up as soon as possible. His teacher smelled alcohol on him, and I was immediately notified. Upon further discovery, we found that his water bottle contained alcohol. We believe that he is . . . well, that he is drunk, to put it bluntly. As this is a first-time offense, he will only be facing a five-day suspension.”
“Oh my god,” I say, gasping in horror. What the fuck?
“We have not notified the police, but if this happens again, I’m afraid it will be out of our hands per our handbook, and we will be forced to notify the authorities. Will you be picking Bailey up, or should I call your husband?”
I drag my hand down my face, choking back a laugh of disbelief. “Would it be okay if his brother, Hunter, were to take him home?”
“ Um, I guess that should be fine. Are you sure you don’t want to pick him up yourself?”
“Thank you. I apologize, but I am out of town on business, and my husband has a meeting today, but I assure you, we are going to take this very seriously,” I say, trying to sound calm without making my parents seem like absentee parents. God, what the hell is going on?
“These things happen unfortunately. If you’d like, I can send some pamphlets home with your sons about alcoholism and—”
“That’d be lovely. Thank you again for calling,” I interrupt, hanging up to silently scream in my hands. That’d be lovely? Who am I?
I gather my things into my bag quickly, trying not to spill my coffee, while juggling my phone and bag in the other. What the hell is going on with Bailey? I should absolutely be calling Mom and letting her deal with this, but I’m a little afraid that if I tell her, I’m only going to have two brothers instead of three.
I dart out of the suite, making my way toward the stairs to figure out how the fuck I’m going to convince my boss to let me leave in the middle of the day to save my idiotic brother. I have no words. I seriously think I’m going to kill Bailey.
Pressing Hunter’s contact, he answers immediately, his tone a hushed whisper. “How did I get excused from class?”
“The principal called me, thinking my number belonged to Mom. I’m on my way to beg my boss to let me leave, but is there somewhere you can take him until I can get home to keep our parents from killing him?”
“I can ask Kaitlyn to check where her parents are today. It could buy a little bit of time for you to get here.”
“That’s perfect, but what the fuck is going on?” I ask, trying to keep myself from taking my frustration out on the wrong twin. “Never mind, we’ll talk about it when I get there. I’ll see you soon.”
Hunter mumbles goodbye, and I hang up, continuing toward Stacey’s office where I find Henry walking out of her office instead, holding my jacket.
“What are you doing? I thought you were scheduled to meet with the coaches?” I ask, trying to keep my voice level.
“Coach excused it after I got a call from my sister. Told him I needed to drive you home for a family emergency, and he cleared the rest of my day. I also talked to Stacey and promised her I’d make some post about us online if she let you work remote for the day,” Henry explains, offering me my jacket.
He did that?
I take the jacket, my hand shaking, and it’s tempting to blurt out, I love you , but instead all I do is smile. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”
Henry holds my bag and latte as I put my jacket on, passing back only the latte when I’m done. “I did, and it’s already done.”
“Can I have my bag back?” I ask, taking a quick sip of my drink.
He slides it up over his shoulder, shaking his head. “I’ve got it. I think I’ll make this my professional side gig. Mirabelle Walker’s accessory holder has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?” he teases, succeeding in the impossible task of getting me to smile in this chaotic moment.
“I think it does,” I agree, relaxing for a moment. “Are you sure I shouldn’t talk to Stacey myself? We’ve been swamped the last few days, and I think I need to make sure she’s fine—”
“Mirabelle, she said if she needs anything, she’ll call. Family first, okay?”
“Okay,” I agree, but I don’t feel much better.
It’s almost as if Henry can feel the anxiety radiating from me, so without saying anything, he turns on the audiobook we listened to together on the plane. Turns out it’s a great way to distract my brain from the disaster we’re heading toward, but we’re halfway through the drive back to Wilmington when my phone dings with a message from JJ asking if I’m going to call him back, and I groan. “Fuck,” I mutter under my breath, typing back that I’ll call him later.
Henry’s watching me closely, concern knitting his face, even though his sunglasses are hiding his beautiful eyes. “You okay?”
I chew my thumb anxiously. “No. What did Kait tell you?” I ask, turning off my phone.
“That Bailey was caught drinking in class and will probably be suspended. She sounded upset and asked me to tell you, but based on the way you were racing to Stacey’s office, you already know,” he says.
“I don’t know what to do, Henry. Hunter told JJ and me that he quit soccer, and I don’t know what I did to make him so upset, but he won’t talk to me.”
Henry reaches over to pull my hand away from my mouth, entwining my fingers with his. “Teenagers are hard. You’re doing the best you can,” he says, pressing his lips to the back of my hand.
“You think so?” I ask, turning to watch Henry drive. I don’t need his validation, but I really want to hear it. Henry’s fucking awesome with Kaitlyn, and I feel like I’m letting the twins down, and JJ’s on the other side of the country.
“I do.”
“The principal called me thinking I was my mother. How does that happen?” I ask, and Henry tries to cover up his laugh by coughing, but I see right through him.
“Do you want my opinion as an adult, or as someone who once was a teenage boy?” he asks, and I’m honestly curious how the answer would change between the two of them.
“I think as someone who once was a teenage boy?”
Am I going to regret this?
A part of me expects Henry to pull his hand away, but instead, he rests it comfortably on top of my thigh like this is a normal thing to do. “Well, as someone who once was a teenage boy, I’m wishing I was smart enough to think of that shit in the first place. If I’m right, he logged into your parents’ portal and switched the phone numbers, so if anything ever happened, they’d call you instead of your mom.”
I’m actually dumbfounded because it’s genius coming from the perspective of a teenager, but it’s so infuriating to be the one caught on the other end of it.
“That’s brilliant, but I’m still mad at him. He hasn’t talked to me since the fucking Puppy Bowl, and now I get a phone call that he’s drunk at school and have to bail his ass out? Henry, what the fuck am I going to tell my parents?” I ask, and it dawns on me I’m going to have to talk to my parents. Oh fuck. My parents.
“Yeah. You are going to have to tell them something. Good thing we have some time left in this drive to figure out what we’re going to say to them.”
“We?”
I don’t even care that I probably sound desperate right now. “Yeah, Mirabelle. We. You and I are a team.”
I can’t stop the smile forming on my face, even if I tried. “I think we make a pretty good team.”
“I think so too,” Henry says, squeezing my hand.
Honestly, knowing that Henry is by my side regardless of how this shit plays out, is enough for me to pull out my phone and press my mother’s number, putting her on speakerphone. I might be a little insane, but at least I’m not chickening out.
His jaw unhinges, clearly not expecting that move. “What are you doing? I meant we still had time, not to call right this second—”
Henry’s cut off because the phone only rings once before she answers. “Mirabelle? Is everything okay?” she asks immediately.
“Hi, Mom.”
She takes a strangled breath, and it’s nice to know I’m not the only nervous one, despite having an entirely different reason to be nervous. “I’m so happy you called. Bash said I needed to wait for you to reach out—that we needed to give you time, but I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too,” I reply, tears blurring my vision. I blink them back, wiping at my cheeks with the sleeve of my jacket. Keep it together, Mirabelle. You can feel your feelings later.
“I’m so sorry for how we reacted to your relationship with Henry. If he makes you happy, then I’m glad you’re together. That’s all we’ve ever wanted for you, Mira.”
“I love you,” I say, taking a shaky breath. “Mom, I need to tell you something.”
“Please tell me you’re not pregnant. There’s only so many surprises I can take, but if you are, let me say congratulations,” Mom says, and Henry sputters next to me, choking on air.
“I’m not pregnant.”
She exhales louder than necessary. “What a relief. Do I need to find Dad for this?”
I look at Henry who nods, and I guess go big or go home. “Might be a good idea.”
“Give me a minute.”
That minute feels like the longest minute of my life. My stomach is twisting, and I think about how poorly this could go. “I shouldn’t have called,” I whisper to Henry, and he stares at me in shock.
“But you did,” he whispers back, and I look out the window briefly as if it might contain a solution.
“I don’t know what I was thinking. Why didn’t you stop me?”
I think I might be sick.
“You keep telling me not to tell you what to do!”
“Well, how was I supposed to know you were going to actually listen that time!”
“Oh my god,” Henry mutters under his breath, which is so not helpful.
“Mira? Are you still there?” Mom asks, and I actually consider rolling the window down to throw the phone out, but that’s insane . I can’t chuck my phone out of a moving car to avoid my problems.
“So, before I start, I’m pretty sure everyone is okay. Let me try to finish before interrupting, okay?” Fuck, I’m nervous, and I’m not even the one who will be in trouble. I wait a moment to see if they’re going to say anything, but I guess they’re staying silent. Henry rubs his thumb reassuringly on the back of my hand as I explain the situation.
“For fuck’s sake. Love, what are we supposed to do with them?” I hear Dad ask in the background once I’m finished.
“I don’t know, Bash.” I guess that makes three of us, but I’m going to keep that an internal thought. “Thanks for calling, Mira. I just . . . I don’t have words right now. You and JJ never pulled shit like this. Are you seriously driving back to pick him up?” Mom asks, and I’m curious about how Bailey has been acting toward them. I’d be willing to put money on them not knowing he quit soccer.
I didn’t pull shit like this because I was training for the Olympics. And JJ is too much of a goody-two-shoes.
“Yeah, I figured it was the option that ended in the least amount of casualties.”
“She’s not wrong. I’m ready to strangle the kid,” Dad mutters, and I’m glad at least some things never change, even if I haven’t been around.
I guess it wasn’t the worst thing in the world making this call.
Mom clears her throat, and I hold my breath instinctively. “I’m not sure if you’ve already left or not, but I know the season has started, and there’s probably no chance in hell of this happening, but if Henry can come with you, I’d— we’d really like to talk to him. Only if he can swing it, or even if he wants to come, please will you let him know he’s welcome?” Mom asks, and I steal a glance at Henry to see what he wants me to say.
I know I’m on the verge of tears because my mom is a lot of things, but hesitant is not one of them.
Henry doesn’t move for a moment, and I know I shouldn’t push, but the fact my parents are willing to get past their feelings to see me happy is everything.
“I’m driving the car. I heard everything, and I’d like that,” Henry says, and I look away so he doesn’t see the tears spilling down my cheeks.
Maybe I’m naive, but I didn’t think it was possible to be this heartbroken while being so in love with someone at the same time.