2. Bailey #2
Mom crouches down, focusing her attention on Javi, and I feel him turn his head toward her.
“Thank you for saving my boy. I promise we’ll help you in any way we can,” she says, keeping her voice gentle while smiling at him.
The room is quiet, and I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone were holding their breath to see what happens next.
“You’re always welcome here,” Mom says to me, and I nod, silently acknowledging what she said because I don’t trust myself to respond.
It’s only then that I realize Dad and Marley are watching JJ carefully, and I’m afraid to ask why.
My room is almost exactly the way I left it—bare of all the soccer memorabilia I rashly burned in the yard, but someone took the time to return all my things to their original spots.
I don’t know if it makes me feel better or worse that they’ve kept my room as a tomb.
Javi sits on my bed, his eyes wide as he takes everything in. “Are they really going to help me?”
“They are,” I say, dragging a hand through my too long hair. “You want to take a warm shower, bud?” I ask, and Javi’s smile couldn’t be wider.
“How long do I have?”
“As long as you want.”
“That’s so awesome!” Javi hops off the bed, and I can’t blame him. I feel absolutely disgusting, but I’m not sure one shower will be enough to cut through the layer of dirt clinging to my skin. I ran out of the wipes Javi and I use in between showers yesterday.
“It’s across the hall,” I say, planning to let him use the bathroom with better water pressure, while I use the guest bathroom.
“C-can I go now?” he asks, glancing back at me, and I laugh.
“Go ahead, but don’t turn the water too hot, okay?”
He doesn’t bother responding before he’s out the door. I follow, helping Javi turn the water on after setting his last clean outfit on the counter for him.
I grab my own clothes to change into. The material is threadbare, but at least it’s clean and doesn’t smell.
Somehow, I make it to the guest bathroom without running into anyone, but the sound of Hunter and Kaitlyn arguing behind his door is unmistakable. Despite what he might believe, I’ve only ever wanted to see my brother happy. Even after the way he manipulated me into giving Kaitlyn up.
My shower is less than a couple of minutes long, but I feel cleaner than I have in months. This life of luxury is one I took for granted, but I can’t forget I’ll be leaving again as soon as Javi is better. I can’t forget all of this is temporary, and I shouldn’t get used to it.
I find extra razors in the cabinets and take advantage of being able to shave away the light scruff I used to help disguise myself.
I thought New York would be far enough away to keep my family from finding me.
I wanted to disappear into thin air, and where better to do it than in one of the biggest cities in the country?
Still, I lived in fear of anyone recognizing me as the identical twin of my wildly popular brother, who can’t help the stardom that found him at college.
On the way back to my room, I’m not so lucky to avoid everyone.
“—I know. I’m sorry, Dad, but we can’t leave.
You’ll have to go without us. JJ’s brother just got back,” she says, pacing in the hallway.
“Yes, I know JJ’s on the phone with Mom.
She’s practically his sponsor at this point, but there’s no way we’re making it to the airport today.
You might as well have the jet fly back to New York, so no one else has to miss the trip.
” This time when she turns to pace in this direction, she spots me.
“I’ll call you back,” she blurts out, hanging up the phone.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt,” I say, and this conversation only further proves I don’t belong here.
“No, it’s okay.” She gives me a warm smile, before offering me her hand to shake. “I’m Marley, JJ’s girlfriend. We didn’t actually get to meet, but I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Hi,” I reply, not bothering to introduce myself since it’s obvious she already knows who I am.
What am I supposed to say to this person I don’t know, especially when I want to check on Javi to ensure he’s not boiling himself alive?
The kid loves hot water. Sometimes, when I was able to sneak us into hotels through a back door, he would sit in the hot tub so long I was afraid he would roast.
Marley drops her hand, her smile fading. “Um, JJ . . . he really missed you. They all did.”
Could I have heard her wrong? Did she say JJ has a sponsor?
“Thanks,” I say, catching a glimpse of the still shut bathroom door behind her.
“It doesn’t matter to them why you came back, just that you did. I hope you stay,” she says, but I don’t have the answers Marley wants from me. Once the door opens, I won’t know how to close it.
“Why does my brother need a sponsor?” I ask, choosing not to comment on her previous statement.
“I think you better talk to him about that,” she says, stepping out of my way to walk down the stairs.
I shake my head, trying to recall the way she and Dad were watching JJ. What if I was wrong? What if everyone wasn’t as fine as I believed they were, and JJ was telling the truth when he told me they weren’t? I didn’t want to hear it then, and I’m not sure I want to hear it now.
My whole body feels heavy as I move toward the door, hearing the shower still running. I knock, cracking the door open as steam billows out. “Javi? You doing okay?”
“Can we stay here forever?” he yells over the sound of the fan and running water, causing my heart to pang in my chest. We can’t stay .
“You better not have the water turned all the way on hot.”
“I don’t,” Javi insists, and I roll my eyes, knowing that’s a lie.
“Turn it down before I make you get out. You’re going to get hurt.” He’s as stubborn as I am sometimes.
“Okay, I promise,” he says, the sound of his innocent giggle echoing off the walls. I feel a little better after hearing Javi’s promise. We have a rule: don’t make any promises you can’t keep.
I try to cling to the hope Javi will get better, holding onto it as I grip the railing to walk downstairs.
It’s time I finally face the music I’ve spent every day for the last two years running away from.