I Stand Before You (Judge Me Not #2)(112)

My eyes meet Will’s fiery greens. I shake my head at my brother, like I’m saying what-the-f*ck. And I kind of am saying exactly that.

I tell my mother I’ll call her right back, but not to worry. Will’s okay. I add that I’ll get the details on Cassie’s whereabouts as well. My mother protests, but I hit end. I need to take care of one thing at a time, and this takes precedence.

I lower the phone and my brother smiles at me. “Hey, bro,” he says, all casual and smug-like. “Guess what? I made it to Ohio, after all.”

He glances at Kay, who’s at my side. My little shit brother smiles all charmingly and says, “Hi, I’m Will, Chase’s brother.”

Kay says hi back, all while squeezing my arm. My girl is holding me back, like I’m about to go off on my brother. I am a little, but mostly I’m just shocked.

It’s then a young girl steps out of the shadows at the base of the porch steps. She stares down at the ground. Will catches her attention and motions for her to come up on the porch. When she reaches his side she places her hand on his arm, just like Kay’s hand is on mine. It seems to strengthen my brother’s resolve. I see it in his face.

My brother firmly states, “This is Cassie. And before you say anything, Chase, I am telling you now we’re not going back to Vegas. We can either stay here with you…or we’ll just leave and keep driving east.”

“Did something happen?” Will knows what I mean. And apparently so does Cassie. When I glance at her, her eyes dart skittishly away.

My brother’s girlfriend positions herself behind Will, he answers for her. “Nothing happened, but we decided to leave. It’s better if Cassie’s away from that place.”

I almost ask Will if he’s high. I mean, what the hell is he thinking? I know he wants to protect Cassie from her stepdad, but this has gone too far. They need to tell the girl’s mother about this creep. I feel sure she’d kick him out in a heartbeat; she just doesn’t know what’s going on.

“Will—” I begin, but my brother interrupts.

“I’m serious, Chase. Can we stay with you, or not? It won’t be forever, just until we figure things out.”

“Figure things out?” I scoff. “What kinds of things? You’re both in high school. Or are you just not going to go back in the fall?”

Will looks away but I reach out and gently coax him to meet my gaze. He lets my hand stay on his shoulder. “Will, you’re only fifteen,” I softly remind him.

But my brother is resolute, his greens bore into me. “I’m serious, Chase. We aren’t going back. What’s it gonna be? Can we stay here or not? It’s your house, it’s your decision.”

Three pairs of questioning eyes fall on me. My wayward brother, my love, and this runaway girl who I’ve just met all await my answer.

So I take a deep breath and tell all three what I’ve decided…