Just for Now (Sea Breeze #4)(34)

Chapter Twelve



Preston



Amanda was avoiding me, and I was going to let her. One of us needed to be strong enough to stop me from hurting her. She’d realized this and was putting a major halt to any interaction between us. I didn’t see her after she’d left me standing there, watching her go at Live Bay, until calculus class the next week. When I’d walked into the room, I’d found her immediately. She’d surrounded herself with people and was sitting toward the back of the classroom instead of the seat close to the front where she’d sat last week.

Smart girl.

I took a seat in the front and didn’t look back at her. She’d only distract me. The douchebag who’d been looking down her shirt last week was behind her today. I wanted to check and make sure he wasn’t leaning up behind her. He needed to keep his eyes to himself.

I was battling with myself over turning around and checking on her or keeping my attention on the board, when my phone vibrated in my pocket. I slipped it out and saw Jimmy’s name flashing on the screen. It was the emergency phone I’d given my brother. It was also after nine in the morning. He should be at school. Something was wrong. I grabbed my books and hurried out of the classroom.

“Jimmy?” I answered as I stepped into the hallway.

“Momma didn’t come home last night, and Daisy has a real bad fever. She had one all night and I used cold rags on her head and gave her some Tylenol, but it keeps getting higher. She won’t eat, and now she just cries real soft like.”

Shit. I took off running for the parking lot.

“Okay, go get more cold rags and put them on her skin. Get her to sip on some ice water and tell her I’m on my way.”

I hated my mother. She had no redeeming qualities. If something happened to Daisy because of her neglect, I was going to kill her.

“Brent, go get some ice water,” Jimmy instructed. “I’m gonna get more cold rags.”

“I’ll be there soon. Take care of her. Call me if she gets worse.”

“I will,” Jimmy assured me, then hung up the phone.

I unlocked the Jeep and jerked the door open at the same time I heard Amanda calling my name. Glancing back, I saw her running after me.

“Preston, wait, what’s wrong?” she asked in a panicked voice.

“Family stuff. I gotta go,” I replied. I hated to run off on her when she was just being nice, but Daisy needed me.

I cranked up the Jeep, and the passenger-side door opened and Amanda jumped inside. Ah, hell.

“Manda, I don’t have time for this. I gotta go.”

She nodded. “Yes, you do,” she agreed. “Go.”

“Then get out of my Jeep,” I replied, frustrated.

“No. You never get anxious or worried. Never. Something is wrong and you need help.” She was right, but I was not taking her to my mother’s trailer.

“Manda, please—” I was cut off by the ringing of my phone. Shit.

“What?” I asked, slamming the Jeep into reverse. I didn’t have time to argue with a stubborn woman. My little sister needed me. This wasn’t the time to worry about my pride. So what if Amanda saw where I grew up? Why did I care? It wasn’t like I was trying to impress her.

“She sipped the water, then threw up,” Jimmy said. The tightness in his voice told me he was scared. This was not something kids should have to deal with. Jimmy was having to be the adult at eleven, and it made me furious.

“Okay, keep the towels cold and keep them on her. I’ll be there in five minutes.”

“Okay, we will,” he replied, and hung up.

I dropped the phone in my lap and pressed the gas as I pulled out onto the road. “Put on your seat belt, Manda.”

I could see her buckle up out of the corner of my eye.

“What’s wrong? Who was that?” She was starting to panic too.

“It was my brother. My other one. He’s eleven. Daisy, my little sister, is sick, and my sorry-ass mother hasn’t been home all night. Jimmy and Brent said she’s really hot and she won’t eat or drink. They just got her to sip some water and she threw up.”

“Oh God,” she replied. “Okay. She’s going to be okay. We need to get her to the hospital. She’s got a fever, so the vomiting sounds like a symptom of the high fever. Give me the phone,” Amanda ordered, reaching for it before I could hand it over.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Calling your brother,” she replied as she chewed at her nails nervously.

“Hey, Jimmy, this is Amanda. I’m a friend of your brother’s. Listen, go to the freezer and get any ice you have. Go rub it across Daisy’s forehead, her cheeks, her lips, and even up and down her arms. Cooling her down is real important.”

I turned down the road that led to the trailer I hated so fiercely. The trailer not even Marcus had seen. I didn’t bring people here. But right now I was extremely grateful Amanda had come after me and jumped in my Jeep. I wasn’t as scared with her here. She was nervous. I could tell by the tone of her voice and the way she was biting her nails, but she was keeping it together. I didn’t feel alone. For the first time in my life, I didn’t feel alone.

“Good job. Yes, it will melt fast ’cause she’s hot. Keep it on her. No, it’s okay, Jimmy. She’s gonna be fine. We are almost there. We are going to get her to the hospital and get her the medicine she needs. Everything will be fine.”