Tease(54)

“Um, yeah,” I say. All those weeks dating Dylan and hanging out with these seniors, but I still get awkward around them. So embarrassing. “But my little brothers, too. They’re always, you know, there.”

Jacob laughs. “Gotta send the baby bros to Vegas or something.”

Brielle laughs too, and I smile, but I don’t get it. Or maybe I do, and it’s just not funny. At least it gives me a chance to look at Jacob’s face for a second. He’s already looking away, though, at someone else in the food court. I follow his eyes and see Irish O’Irish—Seamus—walking by with some girl I don’t recognize.

“Whoa, that loser has a girlfriend?” Jacob sneers.

Brielle looks too, and says, “Ew. Look what the band camp dragged in.”

The girl isn’t that bad—she’s got that kind of mousy hair that never quite looks right, and her black coat looks old and beat-up, but she’s kind of pretty—and Seamus looks happier than I’ve ever seen him.

But Jacob is already out of his chair, striding up behind them. He puts one arm over each of their shoulders, startling them both. They’re all still walking, but we can hear Jacob bellow, “Little man! Who’s the hottie?”

Brielle and Noelle laugh, then turn back to each other and start comparing manicures. But I can’t stop staring at Jacob, Seamus, and the girl. Jacob is still talking to them all chummily, turning his head back and forth between theirs. Seamus and his girlfriend look scared. They stop and try to get out of his grip, but only the girl succeeds. Jacob hangs on to Seamus’s shoulders and shakes him a little bit, his mean laugh echoing all the way back to our table. The girl looks like she wants to run away, but what is she supposed to do?

It’s like I’m watching a movie or something. And it’s, like, freakishly good timing—I was just feeling kind of guilty for going to Mrs. Putnam, so even though I’ve seen Jacob act like an a-hole a million times, today feels like it means something. I mean, I want to get Emma in trouble, or at least I want her to leave Elmwood and never come back. But I always kind of thought Jacob was basically a decent guy, if a little more macho than necessary. I guess there was the cheating on Noelle and hooking up with Emma and . . . well, okay, maybe I don’t think he’s a decent guy.

And now he’s pulling Seamus’s head down, rubbing his hair in a hard and embarrassing noogie. The girl takes a step backward and for a second I think she’s for sure going to bolt. I would. But she stays.

Finally, Jacob pushes Seamus away and comes walking back to us, all cool, like nothing happened. Seamus stands there, rubbing his head, not making eye contact with his girlfriend.

Jacob comes back to our table and I wonder if anyone’s going to say anything. I glance at Brielle but she’s playing with her straw. Jacob’s already talking to Kyle about something. Finally Noelle rolls her eyes at Brielle and goes, “Boys.”

“Totally,” Brielle says.

I look at Jacob again, and for some reason, just for a second, he looks like Tommy to me. I blink and it goes away—but I still feel sick. I’m officially done being here.

“Brie, I need to get going,” I say. She rolls her eyes at me, like I knew she would, but starts putting on her coat at the same time.

“Okay, if you guys are all gonna be lame, we can hang at my place Friday,” Jacob says, finally turning back toward us and Noelle.

“Good plan,” Noelle says to him. I can’t tell if she’s being sarcastic or not.

“Awesome,” Brielle says. “Text me later,” she says to Noelle, who flashes her a nonchalant peace sign.

We walk out the other way, so we don’t pass by Seamus, and I’m happy we’ve turned so I can’t even see him on the other side of the food court.

The cramp in my stomach feels tighter, though. “Do you think Jacob will get arrested?” I ask Brielle. “Like, if Emma’s mom calls the cops or something?”

“God, no,” she says. “Or even if he does, his parents will get him out of it.” I think there’s an edge of worry in her voice, but she’s walking so fast I can’t be sure. “Whatever, guy’s a creep anyway,” she adds.

I can’t argue with that.

Brielle and I swing by my brothers’ school to pick them up, and then she drops us all at my car back in the Elmwood lot. It’s mostly empty, except for a few athletes’ cars, like Dylan’s. I wonder where he and Emma went during their free half day. I kind of thought we’d have seen them at the mall, but I guess after that scene at McDonald’s they’re probably lying low. Good.

Tommy and Alex are beating each other up in the backseat because I wouldn’t let either of them sit up front today. I can’t even hear them over the roar of worry in my head, and when we pull up to the house it just gets louder—it’s not even five yet, but our mom is already home, which just feels like a bad sign.

I can’t even explain why I keep sitting in the car while the boys and all their crap form a kind of Tasmanian-devil hurricane through the garage and into the house. I’m still out in the driveway—the garage only fits Mom’s car—and staring at the lights inside. It should look warm and inviting and all that stuff. Instead it looks like the mouth of hell. What am I going to do in there? Sit around while Dylan doesn’t call? Text Brielle and hear about whatever hilarious thing Noelle said since we saw her at the mall two seconds ago? Like it’s not bad enough that their names freaking rhyme, they’re practically turning into the same person. It seems like lately I only really talk to Brielle when we’re talking about Emma.