BROKEN AND SCREWED(Broken_Part One)(85)

“Oh.” His grin turned into a fond one and he shrugged. “My folks don’t drink, but my dad likes to have one every now and then. My mom would only allow it back here. She’s pretty strict with her religion. Sounds stupid, I guess, but that’s my folks. Sometimes I think this is their little haven away from us kids.”
“Yeah, it could be a little studio apartment.”
He gestured towards the desk area where a laptop was placed and a flat screen television was hanging on the wall behind it. “She likes to do her work over there. Dad will kick his feet up and watch television some nights when he wants to be around here.”
“Your parents sound like they have a good marriage.”
“They do.” Then he nodded towards a back door. As he held it open and I slipped past him, he added, “I think they designed their room like this on purpose. All of us kids get free reign of the house then, on most nights.”
“You have two little sisters?” I frowned as we sat on padded lounge chairs. I should’ve known how many siblings he had. I’d grown up with him.
Eric placed the two bottles on the glass table in front of us and stood back up. “Yeah, two little dorks and I have two more brothers. Isaiah is two years younger than me and Noah is four. I think he was an ‘oops,’ but he’s so darn cute. No one can resist him. He’s going to get the ladies when he’s older.”
I shot forward when he reached for the door again. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to mix us a few drinks. These things were a joke, but feel free to open one up if you’d like. Be right back.”
When he came back, he slid a glass towards me and I took it for a sniff. I couldn’t get a whiff of any liquor so I took a sip of it. It was mostly soda, but he had put a small amount of alcohol in there. “Thanks.”
And I felt grateful to him for another reason, a deeper reason, but one that I couldn’t explain. The ball of tension that was always in my stomach unraveled a little bit. It loosened up, and as it did, the rest of me started to relax more and more. Before I took another sip, I knew I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else at that moment. This was just fine with me.
He tried to look casual, but I saw the delight on his face. He lounged back, kicked up his feet on the table, and threw an arm on the back of my chair. He raised his glass to me in a salute. “Here’s to us being friends again.”
“I’ll cheer to that.”
As our glasses clinked and our gazes locked, a tingle went through me. It’d been a long time since I had felt one of those, since my Thanksgiving break.


CHAPTER TWENTY

“Are you and Eric going to prom together?” Angie flopped on her bed and lifted the remote control to silence her television.
I had come over for their Thursday Family Night dinner. Karen made enough to feed sixty people and Angie made me come over every Thursday night since Thanksgiving. Their home had become a second home to me, and in some ways, as I recalled the emptiness at my house, I preferred their home to mine.
I plopped on the small couch she kept in the corner and pulled a blanket over my lap. I shrugged. “I think so, but I’m not sure.”
She sat up straight, giving me a meaningful look. “Are you serious? You two have been attached at the hip since last Friday. Everyone’s saying you two are dating. I know you’re not, not yet, but really, Alex. Call him right now and ask him.”
“No,” I squealed. Then I started laughing at that. I couldn’t believe I had squealed. “Oh, my gosh. I haven’t done that in forever.”
Angie smirked. “About damn time too.”
I giggled into the blanket and fell over. More laughter came from me. Oh god. It felt good to laugh.