Don't Let Go(72)

“Well, I just—” She paused and her eyes darted to Seth again. He stood up, causing Harley to climb his leg in protest.
“You just came home without telling anyone,” I said, rubbing my forehead. When would it stop?
“It’s not a big deal, Mom,” she said. “You make too much of it.”
“Actually, truancy is a big deal,” Seth said, causing her head to snap in his direction again. “Sorry,” he said, raising his hands to me in apology. “My thoughts get away from me sometimes.”
“And you are?” Becca said, coming down the last three steps with what I guessed she thought was sudden seniority.
“Seth,” he said, holding out a hand with a half smile on his face. “Nice to meet you.”
Becca’s mouth fell open. Boy, I was glad I’d told her, as she looked at me and back at him again. “Like, Seth? That Seth?”
He chuckled. “There I am being famous again. Yes, that Seth.”
“Oh, holy shit,” she said under her breath as she walked forward slowly and took his hand. “You’re my brother?”
My heart slammed against my ribs. God, what a sentence and what a sight. I never in a million years expected to look at the two of them standing in the same room. I almost stopped being mad at her.
“That’s the rumor,” he said softly, a smile playing at his lips.
“I just found out about you two days ago,” she said.
“I just found out about you two hours ago.”
Becca laughed, and even as that put my heart at ease, I saw Seth’s eyes narrow a little.
“So, do you have any other brothers or sisters?” she asked. “Like, that you grew up with?”
Seth’s eyes glazed over a bit. “I did,” he said. “I had a little brother who was adopted, too. “His name was Shon.”
“Did?” she asked, picking up on something I hadn’t.
“Yeah, he died six years ago,” he said, averting his eyes.
“Oh—” I said, my chest contracting. The pain in his expression was palpable. “Seth, I’m so sorry.”
He nodded and put his hands in his pockets, a self-protecting gesture that made him suddenly look younger.
“It was a stupid accident,” he said. “He was—”
A thud from overhead halted his words.
“What was that?” I said.
Both hands were out of his pockets and he was at the base of the stairs in insta-cop mode in two-point-five seconds. I would have followed, but I was watching Becca. And she wasn’t startled. Her glance upward wasn’t questioning or scared, it was panicked.
It was busted.
“Who’s upstairs?” I asked.
My tone was calm, and in that moment I was very proud of my control. Seth stopped his progression mid-step and looked at me.
“Nothing!” she said defensively. “Nobody.”
Her worry over where Seth was standing, however, told otherwise. As did a second thump and the subsequent creaking.
“Becca, who is in this house?” I repeated. The tone was making a comeback. “Alone with you. In the middle of a school day and work day when you didn’t think anyone would be home.”
“Mom, it’s not like that,” she said, holding up her palms.
“Please tell me what it’s like, then,” I said. “Before I go find out for myself.”
“Mark, come down!” she yelled upward, darting one look at me and then at the floor.
“Mark,” I whispered, closing my eyes. Not because I was being nice. More because my rage had taken the power of speech away.
“Mom—”
“Becca Ann White,” I began, not caring anymore that Seth was seeing all this. So damn be it. “What is the rule on boys in this house?”
“Downstairs, I know—”
“And what about when I’m not home?” I said, hearing the rise in pitch.
“No one at all.”
“And during school hours?” I said. No—I yelled it. I did.
Her eyebrows dipped into a frown. “During school hours? There’s not a rule for that.”
“Exactly!” I said, walking closer and enjoying the look on her face that questioned my sanity just a little. Good. She needed to worry. “Because you are supposed to be there.”
“Okay.” The death glare.
This was why wild animals sometimes eat their young.
And the boy still hadn’t made an appearance. “Mark!” I yelled. “The stairs aren’t that hard to find, young man. Please get down here.”
“Oh, my God,” Becca said, her eyes filling with angry tears. “I hate you right now.”
“Well, good,” I said under my breath as a little piece of my soul broke away. “I’m doing my job. What the living hell are you thinking, skipping school and bringing him here?”
Feet appeared in my line of vision. Big sneakers, followed by baggy jeans and a jersey sweatshirt. The face it was all attached to looked worried. Well, at least he was that smart. He paused at the bottom as Seth stared at him for a beat before letting him pass.
He stood next to Becca, who did nothing but glare at me through her tears. Disgusted, I thrust my hand into the boy’s hand.
“I’m Becca’s mom, by the way,” I said. “Since you are too rude to step up, and she’s too rude to introduce you, I’ll do that myself.”
Becca’s mouth fell open, as if she couldn’t believe I could still shock her. Mark mumbled something including his name and how nice it was to meet me. I think. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Seth grin and look away. I wondered if his—mother—had ever had to do the same.