“Really?” JJ asks, and the phone beeps, interrupting.
“Hang on, I’m getting another call,” I say, pulling the phone away to see an unknown number. I quickly decline it, because if I don’t have the number saved, I don’t need to be answering it. “Sorry, wrong number or something.”
“Stupid scammers, they call me all the time.”
“Sam—” The phone begins to vibrate again. Seriously? “Sorry, I’ll call you right back. They’re calling again.”
I end the call with JJ to the sound of him laughing, before answering. “Hello?”
“Hi, this is Principal Rogers from Shoreline Preparatory Academy. I’m calling for Bailey Walker’s mother, Thalia Walker?”
My jaw hits the floor, and I quickly clear my throat. The principal? Why the fuck is the principal calling me, thinking I’m our mother? “Yes, this is she. May I ask what this is regarding?” I answer, trying to sound older.
“Ma’am, I apologize for interrupting your day, but I’m afraid that Bailey will need to be picked up as soon as possible. His teacher smelled alcohol on him, and I was immediately notified. Upon further discovery, we found that his water bottle contained alcohol. We believe that he is . . . well, that he is drunk, to put it bluntly. As this is a first-time offense, he will only be facing a five-day suspension.”
“Oh my god,” I say, gasping in horror.What the fuck?
“We have not notified the police, but if this happens again, I’m afraid it will be out of our hands per our handbook, and we will be forced to notify the authorities. Will you be picking Bailey up, or should I call your husband?”
I drag my hand down my face, choking back a laugh of disbelief. “Would it be okay if his brother, Hunter, were to take him home?”
“Um,I guess that should be fine. Are you sure you don’t want to pick him up yourself?”
“Thank you. I apologize, but I am out of town on business, and my husband has a meeting today, but I assure you, we are going to take this very seriously,” I say, trying to sound calm without making my parents seem like absentee parents. God, what the hell is going on?
“These things happen unfortunately. If you’d like, I can send some pamphlets home with your sons about alcoholism and—”
“That’d be lovely. Thank you again for calling,” I interrupt, hanging up to silently scream in my hands.That’d be lovely? Who am I?
I gather my things into my bag quickly, trying not to spill my coffee, while juggling my phone and bag in the other. What the hell is going on with Bailey? I should absolutely be calling Mom and letting her deal with this, but I’m a little afraid that if I tell her, I’m only going to have two brothers instead of three.
I dart out of the suite, making my way toward the stairs to figure out how the fuck I’m going to convince my boss to let me leave in the middle of the day to save my idiotic brother. I have no words. I seriously think I’m going to kill Bailey.
Pressing Hunter’s contact, he answers immediately, his tone a hushed whisper. “How did I get excused from class?”
“The principal called me, thinking my number belonged to Mom. I’m on my way to beg my boss to let me leave, but is there somewhere you can take him until I can get home to keep our parents from killing him?”
“I can ask Kaitlyn to check where her parents are today. It could buy a little bit of time for you to get here.”
“That’s perfect, but what the fuck is going on?” I ask, trying to keep myself from taking my frustration out on the wrong twin. “Never mind, we’ll talk about it when I get there. I’ll see you soon.”
Hunter mumbles goodbye, and I hang up, continuing toward Stacey’s office where I find Henry walking out of her office instead, holding my jacket.
“What are you doing? I thought you were scheduled to meet with the coaches?” I ask, trying to keep my voice level.
“Coach excused it after I got a call from my sister. Told him I needed to drive you home for a family emergency, and he cleared the rest of my day. I also talked to Stacey and promised her I’d make some post about us online if she let you work remote for the day,” Henry explains, offering me my jacket.
He did that?
I take the jacket, my hand shaking, and it’s tempting to blurt out,I love you, but instead all I do is smile. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”
Henry holds my bag and latte as I put my jacket on, passing back only the latte when I’m done. “I did, and it’s already done.”
“Can I have my bag back?” I ask, taking a quick sip of my drink.
He slides it up over his shoulder, shaking his head. “I’ve got it. I think I’ll make this my professional side gig. Mirabelle Walker’s accessory holder has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?” he teases, succeeding in the impossible task of getting me to smile in this chaotic moment.
“I think it does,” I agree, relaxing for a moment. “Are you sure I shouldn’t talk to Stacey myself? We’ve been swamped the last few days, and I think I need to make sure she’s fine—”
