Truth or Dare You (The Love Game Book 2) Page 5

  Brody took his eyes off my nemesis long enough to look at me and ask, “She knows about Drew?”

  I didn’t exactly know what he was asking because it could’ve been a number of things. Did she know the person she thought was Brody was really Drew? Did she know Drew left me? Did she know Drew was in an accident? Or that I was planning on nursing him back to health instead of living in the sorority house I’d fought so hard to get back into?

  “What about him?” I finally asked.

  “Ahh, so is Drew the name of your fuck buddy from last semester?” Aamee asked me, though her eyes remained on Brody.

  “He wasn’t a ‘fuck buddy.’”

  She plopped down on my bed like she was welcome there. “Relax. At least I didn’t think you were fucking your actual brother like the rest of the campus.”

  Brody’s eyes widened, and his head swung toward me. “You didn’t tell me people thought we were…” He let his sentence remain unfinished, probably feeling as disgusted as I was at the thought.

  “Why would I tell you that? We barely speak, and you were in Europe.”

  Aamee looked absolutely thrilled as she watched us bicker like she’d paid for admission and gotten front-row seats.

  Brody laughed harshly and then said, “You could’ve warned me that most of my school thinks I’m puttin’ it in my sister. I didn’t know anyone knew about the two of you.”

  “First of all, it’s not your school. You dropped out. Again. Remember? Second of all, you were in Italy.” I emphasized the country in case Brody forgot that he was half a world away when all of this was happening. And the last thing I was concerned with was how it would affect my self-centered brother.

  Aamee’s smile spread so high on her face, she looked like Arthur Fleck after he’d perfected his Joker persona. She was probably also almost as crazy.

  “See? Now this is how siblings interact,” she said. “I knew from the beginning that Brody…or Drew,” she corrected herself, “wasn’t your brother. You two were too sweet to each other.” Scooting back as she shoved my pillows onto the floor so she could rest her back against the wall, she said, “How is Drew anyway? That boy is gorgeous.”

  “He’s also recovering from a motorcycle accident that put him in intensive care for the past month,” I told her.

  Her eyes narrowed like she wasn’t sure if I was just messing with her. “Seriously?” She looked to Brody when I didn’t answer.

  Brody nodded, his face softening because even Brody wasn’t that much of a dick. He wasn’t going to make a joke out of something that wasn’t. And he seemed to know how much I cared for Drew.

  “Sorry to hear that,” Aamee said, her tone caught somewhere between apathy and real concern. It was a broad spectrum, and I had no idea how she could seem both indifferent and sorry at the same time. She was truly a paradox.

  “Thanks,” I told her, deciding to think that she actually cared about Drew. I knew better than to think that her condolences were for me. “He’s fine now. Well, not fine yet, but he will be. He’s recovering at Brody’s.”

  “That’s nice of you,” Aamee said to Brody. “To help him.”

  Brody sat down on my bed near Aamee. “It’s the least I could do. I’ve never nursed someone back to health before. Well, other than a baby bird our childhood cat brought in one time, but—”

  The sound of my hand hitting him on the back of his head interrupted his story.

  “Stop it,” I scolded before refocusing on Aamee. “I’m the one who’s going to be taking care of Drew. And I was the one who helped with the bird too.” I turned back to Brody. “You wanted to have it for dinner with mashed potatoes.”

  “I was joking when I said that. We couldn’t have even made one chicken finger out of that bird.” Turning back to Aamee, he said, “I’m here to help Sophia pack up because she’s staying with us until Drew’s a little more self-sufficient. I’m generous like that.”

  “You’re pathetic is what you are. He’s trying to get in your pants, Aamee. As much as it pains me to say it, even you can do better.”

  I walked over to the closet to grab a duffel bag and began tossing some clothes into it. Thankfully, most of my shoes were still in the trash bag I’d brought them back over in, so I slid those out into the main part of the room. When I turned around, Aamee had the stupidest smile on her face.

  “That might be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

  “It’s definitely the nicest thing I’ve ever said to you.”

  “Does anyone care that it was at my expense?” Brody asked.

  “No,” Aamee and I said in unison.

  I almost smiled. And for a moment, there was a connection between the two of us that it seemed neither of us wanted to acknowledge. Our eyes darted to one another and then awkwardly away again.

  Aamee stood suddenly, looking around at the things I’d pulled out from my dresser and various corners of the room. “So you’re really leaving again?”

  “Yup.” I thought I heard a hint of disappointment in her voice, but I’d never call her out on it. Besides, it was probably only contempt masquerading as something more palatable because she didn’t want Brody to realize what a bitch she was. “Don’t miss me too much.”

  “You don’t have to worry about that,” she said. “Having you gone’s like coming into a house after an exterminator’s gotten rid of the rats.”

  I bit my upper lip to keep from smirking as I headed to the bathroom down the hall to grab my toiletries.

  “Do you have enough suitcases, or do you need another garbage bag for the rest of your trash?” she called after me.

  “Garbage bag would be great,” I yelled back. “Thanks.”

  And as she walked past the bathroom toward the stairs, she muttered, “You know where they are.”

  That time I couldn’t help but smile. Asshole.

  DREW

  I hadn’t seen Cody in at least two weeks, and I was happy he was coming over. He’d visited often while I was in the hospital, but his shifts had changed at work, so he hadn’t been able to come to the apartment to see me yet, which seemed to be a running theme with my family.

  Not that I was exactly begging for someone to be with me constantly. It was great that people cared, but most of the time I preferred to be alone. Just me, my self-destructive thoughts, and I.

  Before the accident, I’d promised my mom I’d help plan Cody’s eighteenth birthday party because, well, because I’d been the one to suggest throwing one for him. I hadn’t been surprised to learn that after the accident they’d done little more than get him an ice cream cake, and I felt guiltier than I probably should’ve.

  It hadn’t been my fault that Cody never got his party, but I felt he deserved one all the same, even if it would have to be a month or two late. December babies always got screwed one way or another.

  Cody told me he’d be over in the afternoon, but I wasn’t surprised his boss made him stay even though he’d promised Cody he’d let him leave early. People were always calling out, and Cody’d been there longer than any of the other kids who worked there, so he got paid more.

  Unfortunately, that also meant he often got more responsibility, whether he wanted it or not. In addition to being in school all day, he worked over thirty hours per week making gourmet doughnuts at a local family-owned shop. He’d changed his clothes before coming over, though he still smelled sweet and doughy, even from across the living room.

  As I motioned toward the pizza box on the coffee table, Cody leaned over and passed me another slice. He’d only been here for fifteen minutes, and we’d almost finished an entire pie.

  “You need anything else?” he asked, wiping his hands on a paper towel as he headed to the kitchen.

  “Nah, I’m good for right now. Thanks.”

  I heard the fridge open, and when I looked over, Cody was opening up one of Brody’s beers.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Getting a drink,” he answered. “Did your vi
sion get fucked up in the accident too?”

  “You’re eighteen, and you’re driving. You realize I almost died in a car accident, right?”

  “Technically, there was no car involved. It was just you, your Razor Scooter, and some snow.”

  Leave it to Cody not to treat me like a fragile baby. I couldn’t help but appreciate him for it.

  “It’s not a Razor Scooter.” I tried, and most likely failed, to put some sternness into my voice. Fucking Cody.

  He moved over to me and crouched down to put an arm around my shoulder and gave it a squeeze, but it was lighter than it probably would’ve been if I hadn’t been injured.

  “You love me,” he said.

  “Yeah. But you really make it difficult sometimes.”

  Cody laughed at that and looked at his beer. “I won’t have any more after this one.” He probably knew I wasn’t so sure because he added, “Promise.”

  Cody finished his beer, we both finished the pizza, and Cody was cleaning up when I heard the door open and saw Brody and Sophia come in with their hands full. Sophia dropped a suitcase and a trash bag on the ground and helped Brody set down the two boxes he was balancing. I wondered how he even made it up the stairs with them in front of his face.

  “Oh, hey, man, you must be Drew’s brother.”

  Cody was already heading over, and Brody met him halfway. “Cody.”

  “Good to finally meet ya. I’m Brody.”

  They shook hands before Cody turned his attention to Sophia and raised an eyebrow. “And you must be the fiancée.”

  Sophia looked momentarily stunned as she probably wondered if she’d have to spend another chunk of time pretending we were something we weren’t. She shook his hand but remained silent, her mouth open enough that it looked like words should be coming out.

  When it was clear she didn’t know how to respond, I said, “He’s kidding. Cody knows we’re not engaged.”

  Sophia’s shoulders fell, and she let out a quiet sigh.

  “Either way,” Cody said, “thanks for taking care of my brother.”

  “Of course,” she replied. “I’m happy to.”

  I wondered if the second part was true or if it was just something she’d said to be polite. Just because she’d offered to help me didn’t mean she was happy to do it.

  “Smells like pizza,” Brody said, sniffing the air and walking around the apartment like a bloodhound searching for a missing person.

  “Oh, um, we just finished one,” Cody said, sounding apologetic.

  “Marco’s?” Brody asked.

  “Of course,” I answered.

  “Drew practically survived off that pizza last semester,” Sophia told the guys. Then she grabbed a pillow from the chair and put it under my casted arm so I had somewhere to rest it.

  “I miss the wings at Rafferty’s,” Brody said. “Now I can go back again. I didn’t want you to know I was home, but now that that plan’s shot to shit, it doesn’t matter. Wish I would’ve known you weren’t even working. I’ve been missing out on their wings for weeks.”

  I just shook my head at him.

  Brody grabbed a beer out of the fridge, and when he saw Cody’s empty on the table, he asked if he wanted another.

  “He’s done for the night,” I told him, but my eyes went to Cody.

  “Yeah, I’m good. Thanks, though.”

  “You want one, Drew?”

  “I do, but I don’t think that’s a good idea with the painkillers.”

  “Oh, right.” Brody settled into one of the chairs and put a foot on the edge of the coffee table.

  “I’m fine too,” Sophia said slowly so Brody wouldn’t miss the sarcasm. “Thanks for asking.”

  And as if it truly hadn’t occurred to him to offer a beer to his sister, he said, “Oh, my bad. Did you want one?” He pointed a thumb toward the fridge but made no move to get up.

  “No wonder you had to go to a non-English-speaking country to find a female who’d go anywhere near you.”

  I laughed, but Brody didn’t seem to think Sophia’s comment was funny. Or he was at least pretending not to. He just took another sip of his beer and eyed her disdainfully.

  “So how was everything at the sorority?” I asked, hoping to change the subject.

  “All right,” Sophia said.

  “Did anyone give you a hard time about leaving?”

  By “anyone,” I’d meant Aamee because I didn’t think any of the other girls would. Not that they didn’t care about Sophia or want her to spend time in the house but because they were more understanding. I had no idea what Sophia’s relationship with Aamee was like at this point, but I couldn’t imagine it was suddenly a good one.

  “Not really. I didn’t see that many of the girls. I guess you could say Aamee helped me pack.”

  “She told her where the trash bags were,” Brody clarified as he gave a nod toward the bags she’d brought in.

  “Who’s Aamee?” Cody asked.

  Sophia and I filled him in on what had transpired last semester: Sophia getting kicked out of the house because of Carter and then eventually using a loophole I’d discovered that allowed her to run for sorority president against Aamee, who’d held the position at that time. Cody nodded along as if it all made perfect sense until I’d told him Sophia had won only to let Aamee keep the position anyway.

  Cody’s head snapped to where Sophia was sitting. “What? Why?”

  “’Cause Aamee’s hot,” Brody provided.

  Sophia rolled her eyes. “It was definitely not because she’s hot.” Then she looked at me. “Do you think she’s hot?”

  What was an appropriate answer? I couldn’t say no too quickly because it would look like I was just avoiding complimenting another female in Sophia’s presence, and since we weren’t together, there was no reason I should do that. And I didn’t want to agree with Brody necessarily.

  So I went with “I could see how some guys might think she’s attractive, but once you get to know her, it’s a different story.”

  “Huh,” Brody said, his voice rich with intrigue like the statement had been a challenge instead of a warning. “I’m gonna order another pizza. Anyone want anything?”

  “Nah, I think I’ve had enough,” I told him. “I should probably start trying to save money now that I’m not eating free hospital food anymore. Though, actually, I don’t know that I should consider it free with the amount of medical bills I have coming my way.”

  “That bad?” Cody asked. “Didn’t you get some sort of insurance at some point?”

  “Yeah, but it’s not anything that would cover the amount of shit I had done. It’ll be nice when I can go back to the bar and maybe even pick up a second job. I have some money, but I’m sure it’s not enough to cover it.”

  Brody seemed to be taking in everything I was saying, his lips in a tight line and his eyebrows pressed together like he was thinking hard about something. Finally, he said, “I can help out. Let me know when you start getting bills.”

  “I appreciate it, but I can’t take your money.” His offer truly surprised me. It was generous and unexpected, and even though he seemed absolutely sincere, I couldn’t accept it.

  “That’s what you said last semester, but I owe you. Seriously. If it weren’t for you, I would’ve been stuck at Lazarus trying to act like I gave a shit about my classes and grades.”

  I tried not to let his comment bother me because it was just Brody being Brody and he was trying to be nice. But I would’ve loved to have been given the opportunities he’d been given in his life, and he was just pissing it away every chance he got. It was infuriating to watch.

  “Plus,” Brody went on, “it’s my parents’ money anyway. They haven’t cut me off yet.”

  “I definitely can’t take your parents’ money.”

  Sophia looked almost murderous. “For real? Why are they still giving you money?”

  Brody shrugged casually. “Beats me. Maybe since they still think I’m in Europe, they don�
��t want to worry that I won’t have a place to stay or food to eat. Just because I disobeyed them doesn’t mean they want me to end up begging tourists for change.”

  Sophia stared blankly at him for a few moments before saying, “God forbid you get a job.”

  Brody still had his phone in his hand, ready to order his food, but hadn’t actually called yet. “Dude, enough with the job shit already. You act like I’m incapable of working.”

  “No, you act like you’re incapable of working.”

  As Brody walked toward where his sister was standing in the kitchen after getting a water bottle, I adjusted my position on the couch so I could watch the interaction. I wasn’t sure if one of their sibling squabbles might eventually turn into some sort of wrestling match, but I was glad Cody was here to break it up if it did.

  I was by no means a stranger to disagreements involving siblings, but I rarely experienced the level of bickering with my sisters and brother that these two had become accustomed to. At least since we’d become adults.

  Brody scratched at the back of his head, messing up his dark hair that he had styled before he’d gone to the sorority house. “I have an idea,” he said to Sophia before turning toward me. “Since Drew can’t work right now, I’ll get a job. It’ll prove to you”—he looked at Sophia again—“that I can work for a living, and it’ll let me help Drew out with his bills.” He looked back to me. “I can deposit my checks right into your account. Make me feel like I’m paying you back a little. Plus, I’ll be out of your hair while you’re trying to recover.”

  I considered it for a minute. “You’d really do that?”

  “I want to do that.”

  I couldn’t explain why his doing this felt different from not wanting to take the money his parents gave him. Maybe because taking their money was a sensitive topic for me. Or maybe it was because it wasn’t like I was taking any of his inheritance from him. Regardless of what it was, I was touched instead of repelled by the offer.

  Despite Sophia’s opinion of her brother, I couldn’t help but think he was a pretty good guy.

  Chapter Seven