My mouth drops open in disbelief.
“You stopped crying the minute I gave you the bottle. You were starving. I had finished feeding you by the time the nanny came back. She was furious that I was holding you, but I think she was more concerned about having been caught. She tried to take you from me, but I kicked her in the leg and threatened to hurt her if she ever came near you again.” He looks up at me. “Amazingly enough, Mom actually believed me when I told her what happened. Maybe it was because I was still holding you when I found her.”
I shake my head. “Reed, you were four. What four-year-old kid does that?”
He shrugs, looking defeated. “The nanny was fired, but I was upset with myself that I’d let you cry so long before intervening.” He pauses. “I made a promise to you that day. I promised you that I would always be there for you when you needed me, that I would never let anyone hurt you again.” He voice breaks. “I failed you, Lex. Someone hurt you in the most vile, disgusting, dehumanizing way and there wasn’t a fucking thing I could do about it. I had no idea that it had even happened until after the fact.”
I grab his hand, tears clogging my throat. “You can’t protect me from everything, Reed.”
“Maybe not, but I can try.”
I pull him into a hug, squeezing my arms around his back. I cry onto his shoulder, and he holds me tight. After a minute or so, I pull back and look into his face. “Reed, I mean it, you have no idea how much I love you.”
He smoothes the hair back from my wet cheeks. “Go to bed. We’ll talk more in the morning.”
I kiss his cheek and then head toward the hall.
“She’s with Scarlett.”
I stop and look back at him. He’s staring at the dark TV screen. “Caroline went to Scarlett and Tucker’s. That was the first place I called.”
Fresh tears burn my eyes as I head down the hall. I have no idea how to fix this, but I have to find a way.
***
I try to talk to Reed on Saturday like he promised we would, but he spends most of the day out of the apartment. Caroline doesn’t return until Sunday afternoon, and that’s only after Reed finally goes to get her. When she comes home, they disappear into their room.
I spend the weekend focusing on my homework, the summer program, and brainstorming fundraising ideas. The play was the perfect way to get the university and the town to come together. We ended up making nearly eight thousand dollars, which is amazing, but we still need so much more. I can’t ignore the fact that many of the university students have deep pockets. I need to figure out how to get them to spend some of that money.
I decide to call Sylvia to run a few ideas by her, but I haven’t talked to her since Friday night besides texting to tell her that I made it home okay. I’m worried it will be awkward. The only way to address this is head-on. As soon as she answers, I launch right into my apology.
“Sylvia, I’m sorry I ditched you.”
“No. Don’t say that. I forced you to go and I knew you weren’t having fun. I should have left instead of making you find another way home.”
“I didn’t want to ruin the night for you. Did the guy you were talking to ask you out?”
She hesitates. “Well…yeah.”
“That’s awesome! Tell me all about him.”
She spends the next five minutes telling me about Ken. She has a date with him tonight and she’s trying to figure out what to wear.
“Do you want me to come over and help?”
“You know my clothes. Just suggest something.”
“Where are you going?”
“Dinner and a movie.”
I make a suggestion and then tell her a bit about the brainstorming I’ve been doing. “I need something that will make Southern students spend their money.”
“An event with lots of beer.”
“I’m serious, Sylvia.”
“So I am.”
“I was hoping to keep it legal.”
“So I guess prostitution is out.”
“Very funny.” But the thought jogs a memory. “When Tina figured out who I was the other night, she mentioned that I should start a match-making business. She offered to put together some probability charts to help.”
“You’re thinking about starting a match-making service?” she asks in disbelief.
“No, but what if we did something similar? Like a bachelor auction or something.”
She’s silent for a moment. “That could actually work. The key is to get some really hot guys to participate.”
“True.”
“But we should include girls as well. Guys are just plain stupid around sexy girls. They’ll pay out the nose to go out with a hottie.”
I believe that. “Let’s bring this idea up at the committee meeting tomorrow. I think we’re onto something.”
“Sounds good.”
“Have fun on your date.”
I hang up and then work on homework until it’s time for bed. The only time I see any sign of my brother or Caroline is when Reed emerges from his room to get some food for them. No one’s more happy that they’re back together than I am, but this makes it painfully obvious that it’s past time for me to move out.
Now I just need to break the news to Reed.
Chapter Ten
Ben
Monday’s are a bitch. My history class is still kicking my ass, but at least I feel semi-prepared for the exam. When I walk out of the room, I’m certain I’ve made a C. Not ideal and not up to my 3.8 GPA, but I’m letting a lot of things slide this semester. All I need is my damn diploma. No one will give a shit if I got a C in American History.