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Eli smirks. “Yeah.”
“Well, what does he say?” Good Lord, my voice is so high I’m actually squealing.
“Stuff like you’re really pretty and cool, and that he wants to take you on a date…”
“He does?” I whisper, my heart thumping in my chest. Tiny goosebumps pop up along my bare arms.
Eli nods. “Yep. I told him he should ask you out.”
“You did?”
“Mm-hm.” The smile fades from his face. “But he said he can’t. That he messed up.”
“He did.” My head falls into my hands. “Big time.”
“Did he do something really bad? Like when my mom got sent to jail and left me and my brother?”
“No…”
“Then maybe you should talk to him. Whatever it is, he wants to make it better. My mom…she doesn’t give a crap about me or my brother. She only cares about herself and partying. She doesn’t care about making things better for us.”
“Eli, I’m so sorry to hear that. I-I didn’t know.” How could any mother desert her kids like that? Especially with Eli being so sick? How could she leave them on their own and put that responsibility on Tommy? It’s criminal!
“Hey, Tommy and I are good because we have each other. It’s hard, but we get by.” He plays with a corner of the bed sheet. “Maybe Max needs someone, too. Maybe he needs you. Maybe you can figure things out and make it okay again.”
I swallow hard. Good God, am I really getting life advice from a thirteen-year-old?
And am I actually going to take it?
Eli looks at me. “Like I said, he’s a good guy. Isn’t that the important thing?”
“Sometimes when you’re older, things get a little more complicated.”
“Maybe when you get older you just make things more complicated.”
A giggle escapes my mouth. “Maybe you’re right.”
Eli picks up his Nintendo DS again and peers at the screen. “You were right about one thing though.”
“Oh, yeah, what’s that?”
Eli snickers, his fingers moving at light speed over the control buttons. “He is a really bad loser. And it sucks for him because if he keeps playing with me, he’s gonna lose a lot more.”