Page 46 of Tiny Precious Secrets (The Brothers of Calloway Creek The Montanas #4)

Darla’s room is just beginning to become light.

She rolls over, groans, and opens her eyes to find me sitting in the chair next to her bed.

I’m weary after only getting a few minutes of sleep here and there.

It seems every time I’d fall asleep, she’d moan or say something about the room spinning, or puke.

I was afraid she might vomit in her sleep and aspirate, so I tried my best to stay awake all night.

But with the exhaustion of growing a pair of tiny humans, it proved to be a Herculean task.

“Uuuuuuuuugh.” She throws a hand over her eyes to keep out the light. “What are you doing up here?”

“I slept here.” I snort. “Well, I didn’t really sleep much for fear of you choking on your vomit.”

“Oh god.” She rolls over. “Kill me.”

I hand her a bottle of Gatorade I’d brought up in the wee hours of the morning. “You should drink. Even if you don’t want to. It’ll make you feel better.”

She bats it away.

“Darla, it’s either this or I drive you to the hospital and have them give you an IV.

You threw up a lot last night. You have to replenish your fluids.

” I hold out the half-eaten sleeve of saltines.

Half-eaten by me. “You probably won’t feel much like eating today, but you can try a few crackers.

If you keep those down, I’ll make you some toast or soup. ”

“Can I have some more Advil?”

I take two tablets from the bottle and hold them out. “Just as soon as you tell me what happened.”

“What did it look like?” she asks sarcastically.

“It looked like you lied to me about spending the night at Marti’s and went to a party instead. Darla, what was all that bullshit about not having any friends? Was Christian there? Who took you?”

“It had nothing to do with Christian.” She pulls the dry and crusty washcloth over her eyes so I change it out with a fresh wet one. “Noelle invited me.”

“Who’s Noelle?”

“Captain of the soccer team.”

“And the boys there, who were they?”

She shrugs. “Don’t really know. Students I guess.”

“Darla, did any of them… Did they try to…”

“Nobody touched me, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Are you sure? You were pretty drunk. How do you know?”

“I just know, okay?”

I sigh. “When your dad and I hoped you’d make friends with teammates, you do understand this is not what we had in mind?”

“He’s going to kill me, isn’t he? What did he say?”

“I haven’t told him.”

Finally her head turns and she looks at me, surprised. “You haven’t?”

I shake my head.

“That’s pretty cool of you, I guess.”

“Have you met Addison Calloway?”

“Who?”

“Addy. She’s a friend of mine. The one with the prosthetic leg.”

“Oh, her. Yeah, I’ve seen her around.”

“Do you know how she lost her leg?”

She rolls back over and pulls a pillow to her chest. “I’m not in the mood for any lectures.”

“Maybe not, but you sure as hell deserve one. Addy was eighteen when she got drunk and then drove a car. She crashed into an overpass and got pinned, crushing her leg. They couldn’t save it. They had to cut her leg off. All because she’d been drinking.”

“What does that have to do with me? I wasn’t driving. I’m nowhere near old enough to drive.”

“Okay, we’ll let’s unpack that, shall we? You are thirteen. You just started high school. You aren’t old enough to drive. You’re barely at the age where you can even get a job. What about that makes you think you’re qualified to be able to drink alcohol?”

“Like everyone isn’t doing it.”

I sigh. “I was a teenager once, Darla. I’m not going to lie and say I never had anything to drink.

Of course I did. I even ended up throwing up on my parents’ lawn a few times.

So believe me, I get it. But you’re thirteen.

What’s going to happen when you’re fourteen?

Are you going to try pot? And when you’re fifteen, will it be cocaine?

The earlier you go down that path, the worse it will be. ”

“Gee, thanks, Mom .”

The sarcastic way she spits out the words sends a dagger straight through my heart.

“I’m only telling you the same things your dad would say if he were here. That he loves you and cares about you and his top priority is keeping you safe. All of that goes for me as well.”

“But you’re not going to tell him?”

“No. I’m not.”

Her sigh tells me how relieved she is that she believes I’ll keep her secret.

“I’m not going to tell him. But you are.”

“Me?” She turns over again, her face softening as if she’s having a conversation with a trusted friend.

“I’ve learned my lesson, Allie.” Allie? She never uses my name, and now she’s saying it as if we’re BFFs.

“I guess I was caught up in trying to make friends. I’ll figure out some other way.

I’ll even sit in the cafeteria if you want.

I promise. And no more coming up with stupid baby names.

I’ll pick a good one. One you’ll really like.

And I’ll babysit whenever you want. Just ask Aunt Marti how good I am with babies.

I would watch Charlie all the time. And I’ll eat with you. Even when Dad is gone. I swear I will.”

The bullshit she’s feeding me just keeps getting deeper and deeper. I feel like I’m in it up to my knees. She’s all but saying she’ll get along with me as long as I don’t tell Asher. She’s putting me in a hell of a position. And I resent her for it.

“Darla, stop it. I’m not going to let you try and manipulate me.”

“I’m not. I swear I’ll do all that.”

“ If I don’t tell your dad. That’s manipulation. Actually, it’s blackmail.”

“Forget it,” she scoffs. “It’s not as if I expected you to do it anyway. When have you ever cared about what I want?”

I stand. “Listen. This stops now. I’ve bent over backwards to make this work. I’ve ignored your disparaging comments and downright disrespect. I’ve explained away your behavior as typical rebellious teen angst. But this—what happened last night—isn’t something I can overlook. It’s serious, Bug.”

“It’s Darla!” she shouts, then holds her hands on either side of her temples.

I walk to the door. “I’ll call the school and tell them you’re sick.

I’ll stay home too since I got pretty much zero sleep being on vomit watch.

I’ll make pancakes and toast, that might sit well.

You need to shower and change your sheets.

But, Darla, you will tell your dad. You have until the end of the weekend. ”

I shut the door and something, probably a shoe, hits it behind me.

I slump down and sit on the top step, wishing like hell Asher hadn’t picked this week to be away.