Harkham's Case (Harkam's #1) (14 page)

“And one more thing . . . Your dad called.”

“Ugh!” Mari threw her head back and closed her eyes tight. She banged the back of her head repeatedly up against the surface of the kitchen cabinets.

“You’re going to visit him for your entire fall break. You owe him that much after what he did for you with that kid. Goodnight.” Her mom left the room.

The only thing Mari came away with after that lopsided conversation was that she was never going to have a parent that understood or listened.

Oh yeah—and no sex with Adam.
Ever
. Period.

Even if she had a stash of condoms calling to her, all tucked away in her closet, for the off chance she might want to be intimate with someone.

And not just someone—
Adam
.

Sexy, sweet, endearing Adam.

The one that made her chest pound harder than a furious workout at the gym did for her tonight.

* * *

Adam walked slowly inside his home. So many things to consider.

Mari’s mom . . . Was she a mean, cruel person, or was Mari right—was her mom just angry with her, and he kind of stepped in the middle of it?

No, Mari didn’t lie to him. He had seen her lie—she told Kendra he was lactose intolerant, but it was done to help him, so it was good.

“Where have you
been
?” Sam shrieked as she all but fell on him.

“Leave your brother alone. He’s allowed to go out with friends,” their dad said as he sauntered into the room.

“Hi,” Adam greeted him.

“Hi there. Have some fun? You sure caused a stir here at home.” His dad wore a humorous twinkle in his eyes.

“I did, but then I didn’t.” Adam scratched at his stubbled jaw. “But I was with Mari.”

“Her
again
?” Sam groaned. Her shoulders flopped forward. “They’ve got a thing for each other.” She only spoke to their father, not to him. Was she trying to tattle? “I thought it was cute at first, and good for him, but you know she’s jerking him around.”

It made a wave of hideous feelings coat Adam’s stomach. “Mari’s not like that. She’s the nicest person I’ve ever met!”

“She lies. I’ve seen her do it,” Sam said.

“I don’t care. She only does it when it helps somebody else.” Adam breathed hard, and his chest puffed out.

“Yeah, like herself!” Sam’s chin lifted along with her voice.

“All right, all right—Sammie, why don’t you get to your homework. Adam and I are going to talk some more on our own,” their dad said.

“When’s it going to stop? You didn’t do anything about him changing his schedule. Indulging him never ends well.” Sam frowned. “You’re not there. You don’t see what it’s like.”

“You’re not my mother!” Adam hollered.

Sam’s eyes filled with tears. She turned and left in a rush.

The door slammed upstairs when Sam was inside her room.

“Tell me more about Mari.” His dad’s dark brown eyes were soft.

Adam followed him into the living room without being told to do it.

When his dad found his chair and bent over to sit, Adam couldn’t help but notice how much more his dad’s dark hair was thinning on top. All at once, he seemed so much older and weary. He was still a fit man for his age, but he moved slower, more purposefully—almost with more caution.

Even with all those things that made him maybe less attractive to a younger crowd, Adam still wished he was just like Dustin Latham. He was everything Adam wanted to be.

Smart. Kind. Good sense of humor. An excellent provider and a very wonderful physician.

And he was the best dad ever.

“So? Tell me, please. I want to know what’s important to you—and this new girl clearly is.” His dad smiled as he sat back into the high-backed, well-padded chair in the living room.

Adam always liked that squishy seat. It was very comfortable.

He took his seat on the couch a few feet away.

This was where they sat when they played cards or board games together.

His dad stared at him, waiting patiently to hear about Mari.

Adam held his breath, then released it in a burst. “Puuuhhhh.” He paused. Where to start? “She likes me for me. She treats me like a person. She’s my friend. I told you already she makes the numbers go away. I want to be around her all the time.”

“That’s great, but what does she get out of it?” His dad’s eyes hardened with scrutiny, and Adam felt small as could be.

“I . . . I don’t . . .”

“What happens if you get closer and then she ends it when she becomes interested in somebody else?” His dad’s lips were tight together.

“I haven’t—”

“And what do you do when she graduates and moves on, maybe even leaves this state? Do you plan to follow her?” His dad’s voice rose at the end.

Adam’s gaze shifted to the floor. His hands fisted on top of his thighs. “Yes.”

“How are you going to do that? You’ll need to have more funds than what you have now.” His dad moved over to the couch, sat down and patted the spot where he wanted Adam to join him since he was on the other end of it.

“I’ll get a job.”

“Doing what?” His dad’s dark brown eyes were ice cold. “Think this all through.”

“I’m trying to but you’re . . . You’re confusing me!” Numbers circled in Adam’s head like vultures, ready to eat everything good out of him.

“What does she want to do when she graduates? College?” His dad’s hand rested on the spot where he wanted Adam to sit.

“Don’t know.”

His dad huffed. “Why would you choose to follow somebody you know nothing about?”

“What about you?” Adam gritted his teeth, and his eyes narrowed. “How well did you know Mom, ‘cause you were shocked when she left.”

“You watch it, young man,” his dad said, his voice smooth and even.

“Watch what? Watch my family get in the way of me being with the one person that accepts me as I am? I may never find this again. She doesn’t look at me like I’m sick or a freak. And she also doesn’t forbid me to do things, or tell me what to do.”

His dad groaned and pulled at his face. “Of course she doesn’t. Why would she? She doesn’t love you like we do. She barely knows you, so it means little to her. It’s not her problem if you eat something bad for you and have a terrible reaction. Why should she care if you’re yanked away from us?”

“That’s not gonna happen. I’m behaving, and everything’s fine.” Adam wanted to turn away from him, but he couldn’t. He knew his father meant well—he simply didn’t get it.

“For now . . .” His dad’s hands went lax and fell in his lap. “I only want you to be happy,” he whispered.

“Then stop getting in the way.
She
makes me so happy I almost get dizzy with joy.” Adam stood up and towered over his dad. “And I want my car back. I’ve served my time.”

“I heard she smokes.”

Adam nodded.

“I don’t want her smoking around you, and especially not in your car.”

“Do I own this car?” Adam asked.

“You do,” his dad agreed.

“Then if she wants to smoke in it and I want to let her, it’s none of your concern.” Adam got up and left the room.

Sam slipped out of her room and into the hallway right before Adam stepped into his.

“Are you really happy?
Really
? Because you’ve had more meltdowns in the last week than you’ve had in months.” She slammed into him and hugged him as she cried.

“I’m fine. I
am
happy. With Mari, I can be normal. That’s all I’ve ever wanted,” he said. He remembered how Mari patted his back when he was upset. He did the same for Sam now. “Be happy for me—that’s all I ask.”

“I’m trying,” she said with an emotional rasp, fisting his shirt. “It’s hard to let go. It’s even harder to know you don’t really need me that much anymore.”

He smiled. “That’s a good thing. You can’t always protect me, and someday you’re gonna meet somebody and move away with him. I’ll be an uncle and buy them soda.” He chuckled.

“I already
have
met somebody.”

“You
have
?” His voice spiked.

“Mmhmm . . . It’s the reason I feel so guilty. I’ve been less than on top of what you’re doing because I can’t stop thinking about him every second of every day.” She sniffed.

He gripped her by the upper arms, created some distance between them and looked her straight in the eye. “That’s exactly how I feel about
her
. Would
you
like it if I sabotaged what you’ve got with this guy?”

“No!”

“Then stop it. Stop worrying. I have to do this my own way.”

“But I’m not gonna stop answering her questions about you,” she warned.

“That’s fine, as long as you’re doing it to help, not to be a stumbling block.” Once more, he smiled and pulled her back into a hug.

“I love you.” She sniffled even harder.

“I love you too, and even kind of like that it’s making you a little crazy that I want to be with Mari more than I do with you.”

She smacked his chest playfully. “No more of that talk.”

“Just know I’ll burn your phone if you talk bad about me through texts,” he said.

She laughed, let go, wiped away the tears and offered a parting smile.

“Sweet dreams, big brother.”

“Sweet dreams, little nugget,” he replied and stepped inside his room, then shut the door.

As soon as the house was quiet, he plugged his earbuds into his iPhone and listened to some music. He was breaking more rules, but they wouldn’t know.

Maybe he could be honest most of the time, but sometimes do stuff he wanted.

* * *

The next morning at school, he was dragging with exhaustion. Numbers had been hounding his brain since the music had ended, waking him up all night long.

He dreamed at one point he was decorating Mari’s naked body with numbers and making sure they were angled precisely right so he could see them at any angle he chose.

Her body shined and glittered like a star. She smiled, cooed at him and when he asked her to, she kissed him on demand.

It was a good dream, but he was sore a lot!

Adam stepped into their first class together, and Mari was oblivious of his presence.

He walked with heavy steps so she’d look up, but she kept her head down. She was reading something on her phone.

He slammed himself down into his seat to make more noise and get her attention. “Hi.”

“Morning,” she mumbled, her eyes still downcast.

“Mari, I think I need a hug right now.” His tone was anything but friendly, but the numbers were cracking inside him.

“Oh, sorry.” She shoved her phone into her pocket. “C’mere.”

He slumped up against her, wrapped his arms around her, sliding them under her arms, high up on her ribs.

She scratched his back and told him about her evening last night. Her story involved a lot of exercising, doing homework late into the night, but there was no mention of her mom.

“There you are!” Kendra exploded into their space—her shirt tighter than ever. He was worried that maybe she didn’t own a mirror so she could tell if the clothes fit properly or not before walking out the door. “That idiot cousin of mine thinks you’re taking her to the homecoming dance, but I already told her you’re taken.”

“I am. I’m going with Mari,” he said.

Why was Kendra even here? She didn’t have ASC this period, her cousin Tara did, and that rotten-fruit girl was nowhere to be found in this moment.

Mari tugged on the ends of his hair, then gripped the back of his neck.

Wow. Shivers exploded down his spine, making him wiggle some.

“I’m not going to the dance. I’m not gonna be in town,” Mari replied.

“Good. Go with me,” Kendra told him.

“I think that would be a bad choice.” Adam melted further into Mari.

Kendra held out her hands, showing him the lack of fake nails and scratchy rings.

“You still don’t really like me,” he said and hugged Mari tighter.

She stroked patterns of numbers on his back with her short fingernails. It was a message for him, and his insides were erupting with warmth and goodness.

“Is this cow telling you that? Because everybody knows she lies. I like you, Adam—so much I turned Rory down when he asked me to the dance.” Kendra glared at Mari.

“You can undo it. Tell him you were only joking, and you wanted to see what he did,” Mari suggested.

Kendra flipped her off and made a mean, ugly face.

“You should go now,” Adam told her in a gruff tone. “Ditching your class is bad, so it’s a good idea to head that way before you get in trouble for being super late.”