Fall Guy (A Youngblood Book), Reinhardt, Liz [best free ebook reader for pc .TXT] 📗

I nod at Andre, who looks a little anxious, but tries to brush it off and act tough in front of my sister.

"I'm not going." Ithaca plants her feet and squares her chin, and I have to bite back the world's biggest sigh. She's a stubborn, spoiled brat, and she's about to unloose all her aggravating mule-headed stupidity on me; I'm getting the beginnings of a migraine just thinking about how this will go down. "Why isn't she in school?"

"She has a name," I bite back, not about to let her little tantrum make Evan feel like shit.

My wildly rude sister backs down. "Sorry. Why isn't Evan at school?"

"Mine and my girlfriend's plans aren't your business," I counter. Ithaca kicks the toe of her dressy little shoe into the dirt with ferocious energy. "Look, you're in hot water. You should be begging me not to tell Mama all this, and don't even get me started on our old man. You know the rules."

Her kick moves past ferocious and onto borderline criminally insane.

"I hate the rules! I hate them! I'm not marrying some stupid guy from Hungary Pop knows we can keep some dumb company in the family. I'm tired of all of our family's idiotic rules." Her eyes are wide open, rolling wildly, and her hands are balled into fists. "I love Andre. I love him and there's nothing anyone can say about it."

Andre looks like he's ready for the ground to open up and suck him deep into it. I try not to freak out over hearing my little sister declare her love for this guy. It's all dramatics, as usual with her, and I know the best thing I can do is just ignore it.

"Alright, alright." I hold up a hand. "Go wash up. Get to class. You can drop out and run away with your boyfriend tomorrow, alright? I'll take him home. He needs his rest after getting his ass handed to him." He makes a protesting noise, but I cut him off with a look he realizes means business. "I'll give you ten minutes. Exactly. In ten minutes, I expect you," I point to Andre, "in my car and you," I point to my sister, "better have your ass in class." She opens her mouth, but I cut in before she can argue. "Your other option is me calling Mama and Andre's parents. If he's not in the car in ten minutes, I get on the phone."

I grab Evan's hand, and we walk slowly back to my car. She squeezes my hand tight.

"You're a good brother."

"Don't count on that." I look at her sidelong and feel a lump in my throat, because I have a feeling Evan isn’t going to like what I’m going to have to do to manage this situation. "She's too attached to that kid already. I'm sure he's a nice guy and all, but she's not ready to be that serious. And he would never be accepted by my family." Evan's mouth swings open, but I push ahead, dragging her along. "I know it's harsh. But I can see how this will all pan out. I gotta do what I do."

"What is that again?" Her voice is low and accusatory.

She tries to pry her hand away, but I hold tighter.

"I do what needs to be done."

I don't want her to see what I'm about to do, because I know it's going to look cruel, but in the end? In the end, it's a quick, painless way to do away with something that would otherwise drag on to its inevitably bitter, painful end.

"What needs to be done?" She turns her head, her dark hair whipping into her face with the rising wind. "They're two kids in love. What exactly needs to be done?"

"My family won't approve. They'll drive Andre away, and it will wind up a big, messy thing. Ithaca will wind up hurting more. Even if my family did approve, the girls in my family don't date until the parents allow it. Ithaca has to focus on school and her future. Not this guy."

Evan looks at me, her eyes bright with fury.

"This guy?" she repeats, throwing my words back at me. "So, if someone doesn't meet the Youngblood standards, they just get thrown to the side?" Her voice shakes, and she twists hard to get away from me.

"Evan." I pull her close, run a finger along her jaw and try to meet her eyes, but she keeps them to the side. Her nostrils flare from her deep, angry breaths. "This isn't about me and you. I don't care what they think of you, okay? We're different, okay?"

She shakes her head, whipping her dark hair.

"No. Not okay. Not okay at all. How, exactly, am I different than Andre?" she asks, her voice a knife staking in my ribs over and over with every bitter word. "I mean, I'm a little older. A little more refined. Maybe I'm the right color?"

"It's not like that," I grind out. "Remy's daughter is half African-American. We have no problems with that..."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know," she cuts in. "I didn't get the Youngblood handbook. I have no idea what's good enough for you and your family. I would assume I'm not. Andre's not. Who meets your standards anyway? And who the hell are all of you to have these standards?"

I try to slow her down, quiet her, but she slaps my hands away and points a finger at me.

"No! No, I will not be quiet about this! Last night, I thought for a few minutes that we could be together in spite of your crazy family. That maybe we had a chance. But no one has a chance, do they? And I get it, okay, I get it! Andre and Ithaca are just kids in love. They'd probably break up in a few months over something dumb anyway. That isn't my point." She gasps a breath in and bites her lip. "That isn't my point." Her