Loving Oliver

【Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ ２０ Ｌｏｖｉｎｇ Ｔｈｅ Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓ Ｈｅｒｅ， ＆ Ｍｙ Ｎｅｗ Ｔｒｕｃｋ】

【Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ　２０　Ｌｏｖｉｎｇ　Ｔｈｅ　Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓ　Ｈｅｒｅ，　＆　Ｍｙ　Ｎｅｗ　Ｔｒｕｃｋ】

Aspen and Owen had dinner with us that night after they heard the conversation with my mom. It was tense at first and then Owen cracked a joke about being his sugar momma. I actually managed to laugh at the break of seriousness we had stumbled onto with mom. Aspen and I shared a laugh and Sam ended up smacking the back of Owen's head before sending him a glare.

It got back to normal after the weird phone call. Well, back to normal for this very un-normal situation I had found myself into. I could sense the shift in Sam however when Owen left to take Aspen back home to her grandfather.

I had cleared the table with Sam's help and now we took turns washing and drying the dishes.

"Kid, I don't think that I should uh... I don't think I should be the one to manage your, your finances. That's out of my experience. I barely managed to get all my finances in line with my diner and the house. I think you should see a financial advisor." He spoke softly as he continued scrubbing a dish that was already clean. He didn't meet my eyes and I could tell he felt embarrassed for the conversation.

I slipped the dish out of his hand gently before rinsing it in the warm water that was running in the other side of the sink. I focused my attention on the splash of water that ran down my hand instead of on Sam's reaction.

I let a moment pass as I began rinsing the other dishes as he paused his scrubbing. I found myself staring out at the backyard that had a garden bed in the corner. There were beautiful sunflowers that leaned out of the bed over a foot and a half.

"Technically Sam, you aren't necessarily experienced in taking on a rehabilitated teenage girl either and you did that in the blink of an eye without looking back." I respond softly failing to keep the amusement out of my voice.

"Parker it's completely different and you know it. This is your finances, your future. You've spent your entire career building your savings." He grunted out again before shutting the water off and drying his hands on the white dish towel before he tosses it on the counter.

He turns towards me and before placing his hands on his hips looking incredibly perturbed for an older brother to be.

I didn't want to be a burden to him. Not ever.

"Yeah. You're right Sam. You've got me covered. My well being comes before that money. It's just money Sam. Everything I need I have right here. You've gotten me a job, an allowance, my own house key, you have my back against the pap, I've made my first friend here." I dry my hands glancing down at the damp cloth before I return his look. I have to take a steadying breath before I say the next part. Because it hurts.

"You are the first person in our entire family who asked about Ollie. The first. Not Dad or mom or our grandparents. Hell my agency hasn't even cared enough to ask about my life beyond work. You were the first person who has ever asked me about Ollie. You didn't care about who his parents were, what tax bracket they landed in, what college he was going to, you didn't even care about any of it. You asked me about what it was like to date my best friend. You asked me about my first love. My only. And Sam you took it a step farther, you fucking listened. And you think I give two shits about money I made when I was my most miserable. Shit Sam, I was going to use that money to get away from mom and dad. You just beat me too it. So Sam, I couldn't careless that you've had no experience managing money, because in the end of it all, you care. That's more than I've ever had." I finish in a huff still holding onto the dish rag as though it were the only thing holding me together. Because it most certainly felt that way.