"How was Palm Springs?" I asked Jack as he set his keys down on the table and walked in through the front door.
"Pretty good." He smiled as he blushed a little.
I raised my eyebrow, "What did you two do?"
He let out a short laugh as he avoided eye contact with me, "Just walked around Palm Springs, swam a little, and just hung out."
"I hope you guys slept in different rooms." I teased, referring to the words that he used on me when he knew I was with Nick.
"Stop using my words against me." He blushed as he looked away, "And besides, I'm your protective brother. So, the protective sibling spot is already taken."
I laughed and rolled my eyes.
"So, how was hanging out with Nickolas?" He looked at me as he sat down on the same couch I was sitting at.
"Good." I smiled, I don't want him to find out that I was hurt at the fact that I liked Nick and he did not like me back.
"Good?" He raised an eyebrow, "You hung out with him basically all weekend, and your answer is just good?"
I nodded as I bit the inside of my lip, "Yeah."
"You are a terrible liar." He mumbled as he released a short huff, "Did he cancel plans on you again?"
"No." I said almost too quickly, "I'm just tired, that's all. I think I might be going over to his house later today."
"Okay, do you need a ride?" He eyed me carefully, I know what you're doing. I'm not lying. I'm actually going over to his house.
"That would be great. Thanks, Jack." I smiled.
He nodded once, "Just let me know when you want to go over."
"I will." I smiled, "Maybe we can-" I was cut off by my phone ringing.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and saw Nick's name appear on the screen, I looked back up at Jack, "Sorry, it's Nick."
"Go for it." Jack smiled and he pulled his phone out of his jacket.
I smiled back and picked up the phone, "Hey, Nick."
"Hey, Hal. Are we still hanging out at my place tonight?"
"Yeah, how come?" I asked, we talked about this earlier, did he want me to cancel it?
"No reason. Just making sure." He said quietly.
I furrowed my eyebrows, "Oh, uh. Okay. We could hang out some other day?"
Please don't say yes. Please don't say yes.
"No, it's alright. I'm sure of it, Hal." He laughed weakly, "We're hanging out. Did you wanna go to the diner across the street from me?"
I bit the inside of my lip, "Sure, that sounds nice."
"Okay, I'll see you then." I could tell he was smiling, "Call me when you're on your way."
"I will." I smiled weakly.
After I hung up, I looked up to see Jack staring at me.
"What?" I questioned.
His lips pulled into a slight frown, "You know, I can tell when you're not happy. You might be hanging out with him, but did something happen between you two?"
I swallowed hard, "Nothing happened between us." I accidentally put too much emphasis on us, "Please, can we not talk about this?"
He bit the corner of his lip but nodded once, "Okay. But please come talk to me if you ever need or want to talk about anything. You're my sister, and I know I don't say this often, but I really do care a fucking lot about you, okay?"
