Like To Be You ✓

forty four

Greyson Chance—shut up
You'll know when to put it on ;)

Also, 70K! Thank you!!! <3

o-o-o

Tyler doesn't call me that night.

I wait up till 4am, staring at my screen with heavy eyes, waiting for a reply to my texts, until the mental toll of the day takes over and pulls me under the covers. When I wake up, everything is dirty white outside, like it snowed and then the sky shit on it.

"Good morning." My mother says, looking up from her magazine. "Or should I say, good afternoon." She raises a brow. Behind her, William Bourges switches on the blender. I wince.

"It snowed today." Mom tells me, going back to her magazine. Gigi Hadid looks at me from the cover page, her eyes sharp with the thick liner surrounding them. It reminds me of the time I put on liner just for fun and ended up with black ink in my eyes after I tried to wash it off.

"Had fun last night?" Mom says, flipping a thin page.

I snort, or at least try to, because my nose is still blocked.

"His brother found out about us." I say, "And he sent me these⁠—oh shit, Tyler!"

I run up the stairs like a madman, searching for my phone underneath the comforter. I find it in a thick fold and pull it out, checking for any new messages.

I'm fine, thanks for asking, is all I get from him.

My shoulders droop and I drag myself to the bathroom to first brush my teeth, and then take a long, steaming shower. When I slide open the translucent glass doors, the mirror is fogged up. I rub a circle with the edge of my palm to clear it up and take a good look at myself.

Mom's right. I do have Dad's straight nose, and the slightly upturned tip does make me look arrogant. I love it.

The muscles in my legs and arms scream every time I stretch(courtesy of last night's workout). I wince when I sit, I wince when I get up, and I wince(and internally cry) every time I laugh or sneeze. My mother gives me a heating pad when I curl up on the sofa after lunch and places my legs on her lap, massaging my calves.

"I love you," I groan, melting into the sofa. My mother eyes my horrible posture, still kneading my muscles. I lazily smile and melt further into the sofa.

Three episodes of The Office later, my mother's phone rings. I see Harvey's name come up. My mother swipes right on the screen with her middle finger and holds the phone close to her ear.

"Okay, I'll be there in half an hour." Is all she says.

"What happened?" I say, sitting up on my elbows. My mother frowns at the screen of her phone, then gently pushes my legs off her lap.

"The police arrested Regina." She says. "They found old bank records that could link her to Robbie."

x

My mother isn't keen on taking me along to the precinct. Even my Disney eyes don't work on her. If anything, me following her throughout her room as she gets ready only further annoys her.

"Neil, no." She tells me firmly, her gaze stern. "They just have to show me the interrogation tape and some paperwork⁠—nothing else."

"That's bullshit." I say. Her gaze hardens at my choice of words. "They're going to show the evidence, and I want to know what it is."