Page 41 of Protecting Gina

They ate together, planning their day. Wave wanted to go with Cass to look at the college, so she decided to go with them. Gina liked spending time with Wave. She was excited about meeting his friends. Hopefully, it would go well, and they would accept her. The last thing she wanted was his buddies having a problem with her.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Wave was glad Cass had dropped her interest in the files she’d found in their mother’s house. He’d thought about asking Thario to look into the files, but honestly, he didn’t want to invite questions. What if his mom having those files was something awful?

Thinking awful things about his mother wasn’t new territory for him. She’d done some horrendous things when he was younger. One time, before Cassandra was born, she’d left him at home for over a week. He’d had to fend for himself. It had been weird living on his own that week. After that, he realized he only had himself to rely on.

When Cass had come along, he’d learned to make a bottle and change diapers. His mom’s interest in Cass had lasted for a few months. Then it had been up to him to fill in the gaps. Luckily, his mom had put Cass in daycare while he was at school.

There were a few days that his mom hadn’t taken Cass in, and he’d come home from school to find Cass alone, red-faced and crying. He’d been angry but never took it out on his sister. Instead, he beat the heck out of other kids at school. It earned him suspensions, and he got in trouble at home, but he knew better than to be mean to Cass. She hadn’t done anything wrong other than being born to a selfish jerk.

“Hey,” Cass said as she moved close, then bumped her shoulder against his.

“Hey, yourself.”

“You look rather intense.”

“Just thinking about when you were a kid.”

“Ah, back when you took care of me.”

He nodded. “Yeah, back then.”

“I have no clue how you did it. I think I would be dead if you hadn’t decided to be a parent to me.”

“I shouldn’t have pulled away when you got older.”

“Dude, you were still young. You were a kid. I don’t blame you for anything you did. You raised me to be independent.” She tilted her head to the side. “I don’t remember exactly what you used to say. It was something like, you have to be your own best friend and treat yourself with respect because no one else will ever be there for you. It helped me after you left.”

“There is a part of me that wishes I had stayed close.”

“You made sure I was taken care of.” Cass screwed her lips up to one side. “So, Gina. How serious are you about her? Because I’ve gotta tell you, I’m not sure you’ll ever do better than her.”

He threw back his head, laughter spilling out. He pulled Cass into a hug and patted her back. She pushed out of his hold and crossed her arms over her chest.

“I’m serious.”

“I know, and you’re one hundred percent right. I’ll never find anyone as good as Gina is for me. She’s amazing.”

“She was good to us before you showed up. She’s a good person.”

He was still laughing but met her gaze and held it. “I’m glad to hear she was good to you.”

Cass nodded. “Thank you for looking after me when I was a kid.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll always look out for you.” Gina opened the bedroom door and stepped out. “So, are you two about ready to head out and see where Cass will be attending college?”

“Sure, let’s go,” Cass said.

He still needed to find a decent car for his sister. Their mother’s car had been unreliable. He wanted something that wouldn’t die in the middle of the freeway at night.

The place was about fifteen minutes away in good traffic, thirty on a bad day. They had plenty of student parking, and she could take public transportation if she needed to, but she still needed a reliable car.

This week, he would start looking for one. It might take a few weeks, but it was time to get on it. Gina’s car would be delivered in a couple of days, and then she would have transportation.

Before he left California, he had no desire to start a relationship with anyone, and now he had Gina and didn’t want to ever lose her. It was weird how fast life moved sometimes.

“Hey, Wave, what are you so deep in thought about?” Cass asked.