Beneath the Stands: An Enemies to Lovers, Best Friend's Brother Romance (Sugarlake Series, Book Two) by Emily McIntire

Author:Emily McIntire [McIntire, Emily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-11-30T16:00:00+00:00

35

Eli

It’s Friday, the day I was supposed to be arriving in this hellhole of a town. Instead, I’m sitting on Pops’s couch, wondering why I let Sarah talk me into coming at all. Because now I’m stuck, pretending like every day isn’t slowly sucking away the tiny bits of life I’ve been able to grasp on to over the years.

Sarah seems to be enjoying her time. She’s fascinated with the southern twangs and the fact everyone knows my name.

All the things I hate.

She’s uncomfortable with Pops, though. He went out with his buddies tonight, so we’re taking advantage, having a date night and finally relaxing. Pops hasn’t been the most welcoming, and after his callous behavior toward Lee, I can’t say I blame Sarah for being on edge when he’s here.

Lee.

The thought of my baby sister makes my stomach fold in on itself. I should call her, but I have no clue what the hell to say.

The front door slams open, and I shoot to my feet when I see Lee storming into the room.

“Sis, what are you doing here?”

Her face is murderous—cheeks ruddy and lips turned down in a scowl. She surges forward, and before I can stop her, she’s in my face and shoving me back. My legs hit the couch, and I reach an arm behind me to keep from toppling over.

I breathe deep, trying to shake off my anger. “What the hell, Lee?”

“When are you gonna get it, huh?” she hisses through clenched teeth. “I thought you bein’ back would make you see. Get you to realize how bad things are, but here you are… sittin’ pretty with your girl while Daddy’s runnin’ around town makin’ a fool of himself.”

I bristle at her tone, pressing back into her space. “I’m not his babysitter. Pops is a grown man.”

“Do you know where we just came from, Eli?” she asks, her nostrils flaring.

Why the hell would I know that?

Sarah chokes in a breath from beside me, her arm tugging on the back of my shirt. I follow her gaze. Pops is standing in the doorway—if you can call being held up around the waist “standing.” There’s a sheen of sweat on his brow and his clothes are rumpled and skewed, his head lolling on Chase’s shoulder.

They move toward the recliner and Chase plops him down. Pops hunches over, mumbling with his eyes closed.

My chest pinches so hard it hurts to breathe.

“What happened?” I manage to rasp.

Lee laughs. “What do you think happened, Eli? The same thing that always happens. If Daddy doesn’t have a babysitter, he gets behind the wheel, drunk as a skunk, and ends up at his favorite bar. Only his favorite bar has banned him ‘cause he always causes a scene.”

She’s talking to me like I’m supposed to be the babysitter, but how the hell was I supposed to know he was banned when she never said a word about it? I’m not a mind reader. “Lee, I didn’t know…”

“I’ve told you a thousand times!” she screams, throwing her arms in the air.

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