Tough Love (Hidden Secrets) by P. J. Belden Read Free Book Online Page A

to know what it is?”
    “Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!” They scream excitedly.
    Crooking my finger at them for them to come closer, I whisper, “You get to come hang out with me, a bunch of animals and meet my family. How’s that sound?”
    Atreyu starts dancing around, pumping his little fists in the air, screaming “Woohoo!”
    Sebastian stood there nervously looking at me. “Y-you mean a lot of people?”
    “Well considering I have a lot of siblings, I guess you’d say a lot of people. But you don’t have to worry Captain. I’ll be with you every step of the way. We’re going to have a cookout. They’ll love you both I just know it.”
    “Y-you’ll be there with me?” He asked nervously.
    “Of course, Captain.”
    He hugs me tightly and my heart breaks a little more for him. “Okay, I’ll go. Thank you Jack.”
    My phone vibrated in my pocket. Standing up, I pulled my phone out and checked the text message.
     
    Jake: Hey, hope you finally got laid. On my way to get you.
    Me: That’s not why I came here and you know it!
    Jake: Doesn’t mean you didn’t get laid.
    Me: You’re an asshole.
    Jake: Nope, definitely didn’t get laid. Where am I going?
     
    Once I gave Jake the address, Sebastian pulled my attention. “Want to play a game with me? Please!” He begged.
    “Sure, I’ll play a game.”
    We sat there playing a game where everything was in the shape of a block, including animals. You built things and had achievements to achieve. Sebastian got seriously into this game. I have to admit it was a lot of fun. Before I knew it Jake was walking into the room.
    “Hey man, that was fast. You didn’t wreck my car did you?”
    “No, what are you playing?”
    “Minecraft,” Atreyu says excitedly. “You want to play too?”
    Pressing pause, they both get upset. “Hey, I want to introduce you to one of my brothers. This is my twin brother, Jacob. I bet if you ask him you can call him by his nickname too.”
    “You have a nickname too?” Jake nods. “I have one now too. Jack gave it to me.” Sebastian says shyly, gripping my arm.
    Jake kneels down. “You know what? Jack is great at nicknames. He gave me mine.”
    “He did?” Sebastian says amazed, letting go of my arm and climbing in my lap, closer to Jake.
    “Yup. Everyone kept calling me Jacob. Then one day Jack says. ‘He so fast, he’s like a snake. Jake the snake.’ All our brothers and sisters called me Snake until we got older and most call me Jake now. I bet he gave you a cool name too.”
    “Yeah,” he nods his head rapidly. “He calls me, Captain because I love ships. I’ve never had a nickname before.” He smiles brightly at me.
    “My nickname is Roo, but my sister gave me that.”
    “I like that nickname. Very cool,” Jake says.
    Atreyu pulls Jake to sit down and gave him a controller. We all sat there playing. Sebastian was in my lap and Atreyu was in Jake’s. Sad as it was to say, it was one of the best moments I’ve had in a long time.
    “Boys, it’s time to eat.” Shannon called from the doorway. “Wow,” she breathed.
    I turned and saw her with tears in her eyes, looking at us. Lifting Sebastian off my lap, I sat him on the couch. He crawled over on Jake’s lap, which caused me to smile. Turning my attention back to Shannon, “Hey, what’s wrong?”
    “They… You…,” shaking her head. “They’re happy,” she breathed. Looking up at me, “You made them happy.”
    Clearing my throat, “You made them happy, we just gave them friendship. I offer the same to you, you know?”
    “You have done more than enough,” Swallowing hard. “Can I come in on Friday and we talk more options for Sebastian.” She says her eyes focused on Sebastian, tears falling down.
    I couldn’t stop myself from pulling her into a hug. “Of course. Come in at four, we’ll leave at five.”
    She surprised me when she wrapped her arms around my waist. Then I surprised myself when I kissed the top of her head and breathed in the smell