Free Remember My Name by Chase Potter Page B

“The bed is just a double, so it’s going to be a bit of a
squeeze.”
    My eyes grow wide. “I am not sharing a bed with you.”
    “Why not? It’s better than
the floor.” He says it so coolly, like it’s no big deal. Like I’m an idiot for
having a problem with the idea. He tosses a pillow out of the way and plops
down on the edge of the bed.
    I let out a long breath and
close my eyes for a moment. If this summer is karma, I have no idea what I did
to deserve it. “Why do you care where I sleep?”
    “I don’t care. Why do you?”
    I force myself to breathe
evenly and not let him piss me off. “I’d just rather sleep on the floor.”
    He shrugs. “Whatever makes
you happy.”
    Glancing away, I say, “I
didn’t ask to come out here, you know.”
    When I look back, Jackson’s
gaze is fixed on me. After a moment he says, “Nope, and we didn’t invite you
either, but here you are.”
    I’m about to tell him
exactly how much I don’t want to be here when Jeff knocks on the open door.
“Hey guys,” he says, setting my duffel bag just inside the room. Scanning the
scene before him, he frowns. “Jackson, you were supposed to clean up.”
    “I did. Kind of.”
    Both of us give him a look.
    “Fine, I’ll do some more
picking up. Oh and Ben doesn’t want to sleep in the bed with me.”
    Blushing, I look to Jeff. “I
just… uh…” I stammer, trying to make it not sound like I just don’t want to
sleep next to Jackson. Which of course is exactly the reason.
    “No problem,” Jeff says,
saving me from having to lie. “We’ll just bring up the air mattress from the
camping stuff.” Turning to leave, he stops himself with a hand on the
doorframe. “Ben, make sure Jackson actually cleans up this time, could you?”
    I can’t tell if he’s joking
or not. “Sure.” I glance at Jackson. He looks irritated.
    Once he leaves, Jackson
grabs a laundry basket and starts throwing everything in. I take his spot on
the bed from earlier and watch him work in silence. After a few minutes, the
place is actually starting to look okay. I consider offering to help, but I
don’t know what I’d do. I also seriously doubt that he actually has a
designated place for any of his stuff.
    Jackson is kicking a pair of
dirty socks into the tiny space underneath his dresser when he asks, “How is Mom?”
    I pause, thinking about how
much I miss her already. She saw me off at the airport this morning, but that
feels like so long ago. “She’s good. Moving up the corporate ladder at her
job.”
    “Does she like it?”
    “I think so. She’s good at
it.”
    He shoves the overflowing hamper
into the closet. “Is that why she had to leave for the summer?”
    “A business trip, yeah.
They’re usually only a week or two, though. Never three months.”
    “And she didn’t trust you to
stay home by yourself?”
    I bristle at his suggestion.
“I would have been just fine. I don’t get why she wouldn’t let me stay.” I hope
he doesn’t ask anything more about it, because his questions would be the same
as my own. She’s never left for this long before, and never on such short
notice. She told me literally less than a week ago. But I’m an adult. Why the
hell did I have to come here?
    I shoot a glare at Jackson,
but he’s not even looking at me, instead busying himself with heaving a pile of
papers into the trashcan in the corner. “How about Jeff?” I pause, but decide
against correcting myself just for Jackson’s sake. “How’s he been?”
    He gives me an annoyed
sidelong look. “Things are good here too. Dad’s business does all right.”
    “What does he do?”
    “He runs a greenhouse in
town. I thought you knew that.”
    It sounds vaguely familiar.
“Yeah, maybe.”
    He pushes the comforter out
of the way to make room beside me on the bed. “It’s not so bad out here, you
know.”
    “It’s not where I belong.”
    Jackson glances at the
floor. “I’m going to brush my teeth. Dad will be up with the air