Free The Harder I Fall by Jessica Gibson Page A

didn’t want to stop; I wanted his hands on me again. I moved to touch him but he got out of bed. “I only have so much self-control,” he said as he stood against the wall. My shirt was on the floor and he threw it at me. “Not that I want you to put it on, but it would be better for both of us.”
    “You can come back to bed. I’ll be on my best behavior.” I winked at him.
    “Becca, the sex kitten. Dear Lord, what have I done?”
    I giggled as he jumped back in bed next to me and shoved a pillow between us.
     
     
    W E MET S AMUEL AND R UTH at their hotel just after breakfast. Ruth was so pretty, with her long dark hair and light green eyes. Levi looked just like his dad; they both had dark hair and dark eyes.
    “It’s so good to meet you,” Ruth said, pulling me into a hug.
    “Mom, Dad, thanks for coming.”
    “Of course we came. How could we not?” Samuel hugged his son. “Let’s see what we can do to make all of this better for everyone.”
    “My mom is going to be a problem, I can tell you that much,” I said.
    “In what way?” Samuel asked me.
    “She’s going to expect a handout.” I was embarrassed to even say it out loud.
    “Don’t worry about any of this anymore, Becca. We’ll handle it. I’ll say this, though. We won't just take Chad in and let this kind of behavior continue. He will need to be in school, and to get good grades.”
    “You don’t understand the situation.” I shook my head. “He wasn’t using, just selling so he could help my mom pay the mortgage. She lost her job and she hasn’t been doing much but getting drunk all day. He thought there was no other way. He’s really a good kid, always has gotten good grades. This isn’t him.” I wanted them to like Chad; he didn’t deserve to be judged for one incident.
    Ruth squeezed my hand. “We aren’t judging him, honey. Sam was just telling you the expectations. Even good kids make mistakes sometimes.”
    I knew she was referring to Levi. “Thank you both for being here, and for wanting to help us. I really can’t say that enough.” The realization that I didn’t have to do everything myself took a weight from my shoulders.
    “Can you give us directions to your house?” Ruth asked.
    “Don’t you want us to come with you?”
    “It probably will be best for you guys not to come. I don’t want you to deal with anything else. Tomorrow we’ll get Chad out of jail and then we’ll make plans from there.”
    I was grateful that I didn't have to see my mom. The only reason our house had ever looked half decent was because of me. I cooked and cleaned for Chad and myself. She never did more than drink herself into oblivion and cry about how she missed my dad.
    Levi and I decided to go for a walk while his parents were talking to my mom. I needed to get my mind off of what was happening. I took him to a little hiking trail I used to go to a lot when I was younger. Not a lot of people went there, so I could be alone when I wanted.
    “Tell me something I would be surprised to know about you,” I said and leaned against a big tree, watching watched him.
    “Well, that’s not putting me on the spot or anything.” He laughed. “I’m awesome at the piano, like really, really good. I could have gone to Juilliard, but I didn’t want all the pressure.”
    That was really surprising. “Do you still play?” I asked.
    “Yeah, when I can. Not since I’ve been at school, though.”
    “I’m actually really shocked by that. You don’t seem like the piano playing type.”
    “What’s the piano playing type?”
    “Oh, you know, not you. More serious.”
    “Are you saying I’m not serious? Becca, you wound me.” He put a hand to his heart in mock outrage.
    “You know what I mean.”
    “I do, and in truth, playing the piano was a way to channel my energy,” he said. “Once I stopped all the drugs and shit, I started playing again, and I got serious about it. My mom had me in lessons at a really young age, but I