Free Life Interrupted by Kristen Kehoe Page B

school.  “I mean, he’s always been a little bit of a trend follower, like this motorcycle riding, faux bad boy phase he’s going through.  Most bad boys don’t have a 3.9 cumulative in mechanical engineering, so to those of us who really know him, the image is a little lost on the actual person.”
    I’m a little lost as he mentions the word major in conjunction with Dougie Fresh.  “Doug goes to school?”
    Dean smiles and looks at me out of the corner of his eye.  “Yeah, what did you think he did?”
    I shake my head as this new information processes.  “Nothing, I guess.  That’s Katie’s usual M.O. when picking a boyfriend.  Pick the one with the least amount of work ethic and future potential.  It’s like she’s been dating the ghost of her father for the past five years.  Not that she and Doug are dating anymore.”
    Dean laughs.  “Yeah, he was pretty pissed when he found out she lied.  He actually got home right after I did the other night, already on the phone with Katie, telling her they could only be friends and only go out in a group until she was eighteen.”  Then he looks at me. “Pretty weak of her to lie to him like that.”
    My protective streak goes full throttle at his words and though I agree, I can’t help but explain for her.  “Katie’s life isn’t what you would call stable.  I can’t tell you everything, but I can tell you that her role models are more like a what-not-to-do kind of thing, so don’t hold this against her, okay? She just wants someone, even if it means ignoring good sense to have them.”
    “Her parents not nice?”
    “We’ll say they’re not around and leave it at that.  Everything Katie’s learned about relationships has come from her mother’s various boyfriends or MTV.”
    “Jesus , that’s awful.  I mean, Doug’s had his fair share of douchey moments, like his senior year when he decided that wangster was the new look.”  Praise Jesus, I need a photo of that.  “But overall, he’s a good guy.  He’s a year older than me and when I decided to come here instead of staying home and going to Eastern, I didn’t know how I was going to pay for everything.  Doug took care of it—got a two bedroom apartment and was ready for me.”
    “Were you guys close growing up?”
    “Yes and no.  We’re family, but we didn’t exactly hang with the same crowd, and it wasn’t just because we’re a year apart.  I played sports, Doug didn’t.”  No need to state the obvious.  “I went out with girls, Doug didn’t.”  Again, obvious .   “He was more into cars than anything, and though he can’t drive or ride worth shit, he’s damn good at building an engine or piecing something back together.”
    I feel like I’m on information overload and I can’t possibly relate the person Dean’s telling me about with the person I’ve assumed Doug to be.  “You know what they say about assumptions,” Dean says when I tell him this.  “Like, how Doug assumed you were out to ruin his relationship with Katie.”
    “I sort of did ,” I say and he laughs.  “But seriously, even before I thought about their ages, I wasn’t out to ruin them, just him when the time came, and trust me, with Katie’s boyfriends, the time always comes.”
    “What about you?”
    “What about me?”
    “How many times has someone had to step in and kick some guy’s ass for you?”
    My thoughts immediately shift to Marcus the day that Tripp found out he’d cornered me.  I still maintain that had I not been seven months pregnant, I would have done something besides stand there while he intimidated me.  And I definitely would have been there when Tripp talked to Marcus the next day instead of letting him shield me.
    “Must be some story,” Dean says and I realize I ’m staring off.   “Maybe you’ll tell me about it sometime.”
    I nod, though I don’t really know how you tell someone about a baby daddy who threatened your life.
    When he pulls