A few people laughed, the cowardly way people laugh at something cruel.
I felt my face go hot, and my eyes started to burn, and I thought — this is why I didn’t want to come.
But before I could shrink, Ollie stood up.
All four foot nine of him, in a suit made for a man, planted himself between me and Preston.
“My brother is deployed,” Ollie said, and his voice shook but he did not back up one inch. “He’s a Marine. He couldn’t be here, so I came in his place, because he asked me to take care of her. That’s what his family does.” He lifted his chin. “What did your brother ever ask you to do?”
The table went quiet.
Preston’s smirk flickered.
And a girl nearby said, “Aww,” and then another, and suddenly the laughter had turned completely around, and it was Preston standing there red-faced while a thirteen-year-old stared him down.
