Stepbrother Dearest(45)

I immediately started the engine and pulled out of the lot, heading toward the exit.

“Where do you want to go?”

“Wherever the fuck the polar opposite of this nightmare is. Just drive for a while.”

Elec was leaning his head back on the seat rest with his eyes closed. His chest was rising and falling as he loosened the top three buttons of his shirt. When we hit a red light, I sent a text to my mother.



Everything is fine. Elec had something like a panic attack and I’m driving him around. Make sure Greg gives you a ride to the restaurant and let him know Elec is with me. Not sure if we’ll miss the meal.



I didn’t expect her to respond since the service was still going on but hoped she’d check her phone once she noticed we were gone.

He grunted. “Fuck.”

“What?”

“My cigarettes are in Greg’s car. I really need one.”

“We can stop and get some.”

He held up his hand. “No. Don’t stop. Just drive.”

So, that’s what I did. For two hours straight, I drove on the highway. It was the middle of the day, so traffic was light. Elec was quiet the entire time, mostly looking out the window.

I had to stop at some point; otherwise, we’d be heading out of state. Sure enough, fifteen minutes later, the Welcome to Connecticut sign greeted me. He’d told me to take him to the polar opposite of a graveyard, to make him forget. I suddenly had a brilliant idea and knew exactly where we could go.

“Just about another twenty minutes then we’re gonna stop somewhere, okay?”

He turned to me and spoke for the first time in hours. “Thank you.”

I wanted to reach for his hand but resisted. A few minutes later, it looked like he’d fallen asleep. I remembered Chelsea saying he hadn’t been getting any sleep since finding out Randy died.

My phone rang, and I picked it up.

“Hey, Mom.”

“Greta, we’ve been worried. The meal is over. Is everything okay?”

“Everything is fine. We’re still driving. We’re gonna stop soon. Don’t worry, okay? I’m sorry I had to leave you.”

“I’m alright. The worst is over. I’m with Greg and Clara for the night. Just take care of Elec. He shouldn’t be alone.”

“Okay. Thanks for understanding, Mom. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

We were approaching our destination, so I nudged Elec. “Wake up. We’re here.”

He rubbed his eyes and looked over at me as we continued down the long driveway.

“Are you taking me to visit the magical Wizard of Oz?”

He was right. The approach to the building kind of reminded me of the yellow brick road with the massive castle at the end.

“No, silly. It’s a casino.”

“We escaped from a funeral so that you could take me gambling? What the fuck?”

When I turned to look at his face, I expected to see a confused expression, but instead, he was giving me that rare genuine smile that I’d only seen a few times—the one that told me he was just messing with me. It was the same look that always made my heart flutter.

Then, he started laughing hysterically into his hands. I think he was delirious.

“You think it’s distasteful?”

He wiped his eyes. “No, I think it’s fucking brilliant!”

When I pulled into a parking spot, he was still laughing.

“Well, you told me to take you to the polar opposite of a graveyard, Elec.”

“Yeah, I was thinking maybe a Zen Japanese restaurant or I don’t know…a beach?”

“You want to leave?”

“Hell no. I would have never thought of it myself, but shit, if there’s one place where you can drown your sorrows, this would be it.” He gazed out the window then turned to me with a look that gave me chills. “So, help me drown my sorrows, Greta.”



***



The influx of cigarette smoke when we entered the building had nearly choked me.

I hacked. “You’re not gonna have a problem finding your cancer sticks in this place. In fact, everyone might as well be smoking here. The second hand is just as bad at this quantity.”

“Try to have fun, sis.” He shook me jokingly. My body’s reaction to his strong hands on my shoulders wasn’t surprising. If he kept touching me like that, this was going to be a long day.

“Please don’t call me that.”

“What would you prefer I call you here? No one knows us. We can make up names. We’re both dressed in all black. We look like mafia high rollers.”

“Anything but sis,” I shouted through the dinging sounds of the hundreds of slot machines as we entered one of the casinos.

“What do you like to play?” I asked.