Submerged(Bound Together Book 1)(78)
I stare at my younger brother. It’s like I don’t even know him anymore. “Have you been watching the Hallmark Channel while I was away?” I ask him, not understanding how my brother, who hates relationships, suddenly became some sort of expert on the topic.
“No,” he says, squirming in the chair. “My point is that you did it backwards. No wonder she doesn’t believe you.”
“Wait. Go back to the words of wisdom by the great Luke Thomas. Where did you learn all that shit? Unless you’ve been hiding a relationship, how in the hell do you know what’s the right way and wrong way to behave?”
Luke lets out a frustrated growl before getting up to get us each another beer. I’m not about to let him off the hook this easy, so I wait him out, letting my eyes follow every move he makes. “Fine. When I was younger, Sidney always made me watch these girly movies on television.”
“Sidney, the neighbor girl?” I’m flabbergasted that he even spent any amount of time with the girl. From what I remember, Luke used to pick on her and tease her relentlessly from the first day she moved in until the moment he went off to college.
“Yes, that Sidney. She used to give me these big sad eyes every time I wanted to watch an action movie, so I always relented and let her pick.” Luke shrugs his shoulder as if it’s no big deal. This is a huge deal.
“But I thought you hated her?” I ask, suddenly wondering if there was more to Luke’s feelings for Sidney than I originally thought.
“No, I didn’t hate her. She was a brat who followed me around all the time. Sometimes I couldn’t get away from her so I just conceded and let her hang with me. Nothing happened,” he defends with too much force, instantly making me think that something did, in fact, happen.
I stare at my brother for several minutes. His green eyes remain locked on mine, neither of us ready to concede defeat. The room remains quiet for another ten minutes. Yeah, we’re both stubborn enough to keep the mind games going for as long as it takes. I have no desire to let him off the hook. Plus, when we’re both silent, we’re not discussing the mess I made of my love life.
Finally, Luke speaks. “I promised Mom that we’d come over for dinner tomorrow.”
The groan erupting from my lips takes me by surprise. It’s not that I’m not happy about seeing my family for the first time in months, but I’d really like nothing more than to lick my wounds for a few more days before having to face my mom.
“You should be thanking me. If I hadn’t told her we’d be over for dinner tomorrow night, she would have been here yesterday before you even had the keys out of the ignition. I told her you needed to catch up on your sleep, but that you’d have dinner to catch up with them.”
“Thanks,” I mumble to my brother. Even if he is being an ass, he definitely was looking out for me in this respect. “Anything else on Styx?” I ask, anxious to know the creep is behind bars where he belongs.
“Nothing definitive. We’ve had two reports of possible sightings along I-15, which tells us he may be heading towards Los Angeles. One of his aliases has an LA address so we’re thinking he’s heading towards his old stomping grounds. Highway Patrol has stepped up their search for him. We’ll find him, brother,” Luke says with a firm head nod.
After a little more comfortable silence, I finally say, “Let’s order Chinese takeout and find a bloody action movie on television.” Maybe watching something blow up will get my mind off the fact that my life imploded yesterday. I long to call Carly, to hear her voice. I want to drive over there and beat on her door until she opens up and lets me in. I want to hold my little girl and reassure her that her Daddy isn’t going anywhere.
Instead, I sit here on my brother’s couch.
And so I spend my first Friday night as a regular civilian again having Chinese takeout and watching Die Hard–with my brother.
* * *
“My baby!” my mom hollers from the open front door, arms extended in the standard Mom greeting.
“Hey, Mom. I missed you guys,” I say just before I’m enveloped in a fierce hug filled with tears and sobs of joy. Her familiar perfume fills my senses as I hug her back. Warmth and contentment wash through me. My mom can be a little overzealous at times, but she’s still my mom and I love her.
“Son,” my dad says just before shaking my hand. I’d be lying if I said the tears I see in his eyes didn’t affect me. Not tears of joy or sorrow, but tears of pride.