“Hey, Reese,” Tristen pants, appearing out of nowhere to slide an arm around my shoulders. “Sorry I’m late.”
I shoot him a scathing glare. He can’t just storm into my life whenever he wants and expect me to dance to his tune.
“Hi, I’m Danny,” the man interrupts and lifts a hand in a quick wave at Tristen.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Tristen.”
“My brother,” I add, ignoring the painful squeeze of his arm at the suggestion.
“I’m not your brother,” he mutters under his breath.
I turn and place a hand on his chest, his whole body stiffening. “Just because you were adopted doesn’t mean we don’t accept you.”
His whole face crumbles into his normal look of irritation. “You’re an absolute pain.”
“If you’re not having a good time, you could always leave.” I bat my eyelashes, but he’s been immune to all my tactics since high school.
“I have a brother too,” Danny says. “He’s a vegan.”
“Ah, cool.” Tristen nods a few times, not sure what to do when the man starts explaining why he could never give up meat.
“Excuse us one moment, Danny.” I grab Tristen’s arm and drag him off to the side for privacy and trip over his duffle. With fast reflexes, he snags my upper arm, steadying me on my feet. My vision narrows in on the bag. “Why is that here?”
He rubs the back of his neck. “I’m going with you.”
My hands ball into fists at my sides, and my words turn to dry dust in my mouth. Red hot anger boils through me at the breech of trust.
Tristen’s eyes widen, and he lifts up his hands in surrender. “Before you attack me, remember we are in a public place.”
Unfortunately . . . he’s right.
Passengers clump by the glass door. Those that aren’t doomscrolling on their phones are sneaking peeks at me. Though the bus hasn’t arrived, the beginnings of a line forms.
I inhale a breath and recall the AA serenity prayer in my head.God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannotchange, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.I tack on,And don’t let me kill Tristen, at the end for his safety.
Then I exhale a calming breath, feeling slightly less murderous. My old AA sponsor recommended I remove myself from overstimulating situations, so I apply the same concept here. High emotions tend to be a trigger, and I don’t want to be stuck on the bus with a monster craving and Tristen helicoptering over me. Grabbing my suitcase, I move to the end of the line and spot Danny scampering off with a concerned glance in my direction. He joins another group of passengers closer to the front.
Great. Now I’m the weirdo on the bus.
A wave of awareness washes over me as a tingling prickle crawls up my spine. I know without turning around that Tristen moved behind me in line.
“Don’t run away,” he whispers over my shoulder.
“Can we not do this right now in front of everyone? Wait until we are on the bus.”
His jaw ticks, and I hold up a hand to cut him off before he interrupts.
“Please. Just let me cool down and wrap my head around it.”
“It’s a long ride. I can wait.”
A large navy bus with a Greyhound logo eases into the spot outside with a squeal of the brakes. The door swings wide, and a tall, slender man in rumpled clothes dashes down the steps. He opens the main door and whistles for everyone’s attention.
“Sorry for the delay. For those of you traveling to Dallas, we will be leaving immediately. Please gather all your belongings and form a single file line. Boarding will move faster if you have the app open with your ticket.”
The wait isn’t too long before the driver scans our phonesand we head out the glass door, the area reeking of exhaust. We leave our luggage in the loading area next to the bus and climb on board. The back seats are already filled, and I pass Danny on my way to an open seat in the middle section.
I scoot all the way over to the window seat and tuck my backpack by my feet.
