Lola blinks, her mouth parted. She stares at her brother and whatever happened between her and my father must have been bad because I think she’d actually forgotten Mase was here.
He tries to squeeze himself between the center console, his army T-shirt twisted and untucked. He points a wavering finger at her. “You,” he slurs, “are a good sister.”
Lola keeps her arms crossed over her chest, her nails digging into my jacket. “Mase, please. I can’t right now.”
Mase’s face falls like a kicked puppy. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” He slumps back onto the seat and stares at the roof of the car.
I could kick myself for letting it slip where we were going this evening but never did I think his drunken escapades would go as far as to follow us almost two hours into the city.
When I dragged him out of the restaurant, I’d been ready to leave him in the car park with money for a cab but I knew Lola would just worry about him if I didn’t make sure he got home safe.
The gray cloud she’s now wearing like a shawl has me tempted to drag Mase right back out of the car, if only to give her some peace on the drive home, but she’s already climbing into the front seat.
I clench my keys in my fist and round the hood to the driver’s side.
The engine is loud in the quiet as I flick the ignition and pull out of the car park. Unsaid words hang in the air between us.
I want to read Mase the riot act. I want to rage at my father. I want to ask Lola what he said to her but she’s steadfastly staring out the window, her body angled away from me.
In the end it’s Mase who breaks the silence, though much more docile this time. “That’s why I came here, you know. To say I’m sorry. I’ve been a—” he hiccups, “a pretty shitty big brother recently.”
Lola doesn’t respond.
I glance at Mase in the rearview mirror. His hands are folded over his chest, an oddly reflective pose for a drunk man.
“I’m glad you’re with Roman. He’s good people. Like my brother. But not your brother because that would be weird.”
Jesus. “Mase,” I mutter, rubbing the back of my neck.
“Sorry. I just meant he’ll look after you when I can’t.”
Lola whips around. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Mase’s glassy eyes widen. “Nothing, nothing. Sorry.”
Lola stays twisted for a long moment, watching her brother through the gap between the seats. When nothing else is forthcoming she turns back to the front, a soft sigh leaving her lips. A few miles of highway pass before he speaks again, this time the words little more than a cracked whisper.
“I lost a soldier.”
Lola’s eyes widen and I swear I feel the pain blooming across her chest like it’s my own. “Mase.” There’s no censure in his name this time, just raw empathy.
“On that mission, that went bad. We got taken by a militia group. Held hostage for days. They— they did things to her. Made me watch. And I couldn’t… I couldn’t stop it.”
My fingers go numb. Lola’s hand comes to her mouth. I stare at Mase in the rearview mirror, his confession catching me off guard.Fuck.I knew it was bad, but I didn’t know it wasthatbad.
A sob rips from Mase’s throat. “I couldn’t stop it. I couldn’t—” His voice cracks as he looks at Lola. “I failed her, just like I failed you.” Mase turns into the back of the seats, pressing his forehead against the upholstery.
Lola grips her seatbelt. “Pull over,” she says.
“Lola—”
Her gaze snaps to mine. “Unless you want me to undo this and climb into the back of the car, right now, pull over.”
We’re going eighty miles an hour on the highway. I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to pull over but I’d stop in the middle of a fire for this girl.
I check my mirrors, and we shudder onto the hard shoulder.
Lola is out of the car in an instant.
