“I didn’t mean today.” I could practically hear the eye roll in his voice. “All I’m saying is friends bring friends to functions. You are friends, are you not?”
“Yes. Now stop being nosey, kiddo.”
Dannie laughed before falling silent. Admittedly, I was grateful for the reprieve because it gave my mind time to think about all the ways in which I could have handled our unexpected encounter differently.
I didn’t even realize it was possible, but I was more lost than I’d been this morning. And not in a good way. It was hard to explain, but I felt like a huge chunk of me was missing.
Absentmindedly rubbing my chest again, my breathing grew more erratic by the minute.Shit! Now is not the time to be having an attack.
“You okay?” Dannie questioned, glancing in my direction.
“Eh,” I shrugged, not elaborating.
Was I okay? Not even remotely. But I couldn’t let my brother know that. Instead, I’d force myself to be okay because I knew there was nothing I could do to change things. Just then, a text came through on my phone, and some of the anxiety that had been building diminished slightly.
JUDAH:I’m really glad we ran into each other today.
ZEEK:Yeah, me too.
My response elicited a smiley face emoji in return.
Before I knew it, Dannie was pulling up in Mom and Dad’s driveway instead of mine. When I turned to look at him, he gave me a shrug before stepping out of the car. I sighed, climbing out of the car just as Mom appeared at the front door, hands on her hips, glaring at me.
“I didn’t do anything,” I prefaced, my hands in the air.What reason does she have to be mad at me? She’s the one who dropped Dannie off on my doorstep this afternoon without so much as a warning.
Mom shook her head, turning more amused than upset. “Never thought I’d see the day you let someone else drive your car. Least of all, this hoodlum,” she finished, motioning to Dannie.
I shrugged. “It’s just a car.”
“Well, come on inside and get ready for dinner. Dad’s on his way home.”
“I have––”
“Ezekiel Conner!”
“Fine,” I sighed, knowing I’d already lost the argument. “I suppose I can finish my yard work tomorrow.” Not that I really had plans to do it tonight.
“Good. Now, go wash up.”
Like the good, obedient kids that we were, I followed Dannie inside and did as I was told. That’s when it occurred to me that I had forgotten to feed my brother in all the chaos of today, which was the reason we went out in the first place.
Sometimes, especially moments like this, I missed being a kid. Back in the day when your biggest concern was having clean hands to eat your dinner before getting back to your homework or some Xbox. Now, things weren’t so simple.
And they never would be again.
I was staring at my reflection in the bathroom mirror when Dannie walked by and hit the door, followed by a slur of words that didn’t need repeating anytime soon. Sometimes, I had to wonder where he heard such things, but then I figured I was probably better off not knowing.
By the time I stepped into the kitchen a few minutes later, Dannie was telling Mom all about our ‘fun’ afternoon. I couldn’t help the groan that escaped as he happily told her that I’d left him all alone in a scary store while I went galivanting with a friend.
“It was the comic book store, Mom,” I huffed, helping myself to a soda from the fridge. I wasn’t really all that concerned about her reaction because I knew she took most of my brother’s stories with a grain of salt. “And you should be aware that your son knows the owner by name. If anything, that should be the most worrisome part of this entire story.”
Dannie chuckled. “Mom knows I hang out there.”
“He does,” Mom agreed as she stirred a pot of noodles. “Seems like an okay public place. It’s certainly better than him sneaking around and doing drugs.”
“But, seriously, Mom, you should have seen Zeek with this guy,” Dannie went on. “I didn’t even think he had friends.”
“The guy or your brother?”
