I let out a frustrated sigh as Stefan walked into the room and sat down. "What's he done?" Stef asked me.
"How do you know he's done anything?" I asked defensively.
Stefan scoffed, "It's Lucas."
A part of me knew there was no point in arguing with him because Luc was his brother. Stef quite obviously knew him better than I did.
"We were meant to go to dinner at 7 but obviously he's not here," I explained.
"It's probably work," Stef said with a shrug.
"Yeah, I know."
I knew I shouldn't worry because Dante would be with him but the last time he was home late Luc looked like he’d stepped straight out of a nightmare. I bit my lip as I remembered the state he was in.
"Have you had dinner?" Stefan asked me.
"If I'm honest, Stefan I'm not sure I'm that hungry right now."
He looked at me for a moment before he stood up and offered his hand. "Come on."
"What?" I asked.
"I'm taking you to dinner," Stef told me. "You dressed up and you were expecting to be out tonight."
"No, Stef," I brushed him off. "You're probably busy. I'll make something in a bit."
"Mia, please. You should still enjoy the evening."
Regarding Stef for a moment, I eventually took his hand and got up from the sofa. I had put in the effort to get ready, and with Dom being away I wasn't sure how much of a chance I would get to leave the house. Dinner with Stefan seemed a better choice than sitting at home worrying myself sick.
We ended up at a rustic little Italian place that I didn’t know existed but came highly recommended by Stef. It was cute and homey, and we decided on splitting a large vegetarian pizza since neither of us had a huge appetite.
"So, you know I do pre-Med," Stefan said. "What about you?"
"I don't go to college," I said with a shrug of my shoulders. It was a sore spot whenever it was brought up.
"Oh?" Stefan looked at me. "I'm kind of surprised. You always had your head in books."
I felt my face heat up as I explained, "It was more the financial aspect."
"I'm sorry," Stefan said realizing his mistake. "I'm an idiot."
"No! No, it's fine. Honestly," I assured him. He had no idea about my life or what it consisted of, so he didn’t realize he was putting his foot in it. "I was working at a care home. I think if I could do it, I'd have loved to be a nurse."
Stef chewed thoughtfully on his slice of pizza. "I could see you as a nurse."
"You don't know me," I told him.
"You must have a lot of patience to deal with my brother," Stefan commented.
"Luc?" I said with a raised eyebrow. "He's not that difficult to deal with." Not once you knew how to deal with him. There were days when we were on shaky ground, but I was beginning to understand how Luc ticked.
"High praise for him."
I shook my head. I had noticed the way Luc and Stefan had short, sharp conversations devoid of warmth and I wondered what had happened between them. Being an only child, I had always dreamed of having a sibling, the chance to have company and a friend by blood, but the Foster brothers left a chill in any room they interacted in.
Stef's phone vibrated on the table and he looked at it before declining the call.
