He waggled his eyebrows. “Why do you think I’m still here?”
“I’m serious.”
He sighed dramatically. “Fine. You’d miss me too much.”
“Oh, please.” I scoffed. “But, come to think of it, I do have a few things I need to ask you.”
Morty mimed zipping his lips.
I huffed, glaring at him. “You’re explaining yourself, Morty.”
He stomped his foot petulantly. “I told you not to call me that. It’s Mor. Just Mor.”
“You’ve literally never said that. But okay, justMort. Got it. Now, confirm you heard me, please?”
Turning back to his brother, who stood watching our interaction with growing suspicion, Morty made it all worse.
“Of course, I heard you.” He ruffled my hair again, and I swatted his hand away. “But be patient, little princess. We have pressing matters at hand. Little brother, would you like the full play-by-play from me, or do you two want to stand alone in a hallway together for a little longer?”
Max shot an accusatory glare in his brother’s direction. “What the fuck are you playing at, Morty?”
Morty heaved a sigh, rolling his eyes dramatically. “Isn’t it obvious?”
“No,” Max and I said in unison.
Our eyes met, but Max quickly glanced away.
Morty pouted behind me, letting out a petulant whine. “No one understands me.”
Max stepped back. “If neither of you will tell me what happened, I’ll get answers myself.”
“Geez, baby bro, no need to get so fired up about it.” Morty twirled around to face me and winked. “You’ll burn the place down.Again.”
Max’s confused expression matched my own. “What the fuck are you talking about now?”
“You’ll see!”
Brightening, he patted my back and jolted my body forward into Max before taking off.
Max steadied me and restored the distance between us as Morty called over his shoulder.
“I can give you answers now, baby bro. Let’s go!”
Max shook his head, his frustration rising and awareness of what Morty had said taking precedence. Even with the brotherly hatred between the two of them, the longer we stood in the hallway together, the more likely someone would see and we’d draw attention to ourselves all over again.
As much as I wanted to soak up the overwhelming tension between us, I needed to let him go.
Metaphorically speaking, of course.
He stormed off after Morty, his back straight as an arrow and hands clenched into fists, ready for a fight.
To be fair, Iwantedto go toe-to-toe with him almost as much as I wanted to relieve the pressure he was under—to get through to him—and help.
But I had to focus onThe Final Trial, and he had to do what he needed to do. The answers I needed weren’t with him, even if my heart still was. I hoped he saw that. And I hoped my faith wasn’t misplaced.
I wouldn’t be sure until it was over.
So, when he glanced over his shoulder before disappearing out of sight, I did my best to smile. His brow furrowed with confusion as I didn’t react how he’d expected, but he shook his head and walked away.
