But anyway.
One weekend while Tempest was hanging out at my place, it slipped out of her mouth. She said something about Reed working on his car and it snowballed from there.
I kept hounding her until she finally spilled the beans.
She told me that Reed loves cars.
He’s something of a car aficionado.
Not only that, but he worked at a garage out of town called Auto Alpha. No one knew about this, so I was supposed to keep it a secret, and that was where he got interested in cars and built his Mustang from parts.
I remember being so shocked. Speechless.
I was with him for months and I had no clue.
I had no clue that he’d built his own car, let aloneworkedat a garage. According to Tempest, he worked because he wanted to get away from their dad and also to stick it to him, even if secretly.
I also remember feeling a twist in my chest.
A sharp pinch.
Reed and his dad.
Even though I had no right to feel anything for him anymore and I shouldn’t even have felt the need to, I still couldn’t help myself from wanting to go to him.
Wanting to apologize about the car. About his dad.
Wanting to just… talk to him.
But it was so silly, wasn’t it?
He would never open up to me about his dad, and well, what would I have said to him anyway? It was better to keep my distance and so that’s what I did.
That was the last time Tempest and I talked about her brother, because that’s when we made the pact and so we never broached the subject.
I never sought out any information about Reed.
Never Googled him. Never stalked him on social media.
I buried him.
Somewhere deep inside of me. Somewhere only I could reach him when I wanted to remember and torture myself over my mistakes.
Until now.
Until today.
Because I need to know. I need to know what deal he made with my brother. What was he talking about?
Since today’s Saturday, it’s phone day at St. Mary’s.
Every week like clockwork my oldest brother, Conrad, calls me at 7PM. He calls me and then conferences the rest of my brothers in: Stellan, Shepard and Ledger.
Every week I eagerly wait for their call. I usually arrive at the phone room way before the time and hang out in the hallway until Miss Fletcher, the one usually manning the phones, calls for me. And when she does I run to grab it.
I run so I can talk to my brothers.
Whom I love to pieces.
