“He sent me to thegarage, Tate. THE GARAGE!” She leans forward. “And left me out there. Like, completely forgot about me. I was out there for hours before I realized the argument between him and our dad was over.”
“You stayed out there for hours?” Ember holds back a laugh.
“Nearly two of them. I knew he was only sending me to the garage for the pie, so I wasn’t there for the explosion.”
“And you just stayed out there?”
“He said to take my time. So, I did. I ate half of the pie and watchedTurkey Drop. By the time the credits were rolling, I realized I was still sitting in the freezing cold garage.”
“That’s a great movie.” Maia ignores the comments, and Brinley’s eyes narrow at her.
“Did you miss the part where I was just sitting outside?”
“No.” Maia’s eyes scan the diner. “I should go see if table twelve’s food is ready.”
“I’m not stupid, Maia. There’s literally nobody else in here!” Brinley turns toward Maia, who is heading through the double doors.
“Did I say table twelve? I meant the to-go order that came in right after you guys arrived.”
“Did you yell at him?” Ember shifts her focus to Brinley. “For not getting you to come inside?”
“I can’t exactly yell at him. He was trying to protect me from it all. I don’t know what’s going on between the two of them, but Declan’s been acting weird for weeks.”
Ember’s face falls slightly, and I can’t help but wonder if she knows exactly what’s going on.
“Did you know about this already?” Brinley crosses her arms. “Did my brother tell you he banished his little sister to the garage during Thanksgiving dinner?”
“He might’ve mentioned it.”
“Might’ve?”
“Okay, we talked about it on Thanksgiving. If it makes you feel any better, just know he felt really bad when he realized he never got you.”
“And the asshole still didn’t go to check if I was still sitting in the garage? What if I sat in the garage the whole night and died of hypothermia?”
“You wouldn’t have sat in the garage the whole night. Eventually, you would’ve been like, it’s been enough time, I’m gonna bring this pie inside.”
“Or I fell asleep because I was waiting and then—”
“Okay, I will be sure to tell Declan that he’s a horrible brother for not making sure you were safe in your bed.” Ember places a hand on Brinley’s forearm to stop her rant.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Ember bites her lip, containing a smile. As her eyes meet mine, she shakes her head.
“So, how was everybody else’s Thanksgiving?” Brinley grabs a fry and dips it into her milkshake. “Better than mine, I’m assuming.”
“Well, my mom basically told me to go get plastic surgery, then said I needed to move home because the world is a cruel place, and rounded all that out by insinuating that Declan would never date me.”
“But… you are dating.” My eyebrows knit in confusion.
“Yes. But they can’t know that because Cam doesn’t know yet, and I just keep adding stuff to the list of things I can’t tell Cam, and every day, I feel a little more guilty about it.”
“I’m sorry, Em.” Brinley wraps an arm around her shoulders. “Just wait until the day your mom finds out you are indeed dating Declan Sanderson. I’d pay good money to see the look on her face.”
“You and me both.”
“Think of it this way,” I begin, “since your brother doesn’t know about the two of you, Declan can’t drag you to the ridiculous hockey banquet they have every year. I bet he’s been complaining about the fact that he has to take on the event without you.”
