Good. Let him stew.
The snow-laden pines blur as I push the truck faster than I should.
Slush sprays from beneath the tires, hitting the glass.
“You’ve made it so much harder to be able to tell them about us, now…”
Tek braces his hand against the dashboard, but he doesn’t tell me to slow down.
“…We’re meant to be a partnership, so you don’t get to keep doing this shit. You always talk about being the responsible one, so why do you keep making messes for me to clean up? I’m your boyfriend, not your fucking parent.”
The track bends sharply, and I take it too fast. The back end of the truck fishtails, and for a heart-stopping moment, we’re sliding.
Tek’s hand shoots out to brace across my chest on instinct.
I correct the skid, but his hand remains.
“I won’t lose you,” he says. Insistent. Indignant.
“Then why does it feel like you’re trying to sabotage our chances?”
His hand grips onto my shirt. “I’m not.”
“So what happens if you can’t fix this?”
“Then it won’t be all on me. I don’t regret what I did. I might later, but I struggle to see how when Eden has been hiding my brother this whole time.”
“Goddamn it, Tek. Not everything is about you!” I slam on the breaks. The tires skid, and when the truck has stopped sliding, I unbuckle my seatbelt.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Getting out so I can yell at you properly.”
My eyes never leave Tek’s through the windscreen as I stride around the hood to his door, and open it. “Get out,” I tell him, pointing to the ground beside me. He undoes his seatbelt and swivels around, but he doesn’t get out. “How will you feel if that’s how your father reacts to us?”
“He won’t.”
“You’re a fucking child,” I huff and press my fingernails into my palms.
“Eden knew this would happen. That's why he lied.”
“Pathetic.”
“Why? You said it yourself, your brother and I are friends because we’re both assholes.”
“So is that why you won’t tell him we’re together? You’re scared of him punching you? In case you’ve forgotten,wehaven’t done anything wrong. We weren’t hiding anyone.”
“That’s not it… I…”
I let my neck go limp and my head falls back as I sigh. “What is it, Tek? Because I won't accept guilt or betrayal as an excuse anymore. We’re in the same boat as Eden and Jin, except ours isn’t sinking. And I refuse to let you drag my head underwater with any more bullshit.”
“You have no idea what it’s like to be me.”
“You’re right. I don’t know what it’s like to have a mother who calls to check in on me, or a family home I’m always welcomed back into with open arms.”
Tek abruptly stands. “You like my parents so much, you can have them. They already like you better than me anyway.”
“Oh my god. Do you hear yourself?”
