I think about it for a second.
“I was a brat. Thought I knew everything when really I didn’t know a fucking thing.” I shake my head. “I wasn’t good to her, but I should’ve been.”
A quiet look passes between Lachie and Jarrah.
“Things have changed between us. That’s all.”
They leave it there.
“It’s good to have you back, mate,” Lachie says after a moment. “Feels like seeing a ghost.”
I chuckle. “There were a few times I thought I was about to become one.”
“Mate, you’re everywhere,” Brayden says, already reaching for his phone.
“News. Online. All over it.” Lachie shakes his head. “It’s wild.”
I shrug. “We heard.”
“What actually happened out there?” Brayden asks.
“Yeah, how’d you not die?” Lachie adds, half-laughing.
I lean back against the counter, trying to keep it easy. “Figured it out as we went.” A small shrug. “Ate far too much fish.”
That gets a laugh out of them, and thankfully they leave it there.
“Living on an island with your sister is pretty uninteresting stuff. I’d rather hear about you lot. What’ve you been up to?”
Lachie goes first.
“I’m married. Her name’s Sienna. She’s a teacher. Absolute saint, honestly, for putting up with me.”
“Has to be,” Brayden says.
Lachie grins. “Yeah, well. She reckons I’ve got potential.”
Brayden punches Lachie’s upper arm. “You don’t.”
“Shut up.” Lachie shakes his head, smiling, but there’s something softer underneath it now. “We’ve got a boy on the way. Due in six weeks. Gonna call him Fletcher.”
Well, fuck.
That lands a little differently than I expect.
“I’m a bit cooked about it, to be honest. The whole thing. The birth.”
I nod. “You’ll be all right. Just deal with what’s in front of you.”
He draws in a breath and lets it out slowly, like even saying it aloud makes the whole thing feel more real.
Brayden jumps in before the silence can settle. “I’m still living the dream. Single and on the apps.”
I look at him. “On the apps? What is that?”
He grins. “Dating apps, mate. On your phone. You just—scroll, match, chat. Easy.” He leans in slightly. “Plenty of girls on there.You’d do all right. Good-looking bloke, full head of hair. You’re already ahead of half the blokes our age.”
I hadn’t realized hair was such a selling point. Looking at Jarrah’s shaved head, maybe there’s something to it.
