Page 19 of Blood & Heartache

“It’s not a movie night without snacks,” Liu explained as he set his bounty down, scooped some into a bowl, and handed it to me. “You want anything to drink?”

“I’m good with whatever soda is around,” I answered then thought better of it. “Correction, as long as it’s not Pepsi. I can’t stand the stuff. It tastes like straight syrup with no carbonation.”

Liu gave me a sad smile and nodded. “Your father felt the same way, so not to worry, this house is a Pepsi-free house.”

Surprisingly, that was something I never knew about Daddy, though we didn’t really have all that much time together to learn the little things like that about each other. In a way, I felt having Liu around who knew that stuff would be nice. Someday when thinking about Daddy didn’t feel like a punch to the gut, it would be interesting to pick his brain.

“Here you are,” Liu said, handing me a can of cream soda, of all things.

I stared at it for a moment then reached out to take it. “How on earth…”

“Took a wild guess. It was new to the supply of drinks we keep on hand, and the only reason to do that is if it was for you,” he explained.

Tears welled up, but I brushed them away quickly and popped open the drink. “Thanks.”

Once everyone was settled with their snacks, Jace picked up the remote to start the movie. It took me a little while to get into the movie because there were so many more questions than answers in the beginning. Soon enough, I was sucked into the chaotic world of underground Racoon City and yelling at the television when someone was making a stupid mistake.

“Serves you right,” I yelled, throwing popcorn at the screen. “No one could be that stupid and live… better to die and give the others a fighting chance.”

Braxton had to cover his mouth, trying to keep from laughing at me, so I chucked a handful of popcorn at him, which caused him to lose control and laugh so hard he snorted as he picked up and ate what I’d thrown at him.

“Are you always so vocal during your movies?” Braxton managed to ask once he calmed down. “Just checking because if that’s the case, we’ll need to rent out the whole movie theater or else they’ll kick us out.”

“What can I say, I get invested in the things I watch,” I answered with a shrug. “Horror movies are even worse, so if you really want to watch one, don’t invite me unless you want a show to go with it.”

Atticus sat forward so he could see me. “Can I ask what the purpose of yelling at them serves? I’m assuming you know they can’t hear you. If not, then I should point out this is all merely an act of fiction produced on a film set with computer-generated monsters and special effects.”

“My need to interact with the movie is a way of coping with the stress of the situation. I can’t help but put myself in their shoes, and I’d never make such stupid mistakes or risks. There was a multitude of ways to go about this mission, and they chose one that was the least effective,” I shared, trying to justify my ridiculous habit with logic.

“Interesting,” Atticus murmured, then sat back.

The light of someone’s phone going off drew my attention, and I saw it was a text from Ryker. Jace grabbed the phone and read the message before setting it face down by his hip. I waited a moment to see if he was going to say anything, but he just continued to watch the movie even though I knew he could feel my gaze on him.

“That had better be another person named Ryker texting you, which would explain why you aren’t saying a word about it,” I commented, refusing to let him get away with this. “If it wasn’t, and you’re under the delusion of some misguided effort to protect me from whatever’s happening by keeping quiet, I’d advise against that.”

Jace looked at me for a moment like he had the audacity to tell me no. With a sigh of defeat, he grabbed his phone, unlocked it, and read the message to me. “On our way back from the scene, but we need to make a stop first. Something was in the trunk, and we need to find out what it is before Astin knows what’s happened.”

Liu being the smart man he is, reached for the remote and paused the movie. I didn’t take my gaze off Jace as I waited for him to tell me the rest.

“Look, don’t you think it’s better for them to tell you the whole story instead of the two non-informative texts they’ve sent me?” Jace argued.

I held my hand out for the phone. “Give it to me, please.”

“Ast—”

“I asked to be polite, but it wasn’t really a request,” I said, cutting him off. “Give me the goddamn phone.”

Swearing under his breath, he handed it over to me, realizing I wasn’t asking him as the woman he was snuggled up with watching a movie. I was ordering him as his boss. The phone was still unlocked and set to the chat he had with Ryker. Jace made a good point, though I didn’t want to decipher text messages, so I called him and put it on speaker.

“Jace, what’s wrong?” Ryker answered on the second ring.

“Nothing’s wrong unless you count the fact that my balls were nearly chopped off,” Jace commented.

Rolling my eyes at his dramatics, I added my two cents. “Not once did I threaten your balls. I simply asked that you reconsider some choices that were made.”

“Astin, I told him not to tell you,” Ryker informed me.

“Gosh, did you really?” I gasped dramatically. “Here I was thinking he came up with the idea all on his own. Why would I ever think that my overprotective childhood best friend would ask others to keep things from me until he figured out the best way to package some news that might be upsetting to me in my fragile grief-stricken state.”