Page 98 of Borrowing My Bestie's Brothers

Each step we took down the stairs seemed lighter, the feeling growing as we got in his van and drove away. It was as if we were putting more than just kilometres between me and my phone. I wanted to run away before and now I was in a way.

No, I was running towards something.

Fish and chips that filled the van with the savoury scent of deep fried potatoes and salt were a perfect accompaniment to the smell of the sea when we reached the beach. I tossed off my sandals, feeling powder-soft sand between my toes as we walked out onto the beach and then found our own spot.

“This was the date we should’ve had,” I said after we spread the butcher’s paper wrapped around the chips out and I grabbed a golden spear of fried potato. His arm went around me as he sat down beside me. The chip was a perfect combination of crunch and fluffy cooked potato in my mouth, and I made a sound of satisfaction. “Ballantynes is better than any fancy-schmancy restaurant.”

“Noted,” Hunter said, grabbing a piece of fish and squirting some lemon juice onto it. “So… what the hell did I walk into?”

I dragged in a breath, the air at the beach somehow easier to breathe. Each time the waves went crashing down and then were sucked back, I felt like some of the tension inside me went with it.

“You really want to know?” I searched his face, noting the way the setting sun was casting it gold. “Pretty sure that falls outside the responsibilities of a fake date.”

“Lucky this isn’t fake then.” His eyes dropped down, spending way too much time tracing the shape of my lips. “So, spill.”

I shook my head with a smile and then I did.

Chapter 44

Hunter

I hated Jamie’s family.

I hated them before this whole thing exploded, hated the shadows in her eyes when she came around to hang out with Millie. They only seemed to fade when she’d been hanging around us for a while.

But then she had to go right back home again.

I’d asked my mum about it one day when we were teenagers. Jamie was crying quietly in Millie’s room, my sister holding her tightly through it.

“Some parents…” Mum rinsed the dishes with too much emphasis before setting the plates down in the sink. “They don’t hurt their kids enough to warrant a call to child protective services, but…” She stared into my eyes. “They still hurt them plenty. No bruises to show for it, no cuts or broken bones.”

“You sure about that?” I snapped.

“Yes.” I knew my mother was strong, and I saw that as she met my stare head on. “I checked. I’ve talked to Jamie and so has your father. We’d never be able to live with ourselves if anything serious happened to her.”

“Something serious is happening!” I stabbed a finger in the direction of Millie’s bedroom. “Jamie never cries.”

“She doesn’t,” Mum agreed, “and the best thing for us to do right now is to be patient and listen. That’s what she really needs.”

My mother had never steered me wrong before, so I turned to Jamie now, prepared to do just that.

“Mum’s got anxiety,” Jamie explained, throwing her chip to one of the many seagulls clustered just off from us. I ripped off a piece of paper, piling chips, a piece of fish and a potato cake on it and then handed it over for her to take. “She’s never seen anyone about it because in her mind, she doesn’t need to. Instead, if she just controls everything and everyone… No, not everyone.”

I watched her jaw flex and she grabbed a handful of chips, munching on them but not really tasting any of it.

“Not the boys because they’ve never been susceptible to her guilt trips. She has to manage Dad carefully. She can manoeuvre him into doing what she needs him to, but no demands are allowed. That gets dismissed straight away as nagging.” Her eyes met mine, and I saw pain and humour there, making for a strange combination. “But other women? She doesn’t hold back with us. One of my sisters-in-law tries to keep the peace when Mum comes to town, though I’m not sure she’d stay married to Dave if my parents come back to live here.”

I nearly shuddered at the thought of that.

“Amber just ignores Mum, or acts like an even bigger bitch, fighting fire with fire. Part of me wants to warn Nadia about what she’s getting herself into.” A small smile and she picked up her fish and took a bite from it. I felt like I was being strung up tight, every joint straining against the growing tension, but I kept my mouth shut. “But maybe she’ll get through this fine. Nadia is so sweet and lovely.” Jamie shook her head. “The daughter Mum always wanted. Maybe that’s why she’s getting so anxious about the engagement party. It has to be perfect. Everything needs to be perfect, and when there’s a possibility of that, Mum’s riding a high. She can see it in her head, I think, a vision of how it could be.”

I watched her hand float through the air, as if gesturing at the promised land, where everything went Majorie’s way.

“But of course we never live up to her expectations.” Jamie’s hand dropped like a stone. “I never lived up to them. I’m starting to think half the reason I became a mechanic was because I was trying to escape her. I’d go and bug the guys in the garage, annoying my brothers and frustrating my dad, but that was better than Mum getting pissed at me. Hanging around with them all the time, I got a good understanding of basic car maintenance. In the garage I was capable, smart, and my dad was excited about how quickly I picked up the skills he was teaching us, until the boys got pissed. She fought me working on cars right up until the point I qualified as a mechanic. Being a grease monkey was not the future she dreamed of for me.”

“But what about your dreams?” I was supposed to be listening, but the words just came out. “Jamie, what about what you want? I’m not intending to have kids, but if I did,” I frowned, willing her to see it, “then it’d be my job to make sure they got every chance to see their dreams come true.”

She stared at me then, like I was a small child. If she’d reached over and patted me on the head, I wouldn’t have been surprised, but instead she delivered a scathing judgement.

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