Page 38 of The Spider & the Storm

Another hour went by before I heard her car pull into the driveway. Two doors slammed shut, two sets of feet climbed the stoop steps, and then there was a key in the lock, turning and twisting the doorknob. The door swung open, and then a very drunk Luke stumbled inside, nearly tripping over his own feet as he entered the house.

“Charlie!” he crowed, lumbering over to where I now stood. “There's my baby brother!”

His words were slurred and sloppy, and the stench of sour booze attacked my nostrils as he draped an arm over my shoulders.

“Had a good time, huh?” I asked, unamused, now remembering all those times he'd come home drunk, and I had to help him into his room before Mom and Dad could find out.

“The fuckin'best, man,” he replied, slapping his hand against my chest with every syllable. “God, it was so fuckin'goodto see those guys again. I don't … I don't even ‘member why w-we stopped hangin' out, you know? Like, what did they evendo?”

Technically, Tommy and Rob hadn't done anything, but wasn't that part of the problem? They might've groaned at Ritchie's commentary, they might've rolled their eyes, but they had neverdoneanything tostop him. They had tolerated his bullshit, and by association, they were just as guilty.

But I wasn't going to say that to Luke. Not when he was hammered and barely able to keep his eyes open. It was better to let him talk, to smile and nod, and get him into bed so he could sleep this shit off. I could talk to him tomorrow, when his head was on straight, but not now.

Melanie apparently wasn't riding the same wavelength.

She closed the door and secured the lock. Then, with her arms crossed and her mouth downturned in a scowl, she shook her head. “Are you serious?”

He turned in her direction, his head bobbing like it was a ball of lead balancing on a toothpick. “‘Scuse me?”

“I asked if you were serious.”

Luke pursed his lips and nodded. “Yeah. That's what I thought you said. The fuck isthats’posed to mean? Am I serious aboutwhat?”

“They'reassholes, Luke. All of them. Every single one of those guys you used to hang out with is a fuckingasshole.”

I shook my head with a warning. “Melanie …”

“They're myfriends!” he shouted, the sound cracking against my eardrums and making me flinch.

Clearing my throat, I slipped my arm around his waist and said, “Hey, come on. Let's get you upstairs, okay? You should sleep—”

“Thosefriendshaven’t called you inyears, Luke! Thosefriendshave done nothing but treathim—yourbrother—like shit.” She jabbed a finger in my direction. “They talk crap about you behind your back, and they hit on me every single time they see me at work! Is that whatfriendsdo? Huh?”

Luke shook his head and stumbled, taking a step toward her. “Shut the fuck up, you fuckin' liar. They haven't hit on you. They wouldn't—”

“Oh, okay.” She laughed sardonically. “That'sunbelievable to you, but it's totally okay that they've talked shit about you and your family behind your back for as long as I’ve known you.Totallyokay that they've treated Charlie like a piece of fucking trash for no reason whatsoever.”

“You don't know any of this shit! God, what the fuck iswrongwith you?! Why would you—”

“Come on, Luke,” I begged, grabbing him around the waist and attempting to steer him in the direction of the stairs. “Let's go to bed, okay?”

“They come into the store sometimes,” Melanie said, tightening her stance and nodding. “I hear them talk. They say shit to me. They make fun of you. They say you'reweak, that you should've dropped Charlie into the system after your parents died instead of taking care of him.”

The statement crashed against my chest, shattering my patchwork heart. God, was that true? Was that what people thought? Melanie wouldn't lie. Melanie never lied. What reason would she have now?

Luke startled us both by beginning to cry. Big, blubbering sobs broke through his drunken stupor.

“Shut the fuck up! Goddammit, shut the fuck up!”

“Is that whatfriendssay, Luke?” Now, she was crying. Huge, fat tears slid down her cheeks and fell from her chin onto the floor. “Are you cool with yourfriendscoming into my store and asking me out and saying they could fuck me better—”

“Go!” He thrust his finger toward the door. “Get the fuck out of my house, you bitch! You fuckin' liar! Get the fuck out!”

“Luke!” I shouted above them, desperate for this to end. “God, guys! Fucking stop, okay? Just stop!”

And like I'd possessed the power to command sound, the room fell silent, save for the ticking of the clock inherited from Mom's grandmother and Luke's heavy breaths. Melanie's lips pressed together as she seethed across the room. She stared at my brother, the tears continuing to fall from her big eyes.

What is going on?!

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