Page 76 of The Spider & the Storm

Every so often, Melanie would meet my eye with raised brows and a gentle nudge of her head in Luke's direction. I'd shrug in response or shake my head, then focus my attention on Jersey and her vow of silence.

“Hey, so, Luke,” Melanie said with ceremony, folding her arms on the table and clearing her throat, like she was about to say the one thing that would break the spell, “I thought we could look at that country club we talked about.”

He shoveled more food into his mouth before turning to her and nodding, never once allowing his eyes to land on the woman sitting across from him. “Yeah, yeah, sure. Sounds good,” he mumbled around a heaping amount of chicken and potatoes.

I nudged Jersey with my elbow and said, “Luke and Melanie are getting married. I can't remember if I mentioned that or not.”

Melanie nodded happily, her lips spread in that wide grin she'd worn earlier that evening.

Before Jersey came and things got weird.

Why did things get so fucking weird when she showed up?

I swallowed and forced a smile as Melanie replied, “We've been engaged for a couple of years, but we only recently got serious about planning the wedding.”

What she didn't say was, she'd been too busy worrying about Luke and keeping him on the wagon to focus on their big day.

What she didn't say was, she'd been unsure if they'd ever make it to their big day in the first place.

“O-oh, wow,” Jersey replied with an awkward stammer, her eyes flitting rapidly between Melanie and Luke. “Married. That's … that's, uh … that’s really cool.”

Does she not want to get married?

The thought flicked angrily at my heart. I would've married Jersey yesterday, if she'd have me.

“I'm the best man,” I chimed in for no real reason other than to say something.

Jersey mumbled a gentle, acknowledging, “Mmm,” as she poked around the plate of her favorite meal that she'd barely touched.

Every second that passed, I berated myself more and more with insults. Things like:

This was a fucking mistake.

What the hell was I thinking?

Why did I let them talk me into this?

And the biggest, baddest, worst one of all:She doesn't really love me.

Nobody could ever love me. I always knew it. Why did I think she was special?

By the time Luke stood up without saying anything and headed into the kitchen, I couldn't take the mental insults anymore and pushed my chair back, following closely on his tail, so close that I knew I had to raise suspicion in the women we'd left at the table.

I cornered my brother at the refrigerator and whispered in a low growl, “You wanna tell me what thehellis going on?”

Luke shrugged nonchalantly. “I dunno what you're talking about.”

“No. You're gonna tell meright nowwhy the fuck you're acting so weird.”

He grabbed a bottle of Coke, then closed the fridge door and turned around to meet my eyes as he called, “Hey, babe! You want some more soda?”

I crossed my arms and held his cool, stony glare as Melanie replied, “Yeah, sure, thanks!”

My brother stepped around me, but before he could pass, he stopped at my side, brushed his shoulder against mine, and whispered, “Just drop it, okay? It's nothing.”

“You know, that's really funny because it doesn'tfeellikenothing,” I replied, equally as quiet. “It feels fuckingweird. It feels like you … like … I don't know … like you …”

It was when she walked in. When she saw him. When her eyes landed on him.

---