Page 15 of Break

“Talk? Danny, it’s two in the morning.” Checking my watch, I curse when I realize it’s much later than I thought it was.Fuck, we’re all going to be destroyed tomorrow.

Ignoring her protest, he grips her upper arms and tries to lean down to kiss her on the lips. She turns her face, cringing away from his breath saturated with whiskey and God knows what else he’s been guzzling down.

Giving her a small shake, his face changes and something dark passes through his eyes. “See? This!Thisis what I’m fuckin’ talking about guys! So this endstonight, Mina. Tomorrow, after the wedding, you better be ready to be a goddamn wife instead of a dead fish just hanging around the house!” He gives her another shake and leans closer. “You hearing me?”

“Hold on,” I say, stepping up. No matter what’s going on between the two of them, the way he’s talking to her isn’t cool, even if heisdrunk. “You need to calm down and back off. Go get some sleep.” I tell him and thankfully, he lets her go.

Mina is quick to step away from him and runs a shaky hand through her hair. It’s loosely hanging around her shoulders in soft waves, and I realize that I’ve never seen her with her hair down like this. I also notice that her face has matured since the last time I saw her. That softness in her cheeks that hung around years longer than it did for other girls her age is gone. It’s been replaced with a kind of pretty that isn’t amplified by makeup. Natural. Pure.

She opens her mouth and closes it when she looks at us, hesitant to say what’s on her mind.

“I got a question,” Max calls out from behind me. Mina flicks her eyes at him quickly, swallowing down her nerves. “Why the fuck are you marrying him? Just money? You need someone to take care of you?”

“I-I…” she stutters, but isn’t able to give him an answer. Instead, she’s got eyes wide as saucers in the face of his accusations.

“‘Cuz I’ve got to say Mina, it’s a pretty shitty thing to do. Marrying someone just because it’ll make your life a little easier instead of being a goddamn adult and growing up. What are you all gonna do, pretend you’re happy? Push out a few kids so they get to live in a house run by a loveless marriage?” Max goes on, and I’m shocked at his vitriol. It seems personal for him, like he’s dragging in shit from his own life before he moved out.

Danny’s drunken laughter rings out into the still, breezeless night. “No way. She’s gonna fucking love me. Shedoeslove me, don’t you, Mina?” He moves forward like he’s going in for another kiss and, again, she leans away from him.

“Fucking bullshit,” Max growls out after watching her cringe away, then turns and storms back to the car.

“Don’tyou, Mina?” Danny asks her again.

Her eyes aren’t on him, though. They’re watching where Max just disappeared into the car. She’s frowning at where his silhouette now sits in the back seat. Whether it’s because of the way Max spoke to her, or because she’s unhappy, I’m uncertain.

It’s only because I’m standing as close as I am that I hear Danny’s next words. “Stop fucking embarrassing me.”

“S-Sorry,” she whispers, then stands up on her toes to give him a quick peck on his cheek. When she pulls away, my eyes are drawn to the movement of her hands and I notice she’s messing with a piece of paper, twisting it in her fingers. Throwing me another quick look, she forces a smile up at her fiancé. “And I d-do love you, Danny.”

“Better start showing me you do,” he snaps, then gives her a calculated smile. “You’ll be a great wife, won’t you, Mina?”

Giving him a wobbly smile, she gives him a slight nod. This entire interaction is so fake and fucked up, it’s enough to convince me that I can’t be around here to support this shit.

“Danny,” I call out to him, my voice devoid of any emotion. “Let’s go.” Turning away from them, I walk past Vincent, who’s still staring at them like he doesn’t understand what’s going on. “I want to get out of here,now,” I hiss under my breath to him as I pass.

“Yeah…” he agrees, and then, I assume, grabs Danny and pulls him back to the car.

I’m silent on the drive back to the hotel. Danny is passed out in the back seat, while Max stares out the window. Vincent must be processing, but I’m not.I’m fucking done with this shit.

There’s no sticking around for a goodbye. I leave them to get Danny to his room while I make my way to mine. It only takes me ten minutes to pack my shit into my suitcase, and I’m dropping my room key off at the front desk within half an hour.

I refuse to stick around for this charade of a relationship while they make a mockery of marriage. There’s also a weight lifting from my shoulders as I acknowledge to myself that I really don’t like Danny. I’m done with him and his bullshit.

Chapter 8

2 years ago

Vincent

God, my back is going to be so fucking sore tomorrow.

Bending over, I pick up another musty smelling box that looks as old as my grandpa. I fight off the tickling in my nose from the dust and mold that’s wafting up from whatever is stored in here. Clothes most likely. That’s what they have filled all of this shit in this godforsaken basement with. Clothes, dishes, random decor, and photos. Most of this willhaveto be junked. It’s not salvageable, and I truly don’t think Max wants to keep the bulk of it, anyway.

“Here’s the next one to go through,” I say as I drop the box down on one of the foldout tables we’ve set up outside on the lawn of Max’s childhood home. Pulling the flaps of the box open, I peek inside. “Mmm. This one looks like some mice nested in it. It’s got a wonderful aroma of urine and death.”

Wrinkling his nose, Max eyes it like it’s filled with the plague and sneers. “Just throw the whole thing away. Even if there was something in there worth keeping, it’ll be ruined.”

“Agreed.” I take it over to the dumpster that he rented and toss it in, enjoying the sound of it crashing into everything else we’ve already junked.

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