Page 14 of Break

I’m wondering the same thing. When Danny chose not to leave town to head off to college with the rest of us, we were all pretty pissed. Especially considering he was the one who pushed the idea to begin with. Then, he called us last year to inform us he was marrying his neighbor.

None of us saw that coming. I would never have put the two of them together. I always thought Danny couldn’t stand her from the way he treated her. Always complaining nonstop about the many ways she’s pissed him off or screwed him over.

Danny’s snort of laughter in answer to Vincent’s question only raises more questions.

Max doesn’t back down. He gives Danny a smack on the side of his cheek to get his attention. “Danny, fucking focus.Whyare you marrying her?”

He shrugs and then starts laughing. “Why the hell not? Need a wife at some point, and why not one that’ll want to do all the wife shit they’re supposed to do? Besides, her dad wanted her out, and my parents always thought she was a nice girl.” He finger quotes when he says nice girl, then keeps rambling. “I was doing her a favor. Her daddy didn’t want her sticking around the house after her mom died so he could move his new girl andherkids in with him.”

“Wait,” I say, shaking my head. “Her mom died? When did that happen?”

“That same month we got engaged,” he shares without any more detail.

Max sounds disgusted when he asks, “And she agreed? Just like that?”

“Didn’t have muchofa choice…” he slurs. “Everyone told her she’d be better off with me ‘cuz I’ve gotta good job instead of being a broke bitch in a shitty apartment. Do you know she didn’t even go to college? She fucking works as a damn secretary at some piece of shit insurance company, answering phones.”

“So, you all thought getting married was the right answer?” Vincent asks. “She’s marrying you so you’ll take care of her?”

“Yup, and she’d better be a good fucking wife. I’m not gonna let her just suck me dry unless she’s sucking me dry. You know what I’m sayin’?” He cackles at his joke, and my stomach turns at that image. This is all a train wreck waiting to happen and I’m so fucking irritated that I’m wasting my limited leave time to be here for a farce.

“Does she even like you?” Max asks, still pushing him. Looking back at Max, I can see the anger written all over his face and realize that he’s almost as drunk as Danny, only he’s holding his shit together better. The liquor is most likely the reason that he’s pressing the issue and not backing down.

Danny barks out a loud ‘ha’. “Of course she does. Needed to make sure she wouldn’t back out, amiright? Girls like her are easy to please. Just give ‘em little cutesy words and they’re eating out of the palm of your hands.”

Shaking my head, I steer the car in the direction of the hotel we’re all staying at for the night and where the reception will be held after the ceremony tomorrow.

“Nonononooooo,” Danny yells out. “You’re goin’ the wrong way! I need to talk to hertonight, before I’m shackled to her. She has to know that she’s gotta be a wife tomorrow.” He snickers again, and adds, “Never had me a virgin before…”

“Not a good idea,” Vincent warns him.

Mina is a virgin?I find that hard to wrap my head around when they’ve been together long enough to be engaged.

“Shut the fuck up, Vince!” he hisses. “It’s fuckin’ important, and I’m not gonna go back to my room until I fuckin’ talk to her.”

Max taps me on my shoulder. “What?” I ask him.

He jerks his head behind us, then tells me, “Take him back to his house. That’s where he wants to go, and I don’t know about you, but I’d like to ask her why the hell she’s marrying this fucking dick.”

I’m so done with this night. Sighing, I flip my turn signal on to take us back in the other direction. We’ll let Danny do his thing, and then I’m fucking out of here. Thoughts of just leaving before the wedding sneak up on me. The idea is more and more tempting the closer we get to the neighborhood we all grew up in.

Danny is out the door the second we come to a stop, marching over to Mina’s house like a man on a mission. Max is fast on his heels. Sighing again, I turn off the engine and in a low voice, tell Vincent, “This is a bad idea.”

“I know. Let’s just go with him. It’ll take him five minutes to make an ass of himself, and then we can leave.”

When I open my door, I can already hear Danny screaming in Mina’s front yard. “Mina!Mina, comeouthere. We gotta talk!”

The house is so dark that I check the driveway for their vehicles to see if they’re even home. There’s just an old Corolla, so I assume Mina is the only one home.Why aren’t any of her bridesmaids here with her on her wedding night? Or even her dad?

“She doesn’t have any. No fucking friends at all,” Danny slurs, before he goes back to screaming for her to get her ass outside. I wasn’t aware I asked that out loud.

Who doesn’t have bridesmaids for their wedding?

I’m just about to suggest we leave when a light flickers on from one of the bedrooms upstairs. I follow the lights as she makes her way through the house, turning them on as she enters each room. Moments later, she slips through the front door, cinching an oversized robe around her waist. She’s mussed like she’s been sleeping, but there are dark circles under her eyes, making her look exhausted.

“Danny?” she calls out softly, then stops short when she realizes the rest of us are standing in her yard a short distance behind him. “Oh… umm, what are you all d-doing here?” She seems nervous as she tucks her hair behind her ear and wraps her arms around her waist in a tight hug.

“FuckingFINALLY. Listen, we gotta talk,” Danny says as he stumbles toward her. She takes a step back, seemingly uneasy about how he’s approaching her.

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