Page 17 of Break

Carrying the last box from the basement out into the yard, I hear Max on the phone. “…able to right now. The dumpster is being picked up Monday morning and then a cleaner later that afternoon, so everything has to be gone before then. The realtor is showing up to do photos Tuesday before we list it.”

Sending him a questioning look, he mouths ‘Danny’ to me before closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. “Ican’t. I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t know what he’s doing, we haven’t talked about it yet.” He sighs, listening to whatever the hell Danny is saying, then answers, “Hold on.”

Taking the phone, I ask, “What does he want?”

“Needs someone to drive by his house,” he answers, keeping his voice lowered.

Putting the phone to my ear, I keep my words clipped. “Danny.” I decided over the afternoon that it’s time to distance myself from him. There have been no good interactions with this guy for years. The more I think about it, the more I recognize that he’s been a thorn in our sides for a lot longer than we realized.

Loyalty has ways of blinding you to the truth.

“Look, I really need you to do me a favor. I need you to swing by my house and just let me know what’s going on over there.”

“I thought you were spending all day at home so you could deal with your wife,” I state bluntly.

I swear I can hear Danny’s teeth grinding through the phone. It gives me a small sense of satisfaction that I’ve got something he wants, so he’s forced to be polite.

“Iwasover there, but needed to leave before we had another throw down.”

“What do you mean,throw down?” I snap. His wording grates on my conscience and I need to make sure that he doesn’t mean an actual physical fight.

Danny’s smooth words are quick to answer me, but nothing he says eases my growing concern. “Just a phrase, man. We were arguing a bit, so I left. I just need someone to drive over there and make sure she’s home and not doing anything crazy like keying up my other car or inviting anyone over.”

“Since when is Mina Bardot-”

“Reed,” Danny interrupts, snapping out their last name.

“Since when is MinaReedcrazy? That girl was nervous around her own goddamn shadow.”

I won’t lie and say that I knew the woman well while she lived next door to Danny, but he’s acting like she easily lashes out in anger. It doesn’t connect, but I also haven’t spoken to her since their wedding, which was a goddamn nightmare. Ethan was so pissed that he dipped out and disappeared in the middle of the night after the bachelor party. Danny was livid, but I didn’t blame Ethan. I wish I had done the same.

The point is that I don’t know her anymore, so maybe sheisquick to anger now. I certainly would be if I were married to this guy.

Danny snorts incredulously. “You’d be surprised. Look, I’m sorry for earlier with the texts and shit. Would you please just take a quick drive past the house, make sure nothing looks out of the ordinary? Call me when you’re done?”

I want to tell him no. Ireallydo, but instead I find myself promising I’ll take a drive out that way on my way home. That niggling feeling in my gut is telling me it’s important I check, if for no other reason than to make sureshe’salright.

Saying goodbye to Max after assuring him I’ll be back first thing in the morning, I hop in my truck and make the ten-minute drive over to Danny’s house. The two of them didn’t move far from where they grew up, only three blocks over from the street we spent so many years racing our bikes.

It’s early evening now, but the sun is still bright enough for a few residents to be milling about outside. I ease off the gas, slowing down as I creep by Danny’s house.

Nothing looks out of the ordinary. The Corvette he bought a few years ago is parked in the driveway with a tarp over it with no signs of being disturbed. There are no lights on inside, so I’m unsure if she’s still at home. Since the only vehicle in the driveway is the Corvette, I suppose it’s possible that she took off in her car.

Just as I’m about to press the gas again to speed up and make the drive to my apartment, I catch some movement on the side of the house as it comes into view.

And there she is.

MinaReed, on her knees and frantically pulling weeds out of the flower bed that stretches the full length of the side of their house.

I’m too far away to see her face, but her body looks tense as she yanks weed after weed out of the ground. She’s wearing dark leggings and a long-sleeved shirt, even though it’s still close to 90 degrees outside, and her skin looks flushed. Her shirt is plastered to her skin, likely saturated with sweat with how hard she’s working.I hope she’s got water with her.

Letting my eyes roam over the rest of the house, I notice that it’s immaculately kept up. The grass is perfectly cut with straight lines, the flower beds are all weed-free except for the area she’s currently working on. Nothing looks to be out of place, like the impeccably staged yard decorations. It’s all very cookie-cutter.

I take one more good look at Mina before I leave. She’s still dressing conservatively, which is no surprise. Although, I am surprised at the thinness of her frame. If I remember correctly, she was always a little on the softer side growing up and at their wedding. Not that she carried extra weight, but shehadcurves. Now she looks thin. The angles I can see from this distance seem sharp, but not entirely unhealthy.

I’ve seen what I need to, so I increase my speed and leave the neighborhood as I pull up my phone and call Danny. He answers on the second ring.

“Hello?”

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