Page 102 of Until You

Chapter Twenty-Seven

They found Eric sitting alone on a picnic table at Lake Jacomo.

The twenty-five-minute drive had been understandably tense, but Lanie saw the tension fall from Tyler’s shoulders the moment he saw his brother was okay.

Eric hopped off the table and walked toward them in a slightly wavy path.

“How much do you think he’s had to drink?” Lanie asked.

“Enough.”

It took Eric three tries to get the back passenger door open, then he fell into the car, reeking of beer and cigarettes.

Tyler leaned over the back of the seat to look him. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” The boy sounded embarrassed, then he glanced up at Lanie with interest. “Hey, you’re Lanie.” He turned to Tyler while pointing at her. “She’s Lanie, isn’t she?”

Tyler shot Lanie an annoyed look. “I change my answer to ‘Too much.’” He backed up and headed out of the parking lot.

But she laughed and turned around in her seat to face Eric. He looked a lot like his brother, only leaner and not as tall. She suspected he’d catch up. “So you know me?” she asked.

“Oh, yeah…”

“How?” she asked. “I’m curious.”

Eric flopped back in the seat and held up a finger to count with. “First, when I saw you at the baseball game.”

“You saw me?”

He nodded. “Tyler kept making goo-goo eyes at you. During the seventh inning, he didn’t even know the score.”

“Is that so?” she asked.

“Blatant lies,” Tyler mumbled.

“I thought he was gonna beat up that guy you were with. Adam or Alvin or something like that.”

“Aiden?”

“Nah,” he said, he face scrunching up as he tried to concentrate. “That’s not it.”

“So when else did you hear about me?”

“On Monday. He was mopin’ around without you.”

“I object!” Tyler shouted.

Lanie shot him a grin. “Overruled.” She turned to Eric. “What did he say?”

“He was sad that you didn’t want him at that party. So he picked me as second choice. I’m always second choice. Always.”

Did Tyler really think she didn’t want him to go to the party? Guilt and sadness seeped into her blood, and she wasn’t sure who to deal with first. But Eric seemed the most distressed. “Eric, are you hungry?”

His eyes narrowed “Why?”

“Because I’m starving and I’d like for you to come eat something with me.”

“What about Tyler?” he asked with heavy eyelids.

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