Page 20 of Loco

“It is not the same thing, you ass!” I tried again to wriggle free, but my feet weren’t going anywhere.

Still chuckling, Roque made his way to the edge, one brow raised in amusement as he peered down at me. “You stuck, sweetheart?”

I gritted my teeth. “No, I’m just lying here for fun.”

“Thought so.”

Before I could formulate a sufficiently murderous response, my phone buzzed in my pocket. Given my current state of immobility, it took some effort to pull it out, but I managed to do so and groaned the second I saw the caller ID.

Dad. Aw, hell, guess he’d seen the text I’d sent.

Taking a deep breath, I answered, bracing myself for the inevitable.

“You’re staying where?” His voice was deep, firm, and already laced with disapproval.

Even though we were on the phone, I just knew Roque could hear him because I could see him fighting back a smile. His shoulders began shaking, and he half-buried his face in the collar of his hoodie.

Before I could answer, Dad continued, his voice dropping into that tone that meant he was this close to losing his patience. “And you’re staying there, why?”

“Honey, she’s already explained this to you twice,” Mom’s voice sighed from the background. “She has a bath in her living room, broken pipes and electrical wires hanging everywhere, a hole in the ceiling, the other pipes have bur?—”

“You’re not helping,” I hissed, knowing she could hear me since I was on speakerphone. “That’s like when you break a bone, and someone keeps poking it to see if it hurts.”

Roque, at this point, was fully shaking with suppressed laughter.

“As soon as this storm’s over,” Dad continued as if I hadn’t spoken, “you’re going to call the asshole that convinced you that house was okay and?—”

I sighed, tuning him out as Roque finally lost the battle with his amusement, yanking his hoodie over his face to muffle the snort that escaped.

“Do I make myself clear?” Dad demanded.

I cleared my throat, pretending I hadn’t just spaced out. “Um… if I can remember the name of the person who did it, I’ll get right on that.”

There was silence followed by a choking noise that made me wince.

“At least tell me you’re insured,” he asked, exasperation clear in his voice.

That I was pretty sure about. “I’m fairly certain that’s true,” I hedged.

There was a beat of silence, and then— “Fairly certain?” Dad and Roque echoed simultaneously, one in disbelief, the other in sheer amusement.

“I mean, I submitted all the forms for it. I… well, I don’t have the policy number right now. Does that still count?”

Roque let out a low chuckle, muttering under his breath, “And you better make sure it covers houses with no conveyancing reports…”

Of course, Dad heard him.

“Jesus Christ, Sayla,” he groaned, and I could picture him rubbing the spot between his eyes like he always did when he was tired or fed up. “As soon as this shit stops falling from the sky, I’m coming over to see what’s happened. Maybe it’s not as bad as you think?”

I wasn’t so sure about that.

“Do you want me to see if Cash can make it there through the snow?” he asked, clearly already planning for backup.

While not entirely insufferable, my brother was definitely not someone I wanted in the middle of this mess right now. Sure, he knew his way around home repairs, but did I really want him to add his opinion to this disaster?

I hesitated, weighing my options.

“No,” I said finally. “It’s too dangerous. I’ll meet you at the house as soon as the snow stops falling.”

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