Page 15 of Crash

“You’re rude. Who says that? And on behalf of white men everywhere, we thank you. We fully support that message,” Luke says glaring at me. “I’m going to take a collective breath of relief for us all.” He inhales and dramatically exhales.

“What? What I mean is, I will never get married.”

“I don’t think you need to worry about that,” Luke says, laughing into his cup.

“What is that supposed to mean? And I wasn’t talking to you.”

His mug makes a loud thud on the table as he sets it down. “Well, I’m talking to you,” he says, pointing at me. “What I mean is, you don’t have to worry about getting married. What man would want to deal with your bad attitude? He’d have to be either crazy or desperate.”

“Luke, shut up,” Jake warns.

“And yet here you are sticking your giant nose in my business.” Sandy snickers and Jake smirks at my comeback. “Just pretend I’m not here. That’s what I do whenever you’re in the room.”

“It’s hard when you have such a big mouth,” he says back as he loads his plate with pancakes and bacon.

I get out of my chair and he stops piling food on his plate as I approach him. I put my finger at his chest and poke him with it. He doesn’t so much as flinch. Instead, he leans back in the chair and puts both hands behind his head, almost daring me to touch him again.

“Well, you better get used to my big mouth, Lucas! I’ve had enough of men like you trying to shut me up. You are not man enough to silence me, got it?” I poke him one more time and grab a plate. “Do you mind if I make some eggs, Sandy?”

CHAPTER 4

LUKE

Jake is telling me to shut the fuck up with his eyes, and Sandy’s looking from me to Vivienne, her brow creased. I watch as Vivi cuts up some stuff on a cutting board. Soon, the kitchen is filled with a delicious aroma of sautéed vegetables and onions. A few minutes later, she has a huge plate of scrambled eggs on the table.

“I made enough for the three of us,” she says, not even looking in my direction. I snatch the plate and fill my plate with eggs. Best eggs I’ve ever had, but I would die before I’d tell her that.

“So, what are your plans, Vivi?” Jake asks a few minutes later.

“Well, I’m going to start looking for a job right away. I’ll probably have to take a semester off school, but hopefully, I can get some extra financial aid and a loan and start again next fall. So, I’ll graduate in December of next year instead of next May. Maybe Auntie will give me more hours at the bakery until I can find something. But I want to thank you two so much for letting me stay here. I will cook and clean since I can’t pay anything yet.” She takes a small bite of her eggs, a blush on her cheeks.

“You are not going to live here so you can be our maid, sweetie. We already have someone who does the cleaning. You’re family.” Sandy looks at Jake and they share a moment. “We’ve talked about it, and we’ll cover your tuition next semester. You’re not going to be behind.” Vivi opens her mouth to argue but then closes it. I watch as her eyes pool with tears. They fall and she starts to weep at the table.

I stop mid-chew and stare at my brother. He shrugs at me. Vivienne jumps from her chair and runs to her room, and Sandy follows behind her.

I should feel bad for her. I don’t know what happened, but I can’t imagine having to drop out of school to work to save for tuition.

“What just happened? It’s just tuition for fuck’s sakes,” I mumble, mouth full.

“She’s had a rough time. Stop being such a dick.”

I hold my hands up in surrender and continue eating. I grab the last of the eggs before Jake can eat them. A few minutes later, they come back, Vivi much more composed than before.

“Thank you two so much. I will pay you back, I promise.”

“No, you won’t. It’s a gift. We don’t want you to worry about it,” Sandy says.

She nods, but she doesn’t speak. I watch her as she eats.

“Is it okay if I go to the movies with Blake later?”

Who the fuck is Blake?

“Vivi, you’re twenty-one. You don’t have to ask us for permission to go out. Just be careful and be safe,” Sandy says.

“Who the hell is Blake?” I ask.

Jake looks at me, brows arched. He gives me a smug grin as if he’s in on some secret.

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