Page 41 of Fight Or Flight

Eric

“You really like her, don’t you?”

For fuck’s sake.

Can’t a guy stare out the kitchen window at the girl talking to his mom without having someone call him out for being a creep?

Drawing the curtains closed, I turn around and glare at Robert.

“Of course I like our mom,” I hiss. What a ridiculous question.

He barks out a laugh as he slides onto one of the kitchen stools, tucking his glasses into the front of his shirt.

“Right, so you’re spying on our mom.”

“I’m not spying on anyone,” I argue.

I’m simply observing.

Ignoring me, he continues, “I could probably get on board with that because you’re fucking weird but unless you got a fetish for older women that doesn’t explain the movie night with Joss and Brooklyn.”

“So I watched a movie with them, big deal.”

He points to the stack of board games sitting on the counter beside me.

“Did I miss the memo for family game night too?”

Okay, the little shit has got me there. I found the games in the basement and before I caught a glimpse of Brooklyn on the patio with my mom, I planned on bringing them into Joss’ room. I had heard about her going into renal failure and assumed Joss wouldn’t be up to playing Monopoly or Scrabble, but I also knew Brooklyn wouldn’t be too keen on leaving her mother’s side and there are only so many movies a girl can pretend to watch while she counts her mom’s last breaths.

Maybe she hated board games, but it was still worth a shot. Anything to keep her mind off things and if I managed to pull a smile out of her, that would be an extra bonus.

Smiles were becoming rare for her.

I really thought movie night would’ve made her happy, but that turned out to be a bust. Apparently, war movies aren’t Brooklyn’s favorite—something I probably should’ve picked up on when I revealed I wanted to join the Army. It felt right to share at the time, but the more I shared, the less enthused she seemed. At one point I thought she was going to cry.

I swear girls are the hardest creatures to figure out.

They need to come with a handbook or something.

A guide on how to read their minds would be super helpful.

“Yeah, you got it bad,” Rob comments.

I roll my eyes and cross my arms against my chest.

“I’m just trying to help take her mind off things. Instead of making fun of me, why don’t you try helping me out? It’s been a while since I beat your ass in Monopoly. I bet Brooklyn will get a kick out of that.”

“I may be younger, bro, but I ain’t stupid. You need a wingman.”

Um…no. That’s definitely not what I need, especially if he’s offering himself. The poor kid has an awful track record with the ladies.

“Words a mother dreads.”

I spin around at the sound of my mom’s voice and my eyes immediately lock with Brooklyn’s.

“Hey.” The corners of my lips immediately tick upward at the sight of her. “I was looking for you.”

She raises an eyebrow.

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