Page 47 of Brutal Days

Shane laughed. “Yeah, she was furious for a few days until she realized we needed a new air conditioner. Then she thanked Uncle Lucas.”

“She still made you guys do lawn care for six months to show appreciation.”

“The best part”—Shane smirked—“was when your dad gave the gardener paid time off and made you and Cole join us.”

The humor fell from his face, and I got the serious side of him, which I didn’t want. I knew what was coming.

“That was when you still liked your dad. He made a mistake.” He held up his hand when I opened my mouth to tell him to fuck off. “It was a massive one and not without tragic consequence, but he’s human. When will you forgive him?”

I was pissed, and I knew my unleashed violence would translate into my tone. “You didn’t appreciate that I pushed about Tracey. Same goes for this. Drop it.”

Shane shook his head. “Yeah, I don’t know why I went there. This conversation is way too heavy for fixing a car.” He motioned for me to get in. “See if it starts now.”

I sat in Sky’s car and twisted the key in the ignition. The engine caught, and I grinned at Shane. “Thanks. Mind following me to drop it off at her house?”

“Let’s go.” Shane returned the toolbox to the back of the SUV.

I adjusted her seat and mirror while Shane got in his car to follow me.

As soon as he was ready, I pulled out of the parking lot, smiling at the indie rock station she had cued to play on the radio. The car smelled like her—vanilla with a hint of coconut. Oversized black sunglasses sat haphazardly in the console, and the tiny apron she sometimes wore for work lay on the passenger seat. Besides those few things, her car was spotless, which fit her overachieving, organized personality.

It didn’t take long before I turned into Sky’s driveway. After getting out, I locked up and hid the key on her rear passenger-side tire. Then, I got in Shane’s car, which idled at the curb, and texted Sky that it was there and where I’d put the key.

I kept the text simple, leaving out the details of what was wrong. It was fixed, and she would have a way to get places again, which was all that mattered.

Shane drove to my house, and when he pulled into the driveway, I turned to him, my hand on the door handle. “Thanks for your help, and have fun on your date.” I couldn’t help the grin. We both preferred to stream movies.

“Later,” Shane said as I got out and went inside.

I didn’t expect Sky to say anything about fixing and delivering her car, but making sure she had it back and that it worked was enough for me.

Not in the mood to do much, I went straight to the basement and got lost in video games for an hour. I needed to decompress from how out of control I felt over anything to do with Sky.

When my stomach growled, I got off the couch and went upstairs. The house was quiet, and I wandered into the kitchen for a snack. The shocked gasp from the kitchen table only annoyed me, and I turned to glare at Raelyn. With her hair dyed back to its original dark brown, she looked so much like Riley.

But she wasn’t. In my mind, she was still the enemy.

What she and Dad did to my mom wasn’t something I could just get over, like Cole had. Sure, Dad had helped Riley and Raelyn with their horrible situation, but that didn’t erase how they’d slept together while he was married to Mom, causing her immeasurable unhappiness. That was something I had been blind to, while Cole had known about him cheating, just not with whom, all along.

“What happened to your face?” Raelyn was out of her chair and headed toward me, her hand raised as if to touch my face.

I jerked back and snapped, “It’s none of your business.” Then I turned and left the room. I didn’t need something to eat that bad. And with how big the house was, I didn’t need to run into her. There should be enough space to never see her.

Could this day get any worse?Back in my room, my phone buzzed, and I glanced at it. I shouldn’t have tempted the fucking fates because, of course, the day could.

Sky:You’re breaking the agreement—you missed breakfast w/Gia and now you’re ignoring her calls

Me:She calls a thousand times a day. It’s excessive

Sky:I don’t care. She’s upset. Fix it!

I should never have agreed to Skylar’s deal. Not to dating Princess Clingy anyway. Sky’s part wasn’t so bad. Fuck, her part was incredible. I could go for more of that.

“Damon.”

Dad’s stern voice effectively shut down my fantasy about Skylar. “What?”

“Go and apologize to Raelyn. She doesn’t need, or deserve, your piss-poor attitude.”

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