Page 25 of Trouble
“I’m going to have a beer. Do you want one?” I asked.
“I think I’ll have the splash of red that’s left. I didn’t quite finish it up during the cooking.”
I chuckled to myself. My aunt always left ‘a splash’ of wine, enough so as she could have a good-sized glass with her dinner. I found the bottle on the side and poured the remainder for her.
“You’ll have to have a sip, there’s more left than you thought.” I handed her the wineglass and watched as she gulped some down to make room.
“Ah, lovely.”
The oven timer beeped, indicating the bread was ready.
“Can you get that, Maddox?” Penny asked as she drained the pasta.
“Yup.” I grabbed a tea towel and opened the oven door, reaching inside for the tray. At the last minute, as I put it on the counter, the towel slipped, and the hot metal made the briefest of contact with my skin. “Shit!” I dropped it with a crash and ran to the sink to run my hand under cold water.
“Maddox! Language!”
Despite my age, Aunt Penny chastised me whenever I swore. She should be grateful she wasn’t around the garage all that much. Almost dropping a battery on your toes is enough to make even the strongest of men let the odd curse slip out.
I closed my eyes as I let the water run as cold as I could take it. Another scar to add to my collection for the day.
Eventually, we sat down. I shoveled the food in, trying not to burn my mouth. As usual, it was delicious. Aunt Penny’s Bolognese was possibly my favorite meal ever.
“So, do you want to tell me why your face is all busted up and you’ve got the sad puppy dog eyes going on?” She sipped her wine, her gaze fixed on me.
It would be easy to lie, to make up some story about getting into a fight at the garage over an unpaid bill. The truth, that my best friend had laid into me after he found out I’d slept with his sister, was harder to explain. She’d known Andre and Lyla as long as I had, treating them the same she did me, as if we were all her own children. For whatever reason, she never had any of her own and I was grateful she’d looked after me all these years. Penny was the mother I’d never had. I could tell her anything.
Mechanically, I chewed on some garlic bread, my appetite decreasing as I considered the mess I’d made. Maybe if I talked it through with my aunt, she might have an idea as to how to fix it. She’d probably find out the facts for herself in any case.
“Andre did it.”
“He did? Why on earth would he do something so out of character?”
She was right. Andre was normally the most mild-mannered of the four of us—excluding when someone was messing with his sister. It was between Jack and me as to who was the most volatile. I probably edged it. It wasn’t necessarily a trait I was proud of.
I chewed the inside of my cheek, flinching at the sting in my lips. “I, um, might have slept with Lyla.”
Aunt Penny didn’t say anything at first and her silence unnerved me.
“When?”
“Thursday night, at the garage, then again on Friday when we went to pick up the car.”Happier times.
“Well, it’s about time,” she said, at last.
I almost choked on my mouthful of pasta. Of all the things she could have said, those words were the last ones I’d expected to come out of her mouth.
“Maddox, I’m not stupid. It’s never taken a genius to see how besotted you are with her.” Aunt Penny put down her fork and picked up her glass of water. “She’s a lovely girl.”
“I know.” I sighed.
“Would I be right in thinking Andre might not be as happy about it as you are?”
Slowly, I nodded. “And I told Lyla it had been a mistake. That it should never have happened.”
“Oh, Maddox, you didn’t!”
I nodded again.
