Page 14 of Where Broken Wings Fly

“We’ll be fine. Right on time.”

Wiping flour-spotted hands off on her apron, she glances back up the dirt track that leads through the woods to where our cabin lies. We’re set above the town, isolated even further from people.

“Take Micah with you,” Lola suggests, her voice stern. “That boy needs to see the light of day for once.”

“You know he won’t leave his studio, Grams.”

“Then make him.”

“You want me to handcuff the poor bastard and throw him in the back of my truck?” I snort, chucking the final log onto the pile. “I’m not saying no.”

“I doubt he would appreciate that.” She sighs with a head shake. “At least tell him that he has to attend tonight. For me.”

Not even emotional blackmail works on Micah. He won’t come out of his art studio for anyone, including Lola. If I set it on fire, I have no doubt he’d happily burn inside of it.

Pressing a kiss to her wrinkled cheek, I muster a smile. “I’ll try my best.”

“Good lad. Have a safe trip.”

Hopping into my filthy truck, I drive back up to the cabin that I share with Zach and Micah. The former is waiting out front, throwing on a denim jacket over his black jeans and tight, white t-shirt. His brother is nowhere in sight, as usual.

“Get in, brat,” I shout out of the window.

“Aww. Don’t flirt with me, cuz.”

“Then don’t fucking call me that.”

He cocks an eyebrow. “You’re still my cousin, right?”

“Wouldn’t be if I had a choice in it.”

“Charming as always.” Zach climbs into the passenger seat. “You know, it’s lucky we’re related. No one else would put up with your miserable backside in this town.”

“Trust me, I’d be okay with living alone.”

“You’d miss me too much. Don’t deny it.”

Turning up the blare of heavy rock music to silence his incessant chattering, I follow the bumpy track that bisects the entire town, peppered with jagged rocks and tides of mud.

Beyond Briar Valley, a snaking track is cut into Mount Helena, a two-thousand-foot peak capped with snow and spruce trees that touch the clouds. It’s a long, uncomfortable hour navigating the route back to civilisation.

At the base of the mountain, Zach turns down the music, grumbling about a headache. His eyes are glued to his phone, scrolling through one of his usual dating apps.

Life in Briar Valley doesn’t equate to much female interaction, so on his regular trips into town, I know he takes full advantage. He has a much higher tolerance for people than me.

“You see Micah today?”

With his boot-covered feet propped up on the dashboard, Zach shrugs. “Nope. He’s been in there for three days now. This is the longest episode he’s had in a while.”

“We’ve tried to coax him out.”

“Yeah, and a fat lot of good that did. He’s more withdrawn than ever.”

“He’ll come back, kid. He always does.”

“I’m tired of waiting for his episodes to pass,” he admits angrily. “I used to know what he was thinking before he did, and now it’s like we’re not even brothers.”

Unsure of what shallow comfort I can offer, I focus on the road flattening out. Micah’s condition is hard on everyone, but it’s hardest on Zach. He lost his brother too, along with everything else.

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