Page 48 of Fight for Me

The thunder must be what finally wakes Henry because I hear a wobbly, “Nanny?” from the back.

I turn to my son and smile with a fake cheer. “Hey, kiddo! You’ll see granny pretty soon, okay? Now, we’re going on a trip with Uncle Brody.”

“Toy?” Henry asks and tries to see into the driver’s seat.

“Hey, buddy,” Brody calls to him and glances briefly over his shoulder. “Do you want to see where I live?”

Of course, like every time when being asked a question, Henry nods his head, not fully understanding what he agrees to.

When his eyelids start to drop again, I relax in my seat and smooth the leather of the upholstery in Brody’s car.

“Good to see some things didn’t change,” I muse, then glance Brody’s way, “I always thought your car fits your personality.”

He frowns as the road gets harder, and harder to navigate, then asks, “And why is that?”

“Oh, please don’t make me say it.” I smile shyly, feeling my face getting a little flushed. Why did I have to open my big mouth?

“Wouldn’t peg you for someone who’s scared to speak her mind,” he eggs me on, looking intrigued by my possible answer.

“You know, the whole... dark sexy macho thing,” I respond, making him laugh.

“Is that how you see me?” he asks with a grin, and I groan while hiding myself in my hands.

“Come on, Jen. Don’t be embarrassed. I’m just teasing you.”

I lift my head and throw him a dirty look, that he doesn’t even catch, as he slows down to avoid a fallen branch on the bumpy road. “Well, yeah, but it’s embarrassing considering I had a ginormous crush on you back then.”

“Did you?” he asks with fake shock and chuckles when I give him the finger.

“Shut up!” I protest and start laughing too. My laughter dies, however, when there’s another boom resonating through the sky. I squish my face to the window to see better and frown at the surrounding conditions. “Uh, Brody? How much further are we going? I don’t think the road will be drivable in a couple of minutes.”

“Yeah, I didn’t think it would get this bad. I would’ve just turned back to the shelter. But it’s too late now. We’re two minutes from my house, but it’s going to be tricky. The area is pretty much uninhabited.”

“Hmm,” I hum in response and fold my arms, staying silent until we turn into a forest dirt road. “Where are you taking us? I swear I saw horror movies that started off like this. Are you going to chop me into little pieces with an axe in some shabby cabin in the middle of nowhere?”

“No.”

“Cool. So, how much longer...” I stop in the middle of the sentence when a house appears in sight.

It’s a modern-looking wooden cabin with plenty of windows, surrounded by tall trees, illuminated only by the small lights installed above the entrance. It looks like the perfect combination of rustic and contemporary. For a moment, I forget about our predicament and just stare at it through the rain-stained car window, as Brody clicks a button on his console to open the garage door.

“This is where you live?” I look back at him with wide eyes, motioning at the building as we drive toward the parking space inside.

“It is. You like?” Brody asks breezily and without a pause gets out to retrieve my bag and takes Henry out of the back.

I slap my hand on the roof of his car as I get out. “Do I? Brody, I never thought I’ll say it about a building but, it’s fucking beautiful.” Then my eyebrows knit, and I falter in my step as a sudden thought hits me. “Wait. You live here on your own, right?”

“Yeah... Why?” He throws over his shoulder and leads me to a mudroom, where I take off my shoes.

“Oh, uh, just making sure.” I nervously scratch at my hair, and follow after Brody. “You know... I wasn’t sure how you’re gonna explain my presence if you’ve got a wife stored in here that you didn’t tell me about. Or a girlfriend.” I cast him an uncertain look and then glance away quickly, biting my lip as he turns to look at me.

“No wife. No girlfriend,” Brody states and opens the door that I guess leads to the living part of the house. “Come on in.”

“Wow, Handsome. How did you find this place? Everything looks so.... Cozy,” I say in astonishment as I look around.

We come through the side door into a sort of living room. The house is mostly an open plan, and it consists of a nice area with a sofa in front of the fireplace and a small coffee table nearby. Pictures and colorful art adorn the walls, and a small wooden desk in the corner is almost fully covered with something that looks like architectural plans and math sheets. To the right, there’s a kitchen with wooden cabinets, a long counter, and a table that can fit four people. To the left, a door that I assume leads to a bathroom, and next to it a staircase. Behind it is a large glass door looking out at the backyard, but for now, all I see is the darkness getting split with more thunderbolts.

“It’s nothing fancy, I guess. But I’m actually proud to admit I built it myself,” Brody informs me, sounding almost self-conscious contrary to his words.

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