***
When I got home, I was surprised to see Dane’s civic parked in the driveway. The lime green practically glows in the dark. His car is fixed up to race and stands out about as bad as my yellow Ranger.
If Dane is home then that means Wren will be here soon if she isn’t already inside. She and I have been best friends forever and she is so in love with my brother. She always has been. She’s dated other guys, but swears that she’s holding out to marry Dane. Funny I know, right. I’m sure she heard his car pass her house. She’s stalkerish in that way. She lives at the end of the street by the stop sign. He had to pass right by her house on the way in. Sometimes I think that he would rather cut off the engine and push his car home than risk her hearing. Dane says she gets on his nerves and that she is too young, but every year Wren’s boobs get bigger and so do his eyes. It’s only a matter of time. It doesn’t bother me. I love them both so I couldn’t care less if they get together. As long as I don’t have to hear the details, we’re good. Honestly, I think Wren is just what he needs to straighten his ass out.
I walked in the front door and set my bag down by the stairs. Our house is big considering it’s just me and Jake. It used to seem small when mom, dad, and Dane were all here.
I saw the lamp still on in the living room so I walked in. The television was playing some kind of sports and Uncle Jake was laid back in the recliner napping.
“I didn’t wake him up.”
“Shit Dane,” I said as quietly as possible. I put my hand over my heart. I thought that it might beat out of my chest. “You scared the crap out of me.” I whisper yelled. I looked up and saw a shadow of him standing in the doorway of the kitchen. I tiptoed slowly toward the kitchen, trying not to wake up Jake.
“Why haven’t you called me?” I started to fuss. “Oh my God Dane! What happened to your eye?” Clearly he’d been in a fight. It was swollen shut and as black as night.
“It’s nothing,” he waved it off. I went straight to the freezer for some frozen peas. I think we only buy them for injuries because we sure don’t eat them.
“Come here and let me look at it.” I hoped up on the countertop and pulled him by his shirt over to me. He’s a big guy. I stand about five foot three and he’s more than a foot taller than I am. Even sitting on the counter, I’ll have to reach. “What happened?” I brushed a stray hair from his face. It looked bad, real bad.
“I told you it’s nothing. Ouch, damn it Saw,” he winced in pain when I put the peas to his eye.
“Quit being a big baby. You took a fist to your eye; all I’m using are peas.” He glared at me and I smiled real big. “Are you gonna keep avoiding the question or tell me what happened?”
“Avoiding,” he said.
“Fine,” we sat there in silence for a moment. “I really wish you would call me more. I’ve missed you.”
“I’m sorry,” he wrapped his big arm around my side. Dane and I have always been close, but lately he’s been drifting away. When mom and dad passed away, he changed. He became wild and crazy. On weekends that he would come home from college I would nurse his hangovers. He would go on a weekly drinking binge and then sober up at home with us. I would spend both days waiting on him hand and foot. I loved taking care of him. I’m not sure how he managed to complete his courses at school. He took nearly three years off to find himself, but stayed with his friends around school. The only thing he found was that he loved to drink and party and spend money. Now that he’s back in school I don’t understand how he’s passing. He must be doing some serious cheating. Either way, I thought he was doing better this year until he quit calling me. Now, I don’t know what’s going on. My phone vibrated in my pocket and it didn’t take a psychic to know it was Wren. I held the phone up to Dane’s face and he shook his head no.
I rolled my eyes. “You know she is going to keep calling until I pick up, and if I don’t she’ll just show up.”
“I haven’t been home fifteen minutes and already she’s up my ass.” I had to laugh.
“I’ll shut my phone off. That will give us about ten minutes to talk before she shows up.”
He shifted his head back further so that he could look at me. “What did you want to talk about?”
“So you do get my messages.”
“Yes, I get your messages.” He huffed. “I’ve just been really busy.”
I stared at him. I could tell he was hiding something from me. I could see it all over his face. He knew that I could tell too, but I didn’t push him for information. What good would it do me? “Well, I wanted to talk to you about the lake house.”
“What about it?”
“I want to move into it, by myself.” I said, shifting the peas up a bit. They were sliding down his face.