worry. I’m the better looking brother.”
I laughed and rolled my eyes, dipping my bacon into my syrup and hearing him groan about how disgusting it was. He told me some things about Eli and Clara. He had been at their wedding, which broke my heart into little pieces right then and there. But again, it was no one’s fault but mine. He talked about anything he thought I would want to know that happened in the very short weeks that he had known Clara.
I ate and I listened.
_____ _______
We drove—he drove—until the afternoon when I noticed him starting to twitch around in the seat, obliviously uncomfortable. He rubbed his thigh with the side of his fist over and over so hard I thought the fabric of his jeans was going to rip. Then he started to tap a rhythm on the steering wheel and turned the music up louder. As Aerosmith blared over the speakers, I knew exactly what was happening. I still didn’t understand why I was calm and understanding about this, but knew what I needed to do.
I thought about the night my parents died. Clara called me. I wasn’t home. She was in hysterics. She had come home and found them…
Enoch’s hand swung over and gripped my thigh tightly. “Stop it,” he growled.
I continued to look out the window, noticing how his hand hadn’t moved from my leg. I sighed. It had been so long since someone had touched me. “You need it, don’t you? I can tell. You’re getting all twitchy.”
“And I told you that I don’t want that from you,” he said harshly.
I looked over. “You just want it from someone else?”
He watched the road. “Yes.”
Coward.
“I’m not a coward,” he said with an angry chuckle and took his hand away. My skin was cold where his hand had been. “I’m the only one being smart right now.”
I covered my lips with two fingers. I said that out loud.
He drove for a few more minutes and then pulled off an exit. When he pulled into a bar parking lot, I got anxious. I looked over to see him still brooding, his brows drawn together. He put the car in park and looked over at me for the first time. “Stay here. Don’t come in and don’t get out of this car for any reason. Lock the doors.” I started to argue, but his menacing look stopped everything. “Don’t.”
I leaned back in my seat slowly and looked at my lap. There were two things he was going in there for and neither of them was good. He got out and stopped by his door, his hand on the top of the car. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. Stay in the car, no matter what. I’m… not leaving you.”
Then he slammed the door and sprinted inside. I watched him go, wondering what had just happen ed. One minute he was an absolute jerk, the next he was reassuring me he wasn’t leaving me like I had thought he was last time. I wanted to take a nap, feeling tired and drawn out, but the sun was too bright, so I climbed in the back seat and turned my face toward the back. I looked at my watch. It was fifteen after three. When someone knocked, waking me, I looked at my watch and it was almost four. I looked up at his face, the sun haloing behind his head and could already tell he was better. I unlocked his door and he climbed in.
“We need to ditch this car soon and grab another. It’s not smart to keep it. The cops will be looking for it.” He backed out and started to drive like everything was normal. Like he hadn’t just been in there feeding off someone who was sad about their wife leaving them, or fighting because of cheating on a game or pool, or the more likely option, someone who he’d been doing intimate things with that I didn’t want to think about. I rolled back over and pretended that he hadn’t even come back. “Hey, what’s wrong with you?” he asked. Like he had no idea. Maybe he didn’t.
“Nothing.”
He sighed and drove faster. “I don’t like doing it any more than you like knowing I do it. Soon we’ll be there and you never have to see me
I laughed and rolled my eyes, dipping my bacon into my syrup and hearing him groan about how disgusting it was. He told me some things about Eli and Clara. He had been at their wedding, which broke my heart into little pieces right then and there. But again, it was no one’s fault but mine. He talked about anything he thought I would want to know that happened in the very short weeks that he had known Clara.
I ate and I listened.
_____ _______
We drove—he drove—until the afternoon when I noticed him starting to twitch around in the seat, obliviously uncomfortable. He rubbed his thigh with the side of his fist over and over so hard I thought the fabric of his jeans was going to rip. Then he started to tap a rhythm on the steering wheel and turned the music up louder. As Aerosmith blared over the speakers, I knew exactly what was happening. I still didn’t understand why I was calm and understanding about this, but knew what I needed to do.
I thought about the night my parents died. Clara called me. I wasn’t home. She was in hysterics. She had come home and found them…
Enoch’s hand swung over and gripped my thigh tightly. “Stop it,” he growled.
I continued to look out the window, noticing how his hand hadn’t moved from my leg. I sighed. It had been so long since someone had touched me. “You need it, don’t you? I can tell. You’re getting all twitchy.”
“And I told you that I don’t want that from you,” he said harshly.
I looked over. “You just want it from someone else?”
He watched the road. “Yes.”
Coward.
“I’m not a coward,” he said with an angry chuckle and took his hand away. My skin was cold where his hand had been. “I’m the only one being smart right now.”
I covered my lips with two fingers. I said that out loud.
He drove for a few more minutes and then pulled off an exit. When he pulled into a bar parking lot, I got anxious. I looked over to see him still brooding, his brows drawn together. He put the car in park and looked over at me for the first time. “Stay here. Don’t come in and don’t get out of this car for any reason. Lock the doors.” I started to argue, but his menacing look stopped everything. “Don’t.”
I leaned back in my seat slowly and looked at my lap. There were two things he was going in there for and neither of them was good. He got out and stopped by his door, his hand on the top of the car. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. Stay in the car, no matter what. I’m… not leaving you.”
Then he slammed the door and sprinted inside. I watched him go, wondering what had just happen ed. One minute he was an absolute jerk, the next he was reassuring me he wasn’t leaving me like I had thought he was last time. I wanted to take a nap, feeling tired and drawn out, but the sun was too bright, so I climbed in the back seat and turned my face toward the back. I looked at my watch. It was fifteen after three. When someone knocked, waking me, I looked at my watch and it was almost four. I looked up at his face, the sun haloing behind his head and could already tell he was better. I unlocked his door and he climbed in.
“We need to ditch this car soon and grab another. It’s not smart to keep it. The cops will be looking for it.” He backed out and started to drive like everything was normal. Like he hadn’t just been in there feeding off someone who was sad about their wife leaving them, or fighting because of cheating on a game or pool, or the more likely option, someone who he’d been doing intimate things with that I didn’t want to think about. I rolled back over and pretended that he hadn’t even come back. “Hey, what’s wrong with you?” he asked. Like he had no idea. Maybe he didn’t.
“Nothing.”
He sighed and drove faster. “I don’t like doing it any more than you like knowing I do it. Soon we’ll be there and you never have to see me
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