Page 48 of Wreck Me

2:35 pm: “Bye bye, housie. Was good knowing ya! Dang. Ya shoulda been there to see it!”

Nico checked his watch—alittle after three. No wonder gasoline fumes still rent the air. The texts made clear his brother had a real-time view of the area. He stared at the house next door and, sure enough, a barely visible, small white box was tucked under an eave.

His phone rang, and Nico’s heart jumped. Was it Ginny? He glanced at the screen. A facetime call from Vince.

Nico answered it. “Hey.”

Any time Nico looked at his twin, he might as well have been looking into a mirror. This time, Vince’s features were stretched into the ecstatic version of Nico. Behind him, several rows of conjoined, silver seats and a bank of high windows showcasing the Rocky Mountains told Nico that Vince was calling from the Denver airport.

“CONGRATULASHUNNNNNNS!” Vince yelled in a pro-wrestling announcer voice.

“Yeah,” Nico managed. His head swam for a second. Seeing Vince so happy was giving him whiplash. “Score one for craven capitalism.”

Vince’s grin faltered. “Craven what? Is something wrong?”

Nico’s anger up to that point at been aimed squarely at himself, but Vince’s triumphant grin and complete ignorance of the damage he’d just done caused a fury like scalding poison to well up in Nico’s throat. Hehadasked Vince not to do anything. Hehadmade that clear…or tried to. The loss of the house, the breaking of his promise to Ginny—it wasn’tallNico’s fault, wasit? Vince was the one who’d broken the deal. “I can’t believe you did this.”

Vince’s face went several shades lighter as his grin evaporated completely. “Bro, what?”

It was so easy to slip back into angry Nico mode. And it felt good. It felt like a touchstone. “I told you this morning that I had it covered!”

Vince winced like a dog expecting to be hit. His reply came out in an anxiety-fueled rush. “Bro, you’re always telling me to take initiative. You…you really didn't seem yourself this morning, and I thought…I thought you were trying to get me to trust my instincts, especially since it was me dropping the ball that created the problem in the first place. Thiswasour plan, wasn't it?”

And as quickly as it had risen, Nico’s anger deflated. Thishadbeen their plan, as far as Vince knew. And ever since Nico had met Ginny, he hadn’t been behaving like himself. Hewasalways telling Vince to trust his gut—their whole lives he’d been bolstering Vince’s self-esteem every way imaginable. Here his meek brother had finally taken a bold decision all on his own, and Nico was chopping his head off? “No, no. I’m sorry. This isn’t your fault. It’s not at all your fault.”

His brother seemed unconvinced. He slapped his forehead with his palm. “Ugh. I thought we’d agreed. I thought…” He looked as contrite as a man who accidentally shot someone. “Did…did I screw upagain?”

“Vince, no, you didn’t. I only accused you because I feel so terrible about it.”

Some of the anxiety lines crisscrossing Vince’s face relaxed, but not all of them. “I don’t understand what’s happening here,” he said quietly.

Nico sighed heavily. “She and I had decided to move the house to the lot in Malibu. That’s where we’d gone. I wasshowing it to her, and if she approved of it, I was going to tell you right away. But obviously, I should have told you sooner. I didn’t know you had a camera set up and everything.”

“Oh. I thought I mentioned that. It was put up by the guy who did the speakers. I hadn’t been checking it because I was waiting for instructions from you, but after our call today, I looked, and I saw you drive her away. I figured it was go time.” Nico was too busy silently cursing himself to reply. Vince continued. “But I still don’t get it. The squatter had the money for that Malibu lot?”

“No, of course not. But she didn’t care about this lot–only the house. So, moving it made everybody happy.”

“A free house plus a free ocean view lot in Malibu should make anyone happy! Sheesh. How’d she get you to agree to that?”

Nico knew he should be offering some rational explanation—it was cheaper than the million dollars he’d offered her, it took care of their problem with no legal strings, blah blah blah. But Vince’s question—How did she get you to agree to that?– had sapped his waning faculties completely. All he could think of in that moment was her smile, her bright green eyes, her quirky sense of humor, her infectious energy, her tinkling laugh…

The full realization of what had just happened—of everything he’d just lost—hit him full on, and a wave of emotional and physical exhaustion followed. He opened the door to the truck and sat down sideways on the seat.

“Nico?” Vince said after a bit. “You’re acting even weirder right now, and it’s freaking me out. Are you on drugs or something? Is she a dealer?”

He shook his head slowly. “No, no drugs.…Mom just really liked her,” he mumbled.

Vince’s eyes widened. “You introduced her to our mother?”

Words flowed limply from Nico’s mouth. “They introduced themselves.” He shrugged. “It was in the kitchen.”

“In what kitchen?” Vince looked around as if checking to make sure he was still on planet Earth. “Look, bro, I don’t know what’s going on, but they’re boarding our plane. I’ll have Cathy take the boys home so I can come straight to you.”

“Yeah,” Nico said absently. “Okay.”

“Shit. I wish I’d left here days ago. Are we in even more trouble now? Did you write up a contract with her?”

“No contract. We just shook on it…” He one-shoulder shrugged. “…and there was some kissing.”

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