Page 75 of Collateral Damage
Thank God.
If Chandler asks us to do something, we’re doing it.
“Let’s go.” I jump to my feet.
Chandler is the only Laurence still in touch with us. We try to keep things short with him, but we never ignore him even though we haven’t seen him since the day of Mom’s funeral.
“You remember when we promised we’d take him out when he turned twenty-one?” Ethan asks, and I have no memory of any such thing.
“Nope,” I say.
Ethan frowns. “Maybe it was a conversation with me and Sybil. I don’t know.” He rubs his jaw, worry darkening his eyes to storm clouds. “Do you think she’ll be there?”
We climb into the car, and I grimace at my brother. He doesn’t know I ran into her last month. “I do, but we should make an appearance for Chandler’s sake. If Sybil makes you uncomfortable, we’ll keep our distance or leave.”
Ethan puts the car into gear. “I didn’t even realize they were on the island.”
Guilt eats me up. I should have warned him.
“You’re the designated driver later,” Ethan states. “As soon as I see Sybil, I’m going to drink. Heavily.”
Well, shit. It’s going to be hard as fuck to stay sober with her around. How else am I going to drown out the pain? If I can’t handle myself, we’ll call a cab and pick up the car in the morning.
Twenty minutes later, we’re walking into the club, right past the doorman—we handed the bouncer a wad of crisp hundred-dollar bills to skip the line.
We work our way through the crowd until we spot Chandler alone with an empty beer glass and a dazed smile. He’s watching the dance floor, and I’m sure he’s thinking about getting up there and showing everyone how it’s done. The kidlovesto dance. Nothing technical or classical, just wild and free like an inflatable wind air dancer in front of a tire shop.
“Hey buddy, happy birthday,” I say, and he jumps up, his grin growing as wide as ever.
“Cooper!” He’s got a small build, but his vice-like hug is world famous. It nearly knocks the wind out of me, but he quickly moves to my brother. “And Ethan, my favorite person.”
I bark out a laugh. Ethan is his favorite, and he’s shameless about letting everyone know. The only person he idolizes more is his own father. I wonder if that’s changed since everything happened, but I have a suspicion nobody told him about the affair. We certainly haven’t said anything.
“How’s it going?” Ethan asks, and the two get straight to talking as we sit.
My gaze zeroes in on the bar area, searching for Sybil. She’s got to be here. She wouldneverlet Chandler come alone.
I sure hope it’s her and not Gregory. I wouldn’t mind seeing Amelia, but there’s no way I can be cordial with that prick.
“You’re not alone, are you?” I interrupt the guys.
“Sybil brought me,” he confirms. “She’s buying me another beer. Says I can’t mix it with tequila or other stuff. Just beers tonight.”
“Your sister is smart. Listen to her,” Ethan says, but his tone has dropped considerably, and his restless eyes dart to mine. I know he’s nervous about seeing his ex.
Quite frankly, so am I.
When she gets her pretty ass back here, I’m going to pretend I don’t have a care in the fucking world, like she didn’t rip Ethan’s heart out and stomp on it with her designer heels. Like she didn’t destroy my heart in the process.
The hardest part? I don’t feel like I have a right to miss her like Ethan does.
“So, your parents are okay with you drinking?” Ethan asks.
Chandler rolls his eyes. “It’s legal. I can do what I want.”
Ethan holds up his hands. “I’m not judging. I was only checking.”
“I know the risks,” he says, gripping the edge of the table and raising his voice. “My parents made me go to a doctor a few months ago to make sure it would be okay for me, and the doctor said it was fine as long as I don’t drink too much.”
