Page 33 of Code Word
“I don’t know what I did to piss him off or upset him,” I said. “Have you spoken to him?” Then I felt bad for asking. “Sorry. I don’t mean to put you in a bad spot. He’s your brother...”
She was quiet for a moment.
“I haven’t spoken to him. I sent him a message the day you guys left but he never replied. Jeremy told me Maddox and Roscoe went up to the cabins, Luke stayed with them, and you came home. I didn’t ask why. He just said Luke would be fine, but he found you on the floor surrounded by vodka and Scotch bottles.”
My stomach lurched at the mere mention of alcohol.
But something she said stuck in my mind.
Luke would be fine.
“He’ll be fine, huh? Is that what Jeremy said? That Luke will be fine.”
Fuck, that hurt.
“That’s nice,” I said, trying to choke out the words. “Well, good that he’ll be fine because he’s away from me. Doesn’t matter that I’m not fine. No one seems to give a fuck about that.”
Christ, my eyes and the burning tears threatening to fall betrayed me. I groaned and let my head fall back, digging the heels of my hands into my eye sockets. “Fuck. I lost two Doughertys in a few days. Is that a record or something? Christ, your mom really is gonna hate me.”
Becca pulled on my hand so I could look at her. She sat on the stool next to mine and that sad smile was back.
“You didn’t lose us,” she began.
Which was wrong.
“Luke won’t speak to me.”
She pursed her lips together and squeezed my hand. “Blake, I’m gonna tell you some things, and I need you to hear me out.”
Ugh.
Another one of those truth-hurts conversations.
“If you’re gonna tell me I need to work on myself, Jeremyalready beat you to it,” I said pathetically. “I know he’s not wrong, so whatever. Don’t know exactly what I’m supposed to work on, so any hints would be great. Am I a bad friend? A shitty person? Help me out here.”
I refused to believe what Jeremy had said was the issue...
Becca smiled at that. “No, Blake. You’re a good person and a good friend.”
“Except to Luke. I did something colossal there, apparently. Dunno what exactly, but okay.”
She shook her head, maybe even rolled her eyes a little, then sighed. “Blake, I love you, so I’m gonna tell you straight. You deserve that.”
Well, that was never good.
“Okay.”
“Luke is in love with you, and he has been for years. You are oblivious and blind.”
Christ, that was exactly what Jeremy had said.
Could they both be wrong?
“But that’s not even the mind-blowing part,” she said, her eyes serious.
Mind-blowing?
“What?”
