Page 31 of The Storm

But no. I’m still here.

I tap my fist against my forehead and blow out a breath.

“Go?” India says.

“Yeah.” I sigh and rub my forehead with the tips of my fingers. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

She squeals. “You’re the bestest brother ever!”

And she hangs up, leaving me to face the least preferable scenario alone.

So that’s nice.

It takes me another few minutes to push myself off the dresser and gingerly make my way to Nick’s door. I lift my hand and blow out a quick breath before I shake my head and rap my knuckles against the door twice in quick succession.

Well, I tried.

Clearly, he’s asleep and?—

The door opens right as I’m about to turn away. I bite back a curse and force a smile on my face.

He frowns and zeroes in on my lips. “Are you in pain or something?”

The smile turns into a grimace, and considering it was already bordering on one it’s not much of a change. “Yes. Appendicitis. Can you please operate?”

He quirks a brow.

I take a deep breath and fix the smile back on. “I need to borrow your car.”

He lets out a snort of laughter. “No,” he says flatly.

I have a brief fantasy about wrapping my hands around his neck and squeezing as hard as I can.

Indy! I can’t breathe, he would say.

And I would smile and say,Yeah. Isn’t it great?

All the unbearable tension between us has started to manifest itself through vivid dreams of violence lately.

Another deep breath. “Dia and Bridge need a ride. You’re the only one with a car in this house right now, so…” I hold my arms out and shrug. I get zero reaction. I sigh. “I promise I’ll get the car back to you as good as new. I wouldn’t ask if I had any other options. I don’t. You’re it.”

A couple of seconds pass in silence. His gaze stays on me, and I can’t seem to move. Or speak.

“What’s in it for me?” His voice is sleep rough.

Sexy.

The unbidden thought makes my shoulders tense. I look away, angry at myself and impatient in equal measure. “I don’t know. Anything. Whatever you want.”

He shuts the door in my face. My mouth drops open for a moment before I snap it shut and my jaw clenches.

I raise both middle fingers and aim them at the door before I stomp downstairs. I glance out the living room windows. The lights are off in the pool house where Dad’s studio is. He’s been spending whole days and nights there recently, which means he’s been inspired, so now he’s finally asleep after most likely having been up for a minimum of two days. Waking him up now would take an army. Or hard drugs. I have neither.

Instead, I head to Mom’s study. I pull the drawers open one after another until I find the emergency credit card. I tap it against my palm. Dia didn’t want to get in trouble with Mom, and an unexpected charge for an Uber to fuck knows where is sure to guarantee just that, but she’s also good enough that there’s a fifty percent chance she manages to somehow talk herself out of that sticky situation with some creative lying. Whatever. It’ll be her problem once that moment comes. And it’s not like I have a lot of options here.

I grab the card, pull out my phone, and head to the front door. My eyes are on my phone while I walk, and I slam right into Nick as a result.

My phone and the credit card fly out of my hands and clatter on the floor.