Page 62 of Changing Lanes

My hands shake as they hover over her puckered eyebrows. What if she is in trouble? What if someone did this to her and I’ve just been talking shit to her this whole time adding to the stress she’s dealing with? I thought I made it known that if someone hurt her, I’d handle it, handle them—the piece of shit—but what if our banter pushed her too far the other way?

Regardless, she has to know I’d take care of my roommate.

My roommate.

Marc’s door bounces off the wall in the next instant as I throw it open, then I do something I’ve never done, ever—step up to my brother.

“What the fuck? We done with knocking?”

Marc sits up and I smack the open bag out of his hands. I try not to use my height advantage over my friends, always try to slump a little lower, sit a little sloppier so they won’t feel intimidated, but not this time. This time I stand to my fullest height and let him bathe in my shadow. Make him feel the weight my presence actually carries. Let him fold from the pressure alone.

He pushes off the bed though, not backing down, but I don’t care. I’ve had enough.

“Her face. Talk. Now.”

“Ask. Her. Your. Self,” he grits out each syllable, even breaking ‘yourself’ into two words but, uh, fuck you. It’s one.

“I’m asking you. You sat across the fucking table from her, eating fucking rice and tiny pieces of meat-”

“Vegetables.”

“What?”

“There wasn’t any meat. It was all vegetables.”

I blink twice in rapid succession. What the hell? Don’t tell me the girl’s a vegan, too.

“What-the-fuck-ever,” I say, getting us back on track. One crisis at a time. “You sat there looking at her and you’re telling me you didn’t notice her fucking face? It’s mangled to shit!” I press, my chest as twisted as a pretzel. “What happened?”

“Chill the fuck out.” Dude shakes his head before bending to pick up the now empty bag. “She wouldn’t say exactly,” he sighs. “And I did ask, so fuck you. I’d never let that shit go and you know it.” His hand thumps my heaving stomach and I fight not to rip the goddamn thing off his arm. He is my brother but there’s only so much I can take. “She said it was work related but wouldn’t go into any real detail. I couldn’t tell if she was lying or not. Growing up the way she did though, she can take care of herself, so whatever did happen, I bet she already handled it.”

My eyebrows collide. “What do you mean by that? How’d she grow up?”

“Fuck, you’re stupid sometimes. Pay attention to someone other than yourself for once. Please.”

“Like how you’ve been going over to Kary’s more often? You want me paying attention to that?”

He just levels me with a look that I’d give anything to bottle just so I could unleash it on unsuspecting victims. Under any other circumstance, it’d be funny as shit. Right now though, he can fuck off with that look. Like all the way off, with a saddlebag stuffed full of his bullshit. I’ll even pack it for him.

Instead of picking up the cookies scattered across his bed, he folds the entire comforter inward, catching everything in the middle, before tossing it over his shoulder and walking out of the room like a ripped, tattooed Santa Claus that smokes like the chimney he’s supposed to go down.

He passes by a ton of maps, making them flutter. They’re from literally everywhere and they cover an entire wall of his room, all decorated with differently colored pins. I know some of them are places he’s been, most are places he wants to go, and the others…I have no clue. There are several colors up there but only Marc knows what they mean.

I trail him out to the living room and ask the question I can’t seem to find the right answer to. “What am I supposed to do?”

Marc pauses at the front door, glancing at Paige. “What do you want to do?”

I follow his gaze. Another good fucking question. What do I want to do?

I know what I don’t want to do. I don’t want to be that guy. The one that steamrolls over everyone and everything in his path without stopping to consider what others might be going through, too.

I know I don’t want to be the reason why Paige feels like she has to leave. Not anymore.

“Sorry about that.” I jerk my thumb over my shoulder, feeling some of my earlier fight leave me.

He nods slowly, working his jaw. “I should’ve warned you. You two have your own shit going on. I didn’t know what to think.”

Wait…