“Car accident,” she said. She stared down at her fingers on the table top. “It’s been about a year. We moved up here a few months ago because we have family here, and our uncle kind of pressured us to move.”
“You’re not from Chicago?”
“No,” she said, “Quincy.”
I thought it was a little town near St Louis, but I wasn’t sure. I wondered if she was close to her uncle or if her brother was. I wondered if she wanted to move or felt forced into it. There were a hundred questions I wanted to ask just so I could learn about her, listen to her voice, and watch her eyes when she told me.
Maybe it was the drinks or the stupid joke, but she did decide to open up. She told me how much she missed her parents and how her brother had been trying to help; he just wasn’t. She talked a little about her uncle, who lived in a huge mansion, and how he wanted them to both live with him. Her brother had done so, but she took up an apartment after being there just a few weeks, preferring to live on her own.
“He wants me to move back in with them,” Milena said. “I don’t even quite understand why, but he’s really insisting on it. Actually, I think our uncle is insisting, and Micah is just bringing me the message. Whatever it is, I’m sick of it.”
“I can understand that,” I replied with a nod. “I live with my family, and it can be a pain in the ass.”
“It is,” she agreed. “I know they’re just trying to help – to look after me – but I want to look after myself.”
I nodded meaningfully, and she looked up at me and smiled a little.
“Thanks, Nick.”
“For what?”
“Just...for hanging out with me.”
Before I could really respond, I heard someone calling her name from across the bar.
“Milena!”
A dude in a dark jacket and jeans yelled across the bar and headed straight for us. He had slightly darker blond hair than Milena’s, but their features were similar enough to make their relationship obvious – this had to be the brother.
“Jesus, Micah!” she said with a heavy sigh. “You scared the shit out of me.”
“Well, you shouldn’t be here in the first place,” Micah snapped. He glanced over to me with narrowed eyes and then completely dismissed me. “I’m taking you home.”
“I’m not really ready to go home,” Milena said. “I was actually kind of thinking I’d hang out here for a while with my friend.”
I felt my skin warm at the word.
“No, you’re not.” The guy didn’t even glance at me, just reached down and grabbed onto her elbow, which she shook loose.
“Dude,” I said with a smile, “she’s a big girl, and-”
“Fuck you,” he snapped. Though he glanced at me enough to size me up, he didn’t really acknowledge me at all. I obviously wasn’t big enough to be a concern for him because he kept going on. “Did I ask you for some sort of opinion or anything? No? Didn’t think so.”
He turned back to Milena, who rolled her eyes and looked away from him. I looked back and forth, trying to figure out if I should step in or not. I wasn’t going to let him take her against her will – no way in hell – but I was also pretty sure she might take offense if I interfered, like she wasn’t capable of handling him on her own.
“Home,” he said. “Now.”
“You are not Dad,” Milena yelled back at him. “I am not going anywhere.”
“Yeah, you are!” he insisted.
I barely heard him at that point because those beautiful, magical eyes were filling up with tears and making my chest ache. I took a step forward and placed myself not quite in between them but with my shoulder moving in that direction. Putting space between them seemed really important.
“You should go,” I said quietly as I looked up at him and realized what a damn big guy he was. “She said she’s not leaving just yet. I’ll make sure she gets home okay.”
“Get the fuck out of my way!” Micah growled at me. He moved forward a bit, and one hand pressed sharply against my shoulder, which didn’t send me reeling or anything, but I had to take a step back to keep my balance.
The next thing I knew, Evan was between us.