“Talking is what you guys need to do.”
“I tried that,” I huffed. “He started the fight and left for work.”
“That was a dick move on his part, and I’m sure he knows that.”
“I guess.” I sighed.
Bronagh called for Nico to help her get comfortable in bed, and I used it as an excuse to take my leave. I walked back to my apartment building, enjoying another hot day. Instead of going up to my apartment, I got into my car and scrolled through some new emails. I opened an email from IKEA to read through their latest offers, and my eyes went wide when I saw the sale they had on art supplies. As well as the new shipments of supplies, they had restocked others. I usually went to my local craft store to get my supplies, but when IKEA had deals on, I took notice.
Always.
That email decided what I was going to do while I waited on news of Keela and Alec’s baby. I put my car in gear and drove towards the bypass. It took twenty minutes, but eventually, I merged with traffic on the motorway. I turned up the volume on my radio and bopped along. Just as Celine Dion was about to slay bitches everywhere with her high note in “The Power of Love”, my car jerked mid-drive.
For a moment, I thought I was in the wrong gear, but when I checked, I noted that I wasn’t. I gripped the steering wheel when the car jerked again, then out of nowhere, smoke came from the bonnet of my car, and the engine made an awful chugging noise. Instantly, I signalled to the left. Pulling into the breakdown lane, I flipped my hazard lights on when I came to a stop.
“Ye’ve got to be jokin’ me!”
I tried to start the car again, and nothing happened.
“Fuck!” I shouted and thumped the steering wheel. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!”
This was the last straw with this piece of shite car. It had cost me nothing but money fixing its many issues over the past two years, and I was done. I had earned enough money to buy a different car, something a lot smaller if I wanted a newer model, but anything would be better than the piece of shite Ford I currently owned. I got my phone from my bag and dialled Ryder Slater’s mobile number.
“Alannah?”
“Ryder?”
“No, it’s me.”
Damien.
I wasn’t surprised to hear his voice and dumbly asked, “Why’re ye’ answerin’ your brother’s phone?”
“Why are you calling my brother’s phone?”
His tone irked me.
“Because you’re an eejit, and I don’t wanna speak to ye’.”
He snorted. “Fine … here, you deal with her attitude.”
If one of us had an attitude, it was him.
“Thanks,” Ryder grunted. “Asshole.”
Silence.
“Hey, Alannah banana.”
That silly nickname he had recently taken to calling me made me feel like a little kid. I pretended that I found it annoying, but I secretly thought it was cute. I think Ryder knew that, so he kept on calling me it.
I sighed. “Hey, Ry.”
“What did my pigheaded baby brother do to annoy you?”
“Oh, nothin’, he just threw a tantrum that would rival Georgie, Jax, Locke, and the twins put together.”
“Well, fuck a duck.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
He chuckled. “What’s up, kid?”
“Me car broke down on the motorway. It made this really angry chuggin’ noise, then the engine just gave out. I’m sittin’ in the breakdown lane and don’t know what to do.”
“Which exits are you between?”
“Ten and eleven goin’ northbound on the M50.”
“We’ll get to you in about twenty minutes … maybe thirty, depending on the traffic. Okay?”
“Okay,” I answered. “Did ye’ know that Keela was in labour?”
“Yup,” he replied, popping the P. “Branna called me, and Nico called Damien. Branna just checked on the twins in the daycare unit at the hospital, so she’ll be able to be on shift to deliver their baby.”
I pressed my hand against my chest. “I’m so happy she’s doin’ it.”
“Me too,” Ryder answered, then muffled shouting could be heard in the background. “I gotta go, kid. We’ll be with you soon.”
He hung up before I could reply. I sat in my car for ten minutes before the heat became too much so I popped the bonnet before I got out of the car, lifted it up and propped the stick thingy in place to keep it open. I placed my hands on my hips and stared at the engine. Other than some lingering smoke and the intense heat of the machine, nothing seemed out of place. Not to me anyway. I moved to my right when I heard a car pull up behind mine. I knew it was too fast to be Ryder, so I wasn’t surprised when I found a tall, middle-aged man approaching me with a friendly smile.
“Car trouble?”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “I’m not sure what the problem is, but I’ve called roadside rescue to get it sorted.”