Rend (Riven 2)

“Have a heart, Rhys,” Rhys’s dad, Neil, said, and Rhys extracted me from the awkwardness by introducing him.

“Hi,” I said, like a horrible echo, and shook Neil’s hand. I was very glad he didn’t seem to want to hug me.

Rhys’s sister Morgan’s family had gone right to the hotel since it would be the kids’ bedtime soon, but just Rhys’s parents seemed to take up the whole backyard. I wasn’t sure how we were going to fit twenty-five more people here tomorrow.

But Rhys got his parents settled with more beer, and Grin could talk to anyone, so I let them buzz around me and edged my chair closer to Rhys’s.

Caleb and Theo arrived with takeout a little while later, and Mona gave Caleb hell for never calling her and embarrassed Theo by saying she loved his music. We ate and talked and it was . . . fine. It was perfectly fine. I told Mona and Neil about work, and they smiled like their son had married a real person, and it was all fine.

When I brought the plates from dinner inside and put them in the sink, Mona startled me.

“I heard the mac and cheese didn’t go so well,” she said. Her voice was warm and she smiled as she said it.

“Uh, yeah, it was a disaster. Sorry.”

She ignored my apology and simply said, “If you ever need anything, Matt, you can call me. Recipes or cooking lessons. Or someone to talk to. Anything. You don’t have to, but if you ever want to, I’m here.”

It was such a simple offer, so sincerely given. And it reminded me so much of her son. I felt a rush of gratitude for her that almost knocked the wind out of me. Gratitude for raising such a caring, wonderful man. Gratitude for teaching him to love so hugely and so generously. Gratitude for welcoming me into his life even though I probably wasn’t what she’d dreamt of for him.

“Thank you,” I mumbled, choked up. She squeezed my shoulder and nodded. I think she knew that I was saying thank you for a whole lot more than cooking lessons.

“Fuuuuuck,” I said, when Rhys’s parents left for the hotel, leaving Rhys, Grin, Caleb, Theo, and me outside.

Everyone started laughing.

“Oh man,” said Grin, “I thought you were gonna actually piss yourself when Rhys’s momma hugged you. Lord.” He wiped away tears of laughter and leaned back when I tried to hit him.

“Remember that time my mom called you a skank?” Rhys asked Caleb.

“What?” I asked.

“My mom had just learned to text, and we were out on tour, and I had texted her a picture of me and Caleb, and he was wearing this black T-shirt with white stripes down the front. So she texted him and was trying to call him a skunk but she typed skank and sent it before she noticed.”

Caleb laughed. “God, I got this text that just said You’re a skank! and I went to Rhys all outraged, like ‘What the hell truth did you tell your mother about me?’”

Rhys winked at me. “Yeah, so then I stole Caleb’s phone and texted back Words hurt, Mona! And then she saw what she wrote and . . .” Rhys dissolved into giggles.

“She called me and apologized,” Caleb finished. “We were about to go play a show, and here’s Rhys’s mom like, ‘Caleb, sweetie, I am so sorry I called you a skank. I do not think you are a skank. I’m actually not completely clear on what makes someone a skank . . .?’”

We all laughed. Caleb and Theo left soon after that, and Rhys walked them out.

“Can’t believe that’s Theo Decker,” Grin said. “Man. What is your life.”

“I know. The first time I met him it was like he must be a stunt double or something.”

We sat in silence for a minute. Something had been nagging at me for months, and I’d almost texted Grin about it but chickened out every time.

“Hey, man, um. When you— I mean— Uh.”

“Speak, Matty.”

“Did you leave to go to Florida because I kissed you?” I blurted.

Grin froze and then glared at me.

“What? No way, Grim! Of course not. Are you serious?”

I nodded.

“Hate to break it to you, bro. You’re cute and all but a kiss from you ain’t enough to make a man move a thousand miles, you feel me?”

Rhys’s hands dropped onto my shoulders.

“I beg to disagree,” he said and kissed me. Grin chuckled.

Rhys sat down and I grilled Grin.

“You sure?”

“I had to get out of the city, man, you know that. My uncle’s friend had that job. Win-win. I didn’t . . . I didn’t know you even remembered that. Have you worried about it all these years?”

“Course I remember. I thought I ruined our friendship for a minute. I jumped on you all—”