Mom seemed taken aback, but recovered quickly. I’d given her a rough outline about Lucah and Ryder’s childhood and that their parents were dead, so she knew not to ask about that.
“But you have a place to stay now, and a brother that cares about you very much. There are some who don’t have anyone.” That was true. I was relieved when Dad brought the tea in and lightened things up.
After that one little hiccup, things went smoothly. We had tea and coffee and then it was time to go. Mom and Sloane hugged with promises of dress fittings, and Dad shook Ryder’s hand and winced again while Ryder said how beautiful the house was and Dad said he was welcome back anytime.
And then we got in the car.
“Why the fuck did you talk about living in a car, Ryder?” Lucah said, the second all the doors closed and everyone’s seatbelt was buckled.
“Oh, are we saying fuck again? Good. That wasn’t easy.” Ryder lay back against the seat and stretched his legs out as much as he could.
“Did you hear what I just said?” Lucah turned in his seat so he could look Ryder full in the face.
“Yes, I heard you. Calm the fuck down. Are you telling me your girlfriend’s parents don’t know about your poorer-than-dirt past?”
“No, I’m just saying that it’s not acceptable dinner conversation and you never should have brought it up.” He turned back around and started the car. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever seen Lucah this angry, and I could understand him being upset, but this kind of anger was something else entirely.
“I didn’t bring it up! Mrs. Clarke did! Why are you freaking out about this?” Lucah just shook his head and his hands gripped the steering wheel so hard I was getting a little scared. Neither Sloane nor I said anything, afraid of making it worse.
“Just watch your mouth.”
Ryder didn’t answer and just stared out the window.
I waited for a few minutes of silence to pass before I gingerly touched Lucah’s arm.
“Are you okay?” I tried to keep my voice down, but of course everyone heard me.
“Fine,” he snapped, and I took my hand back.
“What the fuck? Now you’re mad at her? What did she do?” Ryder couldn’t keep his mouth shut anymore.
“Shhh,” Sloane said in a feeble attempt to calm the situation so it didn’t escalate any more than it already had.
Lucah didn’t answer Ryder and just kept his eyes on the road. I looked out the window, and everyone else did the same.
The ride back was silent and tense. I couldn’t wait to get out of the car. Lucah got up and let Ryder out, and I did the same with Sloane. Ryder stomped off and Sloane followed him, running a little to catch up.
Lucah pushed the driver’s seat back in place and sat back down, so I did the same. I wasn’t going anywhere until he told me what the hell was going on. His jaw was hard and his hands clenched the steering wheel again.
Lucah might have been pissed, but it only took a few moments for him to start thawing. His hands slipped down the steering wheel and his face relaxed. He took one deep breath and then closed his eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry for?” I said.
“I’m sorry for doing that in front of you. I’m sorry for lashing out at Ryder. I’m sorry for lashing out at you. And I’m sorry for the way you’re looking at me right now.” He leaned forward and rested his head on the steering wheel.
“Why were you so upset that Ryder mentioned living in a car?” He lifted his head and sighed.
“It was a knee-jerk reaction. I don’t know, Rory. Honestly I don’t. I just hate talking about that part of my life and it got me upset seeing Ryder being so cavalier about it. I hope your parents didn’t notice.”
“Oh, I’m sure they didn’t,” I lied. My parents weren’t born yesterday. But I’d let Lucah believe that little white lie.
“That’s sweet, Rory,” Lucah said. “But I’m pretty sure they did.” Lucah wasn’t born yesterday, either.
“I’ll smooth it over. Don’t worry about that. Are you sure you’re doing okay?” I touched his shoulder and he took my hand and kissed it.
“I think so. Shit, now I have to deal with Ryder. Where the hell did they go?” He looked over his shoulder, but Ryder and Sloane were nowhere to be seen.