dash

“What’s up with you lately?” he asks as he releases the latch on his tailgate, stepping into the bed of the truck and maneuvering around the dresser.

“What are you talking about?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugs. “You’ve just been acting different.”

“Different? Different how?”

“Different like you’re trying to avoid me,” he says bluntly. “I had to call you three times this morning just to ask you to come help me with this.”

“Sorry man,” I offer, releasing a sigh. “I’ve just been out of it lately.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

“Nothing really,” I shake my head, biting the inside of my cheek as I swallow the guilt that comes from my mistruth.

My list of faults is long and ugly, but one thing you’ll never find on it is liar, especially when it comes to Mason. I’ve told him everything since I was twelve and women were no exception. The feeling that comes with not just keeping a secret, but lying directly to his face, is one I don’t fucking like. At all.

“Whatever,” he says as he faces his end of the dresser, proving he doesn’t believe me, but isn’t willing to turn it into a thing. “Can you grab the bottom and I’ll lift it out?”

“Dude,” I sigh, extending my arms and giving him a shrug.

“What?”

“Don’t be like that.”

“I’m not being like anything.”

“Yeah, you are,” I argue, moving to grab my end and watching him hoist his side up. “Here, prop your side on the tailgate and I’ll hold it up.”

“Got it,” he grunts. “Fuck, this shit is heavy,” he shakes his head, setting it down and jumping from the bed. “And what the hell are you talking about? I just asked you a question.”

“Can you go backwards?”

“Yeah,” he sighs, obviously irritated.

“I mean, maybe I should ask what your problem is?” I counter. “You’re the one acting like a jealous woman.”

“You’re fuckin’ crazy!” he argues. “I’m not acting like anything. I just get sick of trying to talk to people and getting the fuckin’ brush off.”

“No one is brushing you off,” I roll my eyes. “Shit, we shut the door.”

“Alright, set it down,” he huffs, a string of profanity leaving his lips. “And yeah, that’s exactly what’s happening here. I’ve got you, my mom and Evie all acting fucked up and I try to talk to you about it and I get nothing. I mean, if one of you had a real problem, you wouldn’t hesitate coming to me so you could unload all your bullshit, but I try to check up on everyone, make sure no one’s dealing with shit when they start acting all batshit and all three of you at once just lock up on me. It makes me feel like shit, dude.”

He pushes the door open and faces me, both of us lifting an end to the dresser before we move inside.

“Did you ever think maybe we’re not coming to you with our problems because there aren’t any problems?”

“No, because you’re all acting funky as shit.”

“Your attitude today is funky as shit,” I grumble, making him smirk. “I’m fine. Chill the fuck out, mom.”

“Whatever,” he says, lowering his end as I follow suit. “I don’t care anymore. You’re all grown-ups. Mom’s gonna do what she wants with the house, Evie can make her own call on New York and you can kiss my ass regardless,” he waves me off, giving my arm a brotherly pat. “Thanks for helping me with the dresser.”

“You’re welcome,” I say quietly, turning to follow him out. “What are you talking about? What about the house and New York?”

“Oh, now you wanna talk to me?” he smirks, shaking his head as we move into the kitchen, smirking when I flip him off. “Mom got an offer on the house, some real estate company has a client interested in buying it,” he shrugs, tossing me a bottle of water. “And Evie got a job offer in New York at this gallery doing restorative work. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime and she was all excited about it until she came home,” he shakes his head. “I don’t know what the hell is going on with her right now. She’s been busting her ass for this her whole life, even said this position was one of her first choices and now?” he shakes his head. “Now, it’s like she’s getting cold feet or something. I don’t know, man. It’s fuckin’ weird.”

I take in his words, my chest clenching with guilt and something more. Evie and I hadn’t talked much about school or her work, aside from today and a couple nights at dinner with her family, I could count on one hand how many times it had come up. However, ever since we got back from the cabin, she’d mentioned multiple things she wanted to do when she graduated, all of them centering around her coming home.

The thought that everything going on with us right now might have something to do with this crosses my mind, but I banish it immediately.

There’s no way Evie would give something like that up for someone like me, I think to myself. There’s not a fucking chance.

“That is weird,” I say quietly, clearing my throat and feigning interest in a non-existent speck on the counter. “Maybe it fell through?”

“No, man,” he shakes his head. “She was talking about it the night she got here. Her mind was made up and then we started talking about it on the plane on the way back from the cabin and she just shut down. I’ve tried bringing it up to her again three times and it’s the same every time, she just changes the subject on me. I don’t get it.”

Fuck.

I’d noticed she’d been acting weird, but I thought maybe she was about to get her period or something… I don’t fuckin’ know. I never imagined it was something this serious.

There’s no way this has anything to do with us, though. That I’m sure of. I’d been thinking about what she said that first morning at the hotel and she’d hit the nail on the head. It makes sense for me to want her, she’s perfect, but the other way around? Even if I thought there was a possibility Evie would want someone like me, I know she’s too smart to walk away from her dream job over a guy.

Especially a guy like me.

I’m about to say something, but before I can, his expression shifts and he turns to stare at me, making my chest freeze.

“You know what? I think I just figured it out,” he shakes his head, anger permeating his features. “You son of a bitch!”

“What?”

“She started acting weird after that night at the bar when the two of you disappeared!” he grounds out, making me freeze. “She said you went out there to make sure she was alright, but she talked to you about this, didn’t she? This has something to do with that bastard she met up in the fucking mountains, doesn’t it?”

“Who?” I ask, my mind reeling. “Steve?”

“Yeah!” he smacks the bar, shaking his head in fury. “That motherfucker! She told me he had a place around here and he was up there for some competition or some bullshit. That’s one of the reasons she went out with him,” he grounds out. “And she told you about it and you didn’t say shit to me. That’s what it is! She’s sticking around here for that loser. How could you keep something like that from me?”

“Whoa! Whoa! Mase! Chill the fuck out!” I put my hands up, halting his movements as he starts to stalk toward me, his face morphing into fury. “That’s not what happened, man! She didn’t tell me shit about New York,” I insist, grateful there’s still one thing I don’t have to lie about as I watch his features soften slightly. “Why the hell would she talk to me about it?”

He considers my words, finally relaxing.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” he sighs, shaking his head as he leans forward on the bar, raking his hands over his face. “I’m sorry, man. My heads just all fucked up right now.”

“It’s cool,” I pat his shoulder. “I know how it is.”

“Thanks,” he says low, releasing another sigh as he stands upright. “Well, whatever she’s got going on, she’d better get over it,” he shakes his head, draining the water from his bottle before tossing it into the trash. “And if I find out it’s a guy, God help them both.”