We stared at each other for a single instant. Ryder’s phone broke his gaze from mine.
“Dude, Mom’s calling me. Youneedto call them.”
“Wait, you haven't spoken to your mother?” I asked Miles. Then to Ryder. “Haveyou?!”
Miles answered first. “I had to shut my phone off. She was threatening to make AI porn of me getting gang banged by a flock of Big Birds. Like what the genuine fuck?”
“You’ve been missing for almost two days,” I said to Ryder. “She knows Miles is here, and I went to make sure he’s okay. Butyouneed to call them, too. Like right now... Actually—”
I snatched the phone from Ryder’s hand and answered it. “Mrs. Beckett?”
“Ryd—Finn?! Is he okay? What happened??”
Her husband was in the background saying, “Are they okay? Is he with them?”
I said, “Your sons are fine. I’m with them. Hold on.” I took the phone from my ear. “You’re on speaker with them, Mrs. Beckett.”
“Hi, Mom,” Ryder and Miles said at the same time.
“Where were you? What happened? Are you okay, Miles? We’re so proud of you, honey.”
Miles leaned into the phone. “I’m good, Mom. Just shaken up and tired. And kinda dizzy. But I’m good. I talked it all out with Ryder. We’re good.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” she said, the emotion clear in her voice.
Mr. Beckett’s too, in the background. “Ryder, where’d you go?”
He laughed. “It’s a long story that I actually need to tell Finn. But I’m okay. A little hungover, but fine. Can I call you later?”
“Yes, honey. Come here when you can. Miles, we spoke to the venue, and we’re not wasting all the money we spent. We’re having an unwedding! So come here, and we can head over together.”
Ryder raised his brow at his brother. “You guys are gonna celebrate in the corpse of Miles’s failed marriage?”
Mr. Beckett got closer to the phone. “The money’s spent, bud. Might as well enjoy the food and booze.”
“Fair enough.” Ryder chuckled, then told his parents he’d call them later. When he hung up, he said, “Gonna party at your zombie wedding? I think that’d be perfect.”
Miles sent his brow up his forehead and blinked. “I mean, the food was pretty fucking fire, bro. Bree’s crazy, but she has good taste.”
Ryder whacked his knee. “Then you better go get ready! The zombie wedding awaits! It’s almost cocktail hour.”
“I don’t feel like rehashing the whole thing. Let’s just head over together. Or hang here, game, order wings, and get trashed.”
That sounded awesome. And depending on the outcome of the conversation I was about to have with Ryder, I’d make sure it happened as often as possible until Miles was doing better. But his whole family was waiting for him, ready to pour love and support into the hole Bree had rotted through his soul. He needed to get out of there so we could talk. Or fight, or fuck. Or all three.
Ryder tensed his eyes. “Dude, I don’t care where you go, but I need to talk to Finn. You can go wait in your car for a while, but we need some privacy.”
“Oh shit. Yeah. True. Okay. I’ll let you guys talk. I should head over there anyway.”
“It’ll make them feel a lot better if you did,” I said.
Miles got up and got his stuff, and Ryder walked him to the door. Before he left, he said, “You’ll come, right? Both of you?” His brave face fell. “I kinda need you guys right now.”
“Wouldn’t miss it even if there was a real zombie attack,” Ryder said, hugging him.
When Ryder returned to the couch, whatever ease there was with his brother around vanished.
He said, “Look, I—”
