Page 16 of Eddie

EDDIE COULD SEE FROM Matthias’s expression that whoever was calling, it wasn’t good. He wanted to ask, but he wasn’t sure it was his place just yet. Instead, he leaned back in his seat and gestured at Matthias’s phone. “You can get that if you need to.”

“I’m pretty sure I don’t actually need to, and I definitely don’t want to, but she’s going to continue calling if I don’t.”

Matthias looked apologetic. It broke Eddie’s heart a little. Eddie’s family was perfectly normal. Yes, his parents and his siblings annoyed him sometimes, but they loved each other, and they weren’t as demanding as Matthias’s family clearly was. From the little Eddie had seen, it was clear they were a burden that Matthias had to carry on his own, and Eddie didn’t like that, but it wasn’t his place to say anything. Matthias was an adult, and it was his family. If he wanted something to change, he’d have to make that happen. Eddie would support him through it, but right now, there wasn’t much he could do.

Matthias took a deep breath and answered. “Hey, Mom,” he said.

He winced when his mother answered. Eddie did the same because he could hear the woman’s voice as clearly as if she was sitting next to him, and he wasn’t a shifter. He couldn’t imagine how loud her voice was to Matthias, who had to lower the phone.

“I just got a call from Jenna! What are you thinking, Matthias?”

“Hello to you, too, Mom.”

“Don’t you mom me, Matthias. Jenna was supposed to be home yesterday. You insisted that you had to stop somewhere for the night, fine, but why do you have to stop tonight, too? Didn’t you sleep last night?”

“It’s hard to sleep when Jenna is snoring in the next bed.”

“Nonsense. She told me you accused her of snoring, but we all know it’s you.”

Matthias looked annoyed. It was understandable considering what Eddie could hear of the conversation—which was all of it. He wanted to speak up for his mate, but he couldn’t. They hadn’t even discussed the fact that they were mates. They hadn’t said those words. Eddie had hinted at it, and Matthias had all but confirmed it, but they really needed to have a conversation, and Matthias’s family was making it hard. Part of Eddie wished that Matthias had driven his sister home and come back. That way, they wouldn’t have had to deal with all of this.

“What do you want, Mom?”

“For you to drive my baby home tonight. You’re making her stay in dinky motels. After what happened to her, she should be home.”

“Nothing happened to her. She got dumped by a guy she’d known for three weeks. It’s not like she lost her husband of twenty years.”

“It doesn’t mean she’s not hurt.”

“She wasn’t hurt when she stole Tommy’s earphones.”

“How dare you accuse your sister of doing something like that?”

“I was there. I saw her do it.”

“I don’t care what you think you saw. You need to bring Jenna home.”

“I will, tomorrow. I need more sleep, and we’ve already stopped for the night. It’s not like I’m making her sleep under a bridge or in the truck. She found a decent motel, and I gave her money to pay for the room. She’ll be fine.”

“I’m sure she will be, but what about your brother?”

Matthias blinked, clearly surprised by the question. Eddie wondered what was happening. He couldn’t help but wonder if the entire family was like Jenna and Matthias’s mother. Were they also this demanding? Eddie would hate it if that were the case.

“What about him?” Matthias asked.

“He needs you.”

“He always needs something. What happened?”

“Well, you would know if you were here, wouldn’t you? Now he’s going to have to spend the night in jail.”

Eddie’s eyes widened. Whatever had happened, it sounded serious. Maybe Matthias needed to go.

He reached over the table to grab Matthias’s hand. Matthias looked up, his eyes wide, and Eddie nodded toward the phone. “If you need to go, you should,” he murmured.

To his surprise, Matthias shook his head. Eddie would be out the door already if one of his siblings were in jail, but he told himself once again that he didn’t know Matthias’s family.

“Whatever the reason he’s in jail, I’m sure he deserves it,” Matthias said.