Page 33 of Give Me Peace

“Are we preparing for a hurricane I’m unaware of?” I look form one man to the next for an explanation.

“Yeah, Hurricane Kash,” Ro grumbles.

“Listen.” My brother pops up from behind the island, sucker hanging from his mouth. “Every time I saw something, I couldn’t help but wonder when was the last time my Toaster Strudel got to eat it. So, in the buggy it went.”

“Toaster Strudel. Really?” I give my quacked-out brother a long, hard look. Searching for any lick of sanity still bebopping around that head of his.

“It was on the brain.” Kash taps his temple with his finger. “Look, Best Friend. I got us every flavor!” He holds up several boxes of the frozen pastries, a stupid grin plastered on his face.

“You bought all of this because of me?” Saylor whispers, looking slightly overwhelmed.

“No.” Kash’s eyebrows draw together indignantly. “Kade did.” He points to the man clomping in with more bags in his hands, his black doc martins haphazardly laced, as usual. “Why spend my money when I can spend his?”

“Don’t look so horrified, Say.” Kade drops the load he was carrying and ruffles her hair. “I’m sure it won’t be long before you’re sprinting around a Target, competing with Kash in the ‘who can spend the most’ department.”

“Unlikely,” Saylor retorts. “That would require money, of which I have zero. And this…” she spins in a slow circle, taking in all the bags. “This looks like it was really expensive, Havok.” Her voice gets fainter with each word, and a little disjointed from where she’s chewing on her thumbnail nervously. It also doesn’t escape my notice that Kade seems completely unfazed by Saylor using his first name.

“Yes, you do,” Kade states, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. “You have money, pretty girl.”

“What?” Saylor’s nose scrunches in that cute fucking way it does when she’s confused.

“The work I did around the house for your mom helped up the resale value. After it sold and the remainder of the mortgage was paid, there was still a decent amount left. I saved it. Opened a separate account to stash it in just in case this day ever came. As soon as I built up my own savings, I had Krew invest some of your money a little at a time. Never more than I could compensate for in case it ended up being a loss. Luckily, that didn’t happen. How much is it sitting at currently?” Kade looks to me.

“Just shy of two hundred grand,” I answer.

“Two hundred thousand?” Saylor’s eyes are wide with shock and her lip’s part like she wants to say something, but no words come out. For a good minute she just stares at the two of us. Her teary gaze lands back on Kade. “You did that for me?” Her emotional whisper is heard by everyone because it’s completely silent.

“Didn’t I tell you I’d do anything for you, Say?” He tilts his head, looking at Saylor with complete and utter adoration. Like I said, it’s going to be a fucking shitshow when this blows up in all our faces. She stares at him, blinking through the tears that are desperately trying to fall, then steps closer and wraps her arms around his torso. I think we all quit breathing for a second as we witness Saylor freely hugging Kade, her tiny fists gripping the back of his shirt. His chin rests on the top of her head as he holds her just as closely, his eyes closed in contentment.

“You can do whatever you want, Say,” Kade tells her. “Pay for school. Buy a car. Donate it, for all I care. You’ll be taken care of, regardless. Long after that bank account is empty.” Damn, he’s a smooth-talking motherfucker.

“I don’t even know that to say.” She steps back, swiping a finger under her nose. “Thank you.”

Saylor turns and looks at me. Her steps are hesitant, but she slowly closes the space between us. Reaching out, she takes my hand in hers and gives it a gentle squeeze. A goddamn lightning strike would’ve been preferable to the reaction it causes in me. My brain is screaming ‘Abort!’ but my body has other plans because my fingers force their way between hers so they’re twined together.

“You’re welcome, Tink.”

And down goes another one.

“Okay. Feeling a little jelly.” Kash pouts, breaking up the moment.

We separate, both of us walking over to start unloading the stupid amount of food they bought. If it weren’t for Roan, I’d be concerned that it might go bad before we could eat it all. But that overgrown fucker is a garbage disposal. Not to mention, half of it’s junk and Kash will have no problem hoovering it down.

“Why are there so many pizza rolls?” Loch asks, holding up two family size packs.

“Because you can’t have movie night without proper snacks. Duh.” Kash rolls his eyes. “Let’s pop those babies in the oven and then we can decide what to watch.” He pulls out a baking sheet and slides it over to Loch.

“Anything but John Tucker Must Die,” Ro huffs, tossing the empty bags in the trash. “I’m not watching that shit again.”

“It’s a classic,” Kash gripes. “And it has an all-star cast.”

“It’s a chick-flick,” Ro deadpans. We stare at him dumbly, then at Saylor, who’s definitely a chick. She raises her eyebrow but says nothing. Girl knows how to bring a man down a peg, that’s for sure. The shit she pulled at breakfast was pure gold. A mumbled ‘fuck’ leaves Ro, making me grin.

“What would you like to watch Saylor?” Loch questions.

“A comedy maybe?” She looks unsure, like she doesn’t want to choose something that everyone else might not like. Probably doesn’t help that half the shit she’d be interested in Ro just dogged. Idiot. I look over at the giant, obtuse wall of muscle and glare at him pointedly while mouthing ‘fix it’. Kash grabs every sweet imaginable and drops them on the coffee table, then comes back for the chips. He’s gonna send us both to an early grave. Him from clogged arteries and me from worry.

“Let’s go check out our movie options, Little Fighter.” Ro nods for her to follow, and together they start perusing through the digital library we’ve amassed. By the time we’ve plated the pizza rolls and grabbed a few drinks from the fridge, everyone’s claimed a seat and the TV’s paused on the opening credits of whatever they agreed on. Saylor’s tucked in one corner, her legs folded beneath her with a blanket over her lap. Ro’s to her left with Kade on the opposite side. And there on the floor, right below her, sits my Saylor-obsessed brother with a Twizzler hanging from his mouth.