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“You’ve never lived anywhere else?”
Lando swallowed. “When I was very little, I lived in Kansas City.”
Violet twisted and looked her up and down. Lando raised an eyebrow back in her direction but let it drop as she leaned over the center console so she could hear Diane better.
“I’ve never lived outside of Kansas.”
“Have you traveled much?”
“No.” Lando shivered. She couldn’t tell what the questions were about, but it was at least nice to have some normal conversation going. Violet’s muscles tightened all through her jaw and down her neck. Lando couldn’t fathom why.
“Never traveled, huh? Violet and I used to travel all the time.”
Violet shifted a glance to Diane, one full of curiosity and disdain.
“Remember when we went down to Florida to chase that hurricane?”
“Yeah, I do,” Violet muttered, anger lacing every word. “Utter failure.”
“How did you fail chasing a hurricane?”
Violet was about to speak, but Diane interrupted her. “Vi had to leave right before it hit landfall. Her grandmother had fallen ill, so she went back home instead of staying it out.”
Diane looked as though she was pleased to share the story. Violet, however, looked even more angry than before. “She died that week.”
“I’m so sorry,” Lando offered.
“Don’t be,” Diane butted in again. “She didn’t care much for Vi, anyway.”
“How can anyone not care for their own flesh and blood?” Lando’s mind spun, although she knew some answers to that. Her own father hadn’t loved or cared for her much, but mostly because he’d been addicted to drugs. Violet, however prickly she had been with Lando lately, wasn’t someone she could see arbitrarily hating.
“Because Vi’s gay.”
Lando tensed. She glanced over at Violet, whose jaw was clenching so hard she was probably going to break a tooth. Lando’s heart raced. She’d thought it but to have it confirmed was another thing entirely.
“That really isn’t for you to share,” Lando stated, crossing her arms and cringing the instant she hit her stitches.
Diane shrugged. “It’s true. Her grandmother hated her for it, took her out of the will, and left her with nothing.”
“That’s not something you just share with other people when it isn’t yours to share, Diane. If I wanted to tell you that both my parents died when I was little or that my mom was a young mother or that I was an unplanned pregnancy, that’s my choice. You just took that choice away from her.” Lando surged forward, making sure Diane heard her. “We all have our own stories, and they are ours to share with whom we want when we want.”
Diane wrinkled her nose, and Lando’s stomach lurched. She couldn’t handle someone who would dismiss someone they’d been friends with for years so easily. Violet looked absolutely offended.
“And for the record, I like women, too. So it’s not a huge fucking deal.”
Flopping into her seat, Lando shifted so she wouldn’t have to talk to Diane anymore. The car was silent until Diane pulled off at a gas station. Reluctantly, Lando got out of the vehicle and trudged inside. She needed to find something to eat so she could take her next antibiotic. The things always made her nauseous no matter what she ate with them, but at least if she ate she was less likely to puke.
She grabbed a bag of pretzels that was under five dollars and went to pay for them. Violet strutted through the store and toward the bathrooms. Diane came right for her.Great.Lando paid for her food, and Diane followed her to the car.
“Hey, I need you to pay me back for the pills.”
“Oh…sure. How much were they?”
“Just about a hundred dollars.”
“Okay. I’ll just…go to the ATM then.” Lando dropped her pretzels inside the vehicle before she went back inside. It didn’t take her long to pull the money out, but seeing the balance dwindle to double digits was not fun. Through the window she could see Violet glaring at Diane as she got into the car. It was going to be a long, fun car ride the rest of the way.
She should have brought headphones. Violet came back into the gas station, flexing her fingers as she walked around looking for something. Lando pocketed her wallet and stayed away as much as she could. She didn’t want to be stuck between them any more than the next person, but she had a feeling that was going to be her job for the rest of the drive at least. She never thought being part of storm chasing team was going to come with so much drama. She’d always thought it’d be focused on storms and nothing else. That they would live, breathe, and sleep by storms.
