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Lance’s eyes are shadowed by darkness, but the green flecks that are visible enthral me.
“We’ve had power cuts throughout the years,” I tell him, knowing I’ve left a lot out. “I’m not afraid of a lot, but the depth of nothingness that darkness brings terrifies me.”
Lance doesn’t say anything. He smooths his hand across the nape of my neck and pulls me closer.
Should that feel as natural, as good as it just did?
I didn’t tell him to be comforted, but having him hold me right now, after the week we’ve had as a family… I slip my arms around him, looking out at the lake. “Can I ask you a question?”
I feel him nod.
“Why is your mum’s name saved under Vanessa on your phone and not Mum?”
I feel it leave him. The lightness. And in its place forms something I can’t place.
I’m thankful when he doesn’t let go of me, instead leaning back. “Things got really sour after my dad died. I thought my mum and sisters were struggling because he’d died so suddenly. But I wasn’t there to see what was happening. I went away to university. Knew I had to finish my degree and take over the company like he wanted me to.”
“What was happening?”
He stares through me, that same look in his eye that he had on the night of the gala. Anger, I had told him, and maybe there is anger there deep within, but the look in his eyes right now is the harsh reality of a betrayal. Someone hurt him.
“They destroyed everything we ever worked for.”
I wince, heat spreading through my chest like fire. “What’s everything?”
“My dad’s company, the house, any money to our name and then that too… everything that held value was lost. And then, when our nan got sick, and I asked them to take care of her, to take turns each day because they weren’t working, they told me they couldn’t and said they’d put her in a home. She died a week after being admitted.”
“Lance—”
He shakes his head, realising how far he’s gone and turns away from me to look back out across the lake. “You don’t…” I see his jaw clench. “Your brother saved my ass. Don’t apologise.”
“Mason helped you?”
“He gave me a job. I mean, I’m the shit when it comes to numbers.” My lips twitch when he shifts his face back to me, his voice thick with emotion as his eyes shine. “My dad’s bike was all we had left when I found out what was happening. It was a wreck from the crash and worthless to my mum and sisters. I could’ve got it fixed and sold it on, but I didn’t have a penny to my name. I tried. I worked in a bar on campus for a bit. Learnt how to make a pretty good cocktail.” He gives me a killer smile, lighting me up from the inside out. “But that was never enough. And then Mase told me he’d cover the arrears on the mortgage, said to come in and play with some figures for your dad until we were square. He bought the bike from me, paying me what it was purchased for. Said I could buy it back when I was straight. Things got back on track after a while, but my dad’s company had already been in liquidation and sold off by that point, and there wasn’t a single client in the country that wanted to work with me.”
“You lost the company completely?” I know how much blood and sweat my father put into Ellis and Frey. I know how much it means to him. To lose that…
“We lost everything but the house… thanks to your brother.”
“And the bike.”
He flexes his jaw, a slight shake to his head. “No. Mase still has it.”
I frown. “Why?”
“It’s a wreck. I don’t want it.”
Mason has the bike? I had no idea. “I’m sorry you went through what you did, Lance. That your mum and sisters did that.”
He eyes me, arching a thick brow. “It’s not all bad, Lowell. You pay me well.”
I push him back a step, breaking the mood that’s been cast over us. “I’m kinda your boss, right?”
“Absolutely not.”
“It’s my name on the door.” I shrug, stepping back when he steps forward. “I could get a position tomorrow and be set up on your floor by the end of the day.” Another step. This time I remove my phone from my pocket and throw it to the sandy area between the grass and water. “I could have your fancy office for myself. I could fire your ass.”
His eyes follow my phone, then come back to me.
