Page 99 of Wicked Brutal

“You argue first.”

“That doesn’t mean I didn’t listen.”

“See?”

Tobias smiles. Then he looks down again. “Victor says wives shouldn’t argue.”

I don’t jump on it. I just lean back. “Sounds boring.”

Tobias looks at me. “Dad says men make the decisions.”

“What do you think?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know.”

“That’s okay.”

“He says women get too emotional.”

I bump my shoulder against his. “You know something?”

“What?”

“I get emotional too.”

His forehead wrinkles. “You? But you’re Ryan.”

I stare at him. Ally makes a strangled noise. “What does that mean?”

“You’re cool.”

“Thank you.”

“And strong.”

“Also thank you.”

“And you don’t cry.”

There it is. I settle back into the couch.

“Yeah, I do.”

His eyes widen. “You cry? When?”

“When I’m sad. When I’m scared. Sometimes when something hurts bad enough.”

“But Dad says boys don’t cry.”

“Your dad’s wrong.” He looks startled. I don’t soften it. Dad never lied to me just because the truth was uncomfortable. “You remember Daisy?”

His expression changes. “Danny’s sister.”

“She died and I saw Danny cry a lot. So did I.”

Tobias looks at me. “You cried when Daisy died? Why?”

“Because I loved her. And because Danny was hurting. Becca was hurting. All of us were.”