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I didn’t know.But he and I needed to talk.Preferably while he wasn’t stumbling through the house and we weren’t late for work.I’d take the chance to talk to him on the drive to the office, but I had a group session at the shelter this morning.
I wandered into the kitchen to find Brandon watching something over Adam’s shoulder on his laptop.Neither of them was smiling, in fact their frowns were almost identical.“What’s up?”I asked.
I stepped up next to Brandon so I could see.
The headline saidPolice Stand-off with Sandy Man Ends in Shots Fired.
What the fuck?
I scanned as much of the article as I could, given the small screen and the number of ads on the site, and gave up at too many words offering too little information.
Adam clickedPlayon the attached video, and cranked the sound up instead.
I listened in fascination and horror as the news anchor in a generic suit and a flat expression explained how the police had gone to arrest someone last night who was suspected of a fire in a downtown location.
I knew the address—it was Adam’s workshop.
And the picture they flashed on the screen was Adam’s business partner.
He’d opened fire on the police, but apparently they managed to take him into custody without anyone getting killed.
No.Seriously.What the actual fuck?
“This is fucked up, even for you,” Brandon muttered.
Adam slapped the lid shut on his laptop and twisted in his seat.“Did you just blame me for this?”
“What?No.”Brandon gave him a confused look.“I’m just saying—”
“You’ve beenjust sayinga lot of nothing since I got here, and I don’t know why.Is the passive aggressive bullshit because you want me to leave?”Adam asked.“Am I intruding on Brandon’s Magical Manic Boinking Time?”
The phrase would’ve made me snicker if the tension in the room hadn’t just cranked to a breaking point.
Brandon stared at Adam.“I’m not accusing you of anything, and if I said you can stay here, you’re welcome to stay here.But you don’t have the best track record.That’s not me mincing words, it’s the truth.This casualty for your current big plan is just more obvious than most of the distractions you toss aside and move on from without a second thought.”
And apparently we were doing this now.
Adam gave a strained laugh.“Not everyone knew what they wanted to be the instant they turned eighteen.You realize you had your future handed to you, don’t you?Brandon the Perfect Prodigy?One of Rinslet’s golden children.”
“I work as hard as anyone at my fucking job.”Brandon spoke through clenched teeth.
“So do I,” Adam snapped.“Do you think I like being thirty-two and not knowing where my next paycheck is coming from?Just because I didn’t opt to sell my soul to the corporate slog doesn’t mean I’m not trying to do something with my life.”
“Some of us had to sell our soul, to keep from leaning on the rest of the world and expecting them to carry our weight.”
Brandon’s phrasing stuck in my thoughts.Did he think he had done that?Surrendered something for his job?Did he think I expected him to carry my weight?
“Sometimes—”
“Stop.”I cut Brandon off before this could deteriorate any further.He and Adam turned their irritated glares on me.“Stop before one of you says something you regret.”
“Too late.”Adam stood and grabbed his laptop.“I’ll be out by the time you get home, and I’ll remember thatyou’re always welcome hereis bullshit.”
Damn it.“Adam.”
“Let him leave.”Brandon sounded regretful, but not as much as maybe he should.
I turned to him.“What was that?”I kept my tone sympathetic rather than accusing.
