Beyond Reason

Chapter 20: Purpose

~Joey~

"You took it out," Keenan's brother, Rob says, looking at me like I have two heads.

"Yeah, I did. Wasn't that hard." He reaches a hand out and I happily relinquish possession of the heavy battery. I'm proud of myself for getting it out of the car, but that doesn't mean I'll let it rip out my arm. I'm still baffled at why I had to even do this. "Do you make everyone remove their batteries or just me?"

"Everyone who's not about to get their car stolen off the driveway."

I nod. Fair enough. "Where's Keenan?"

"Ashley's room, probably watching her sleep."

"Oh." I smile.

I look around the inside of the house, which is modern looking, but still has some properties that match the old vibe of the exterior. The low coffee table for one, is not only severely frayed, it's overstocked with several magazines and sheets of old papers.

The fireplace is less a fireplace and more a storage cabinet for dust and cobwebs. The bricks that line the arch of the fireplace have black and green mould growing in between them, giving the place an eerie vibe. A old, sad Christmas tree stands in the corner. Sad, I say, because the leaves have arched downward and the star on top is dangling from the tip like it hasn't been touched in years.

"You're way too young to be an uber driver," Rob's voice distracts me from staring at the blue curtains, which are the only things so far that look relatively new.

"Sorry?" I turn around to give him my full attention.

"When you drove up, I thought you'd be an uber driver. But you're young."

I'm not sure how to take that. "Thank you?"

He shrugs. "What are you doing here?"

"Standing," I answer, hoping he has the same sense of humor as Keenan. From the little I've heard about this guy, there's a big chance he doesn't. For brothers, he and Keenan look nothing alike. Rob is a few inches shorter than Keenan, but more muscular, which I'm assuming is as a result of frequenting a gym. He has a big beard which occupies the lower part of his face, adding to his macho man physique, and his eyes are a sparkling green, as opposed to Keenan's gray. The family has looks, I'll give them that for sure.

"Seriously, princess. What's your deal?" He asks me.

"I'm here as emotional support and my name is Joey Alvarez," I say, holding out a hand. I already know his name, but I still ask, "You?"

He pauses and looks at me, then barks a laugh as he shakes my hand with his rough one. A few seconds ago, I thought Keenan had rough hands. I can now say I was badly mistaken. "I'm Robert O'Connor. Keenan's former brother."

Oh, right, cause he emancipated.

"I didn't know emancipation came with a name change."

"It...doesn't," he says, though his confusion is obvious as to how I know that. "How'd you know?"

I shrug smugly. "I have my ways."

He scoffs. "The fuck you don't. Start talking."

I chuckle. "Alright, fine. Keenan told me." He quirks one eyebrow, giving me a look that clearly spells 'liar'. I place an arm akimbo. "How else would I know?"