Grabbing Hold (The Motorcycle Kid #1)

34. Dinner and a Dose of Drama

Charlotte switched on the engine of the SUV in complete silence. The tension was almost visible as they all pulled their seatbelts on, Emmett riding shotgun with Emma in the back, steadying the dishes filled with food beside her.

After the events of that afternoon, no one in the Daniel household was in any shape to talk. Charlotte hadn't spoken a word to her daughter since their last exchange, but while she seemed mostly unbothered, the silence had Emma riddled with anxiety. She rolled her phone over and over in her palms, struggling to maintain the balance between her anger and her guilt. Sure, she felt bad about calling her mother out like that, but at the same time, everything she'd said was true.

"I'm sorry, man, but you know these things," Emmett was saying into the phone.  Emma presumed he was talking to Elliott, who'd never showed up that evening, probably because Emmett had found out about the wedding before he was supposed to pick him up.

Good job, Dad, Emma thought sarcastically. Now my mentally unstable brother is stranded till tomorrow, and God knows what's gonna happen to him.

Emmett held the phone away from his ear as loud music pumped through from the other side of the line. "Whoa, hold up, man, I can't hear you."

A few seconds later, he spoke again.

"So, is Kyros gonna drop you back down then?"

"What's his plan?" asked Charlotte quietly. "Put him on speaker."

"You're on speaker, El," said Emmett.

"Hey, baby," their mother greeted cordially. "What's the plan?"

"Hey, Mom. Well, I was gonna ask Callum to borrow his car, but he's a complete goner, and Kyros didn't get his licence renewed-"

"Elliott, have you all been drinking?" Charlotte asked.

"Mom, I'm twenty years old. I can drink if I want to."

"You're still legally underaged, young man-"

"Hold up, will you? I'm a little tipsy, yeah, but I'm not wasted. It's a birthday party, for Pete's sake. Callum turns twenty-one. Of course people are drinking."

"And why is that music so loud? Gosh, Elliott, are you okay?"

"Mom, I'm good. Everything's good.  Promise. I'll sleep it off and be home by tomorrow afternoon. Stop worrying."

"I'm your mother-"

"Well, you let me join the Army, Mom. I'm pretty damn sure you can let a beach party slide."

Charlotte didn't respond.

"Imma call you guys later," said Elliott, quickly shifting his attention to something else, effectively ending their conversation. "Ladies! Y'all looking damn good tonight!"

Emmett ended the call with a laugh, the first Emma had heard for the entire evening.

"You know, for a minute there, I really wanted to switch places with him."

The car was silent, but all Emma thought was me too.

She contemplated calling Kale, telling him everything, but she was too worked up and filled with self-loathing to be of much use to anyone, let alone herself.

In the background, Sara Bareilles' Love Song played softly, and Emma tried to focus on the music, the way she always did when she tuned everyone and everything out. She found herself watching her mother intently, following her every grip and turn of the steering wheel, the slight sag in her face that had appeared immediately after their fight, the barely restrained tears in her blue eyes.