Page 39 of August Lane

Her panicked expression had changed to stubborn resolve. It cleaved him in two—half giddy she wanted to stay, half terrified she actually would and be trapped in this prison with him. Luke touched her cheek with his left hand, which was still clean and good and useful.

A key rattled in the front door. Luke tried to angle his body in front of her to protect her from Ava’s wrath. But it was Ethan. His little brother stepped inside and took in the blood and the broken glass with wide eyes. “Luke?”

“I’m fine.” Luke tried to make it more convincing by standing, only he used the wrong arm to push off with. He cried out. The pain was agony.

August wrapped her arms around him and he used her for leverage. “Ethan, this is August.”

“I know.” Ethan moved closer, eyes bouncing between them. “What happened to my brother?”

“She wasn’t here,” Luke said before August could respond.

“I got locked out and…” Got wasted. Why the fuck did he do that?

“… did something stupid. August found me and stopped the bleeding, so I’m fine.

” He didn’t know if that was true, but he needed to cool what was burning in Ethan’s eyes.

He knew exactly what his brother was thinking.

Ava had done this. Someone should make her pay.

“We should call Bill,” Ethan declared.

“No.” Luke untangled himself from August. “No police. Nothing happened. Because if something did, people would ask questions about other things, and neither of us is that good a liar.” He glanced toward Ava’s room, and Ethan followed his gaze.

Luke could tell when the reality of their situation hit him: the liquor bottles, the pills, the fake names on her prescriptions.

If the cops saw all that, they’d take Ethan away.

“You’re wrong,” Ethan said. He disappeared into his bedroom, then returned with a baseball bat and a bag of balls. “You’re the bad liar.” He dumped them by the broken window and looked at August. “Take care of him. I’ll clean this up.”

She stared at the blood. “It’s a lot.”

“I’ll handle it.” Ethan’s voice sounded like Luke’s on a bad day.

Bitter but resigned. Resentful that he had to be.

Then he said, “Ava won’t believe I did it, but she won’t argue.

” That’s when Luke knew he had to leave.

He couldn’t let Ethan become collateral damage in his war with their mother.

Luke had stayed to keep Ethan safe, but he was the real threat to his brother’s safety.

“My bedroom is the first door on the right,” Luke told August. “There’s a packed duffel under my bed.”

She didn’t ask why he kept a go bag in his room, and he was grateful.

Once she left, Luke told Ethan, “I’m not coming back, but I won’t be far.

” He didn’t know where he was going, but Ethan didn’t need to know that.

He just needed to know that he wasn’t being abandoned.

“I’ll send money. Hide it where she can’t find it. ”

Luke hugged his brother with his good arm as tight as he could. Ethan clung to him. Luke mumbled more reassurances, emptier than he’d like because he didn’t have much else to give. I want to keep you was all he could offer anyone. I want to keep you, even though I shouldn’t.

Her hands were shaking. Luke waited patiently while August fumbled with the car door, even though she knew he was in pain. He looked terrible. Once in the passenger seat, he closed his eyes and slumped against the window, as if looking at things took too much effort.

She stayed quiet as she drove, partly because any sounds she made wouldn’t be rational or human. Her nails were caked in dried blood. Black flakes floated to her dress like snow.

Silas met them in the Delta Blue parking lot.

He assessed things quickly and retrieved Luke from the passenger side.

Once inside, he cut away Luke’s shirt, revealing the damage he’d done climbing through the broken window.

His upper body was covered in tiny, vicious cuts.

A large bruise covered his shoulder. Silas’s hands hovered over the blood-soaked T-shirt on Luke’s forearm before he gently pried it loose.

It was the most unsure she’d ever seen her uncle.

Luke tried to smile at her as the shirt was peeled away. Silas barked at August to get water and soap from the bathroom, but she didn’t move. She couldn’t stop staring at the deep cut with its cruel jagged edges.

“He needs a doctor,” she said.

“No doctors.” Luke was frantic. “They’ll call the police.”

Silas said, “He’s right.” He pulled out his flip phone. “Calling a friend of mine. He knows how to treat a wound.”

The man Silas referred to as Ghost was tall and slender, with a large afro and stern expression. After examining the cut, he looked at Luke and said, “This gon’ hurt.”

Luke glanced at August. “Can we do it somewhere else?”

It took her a moment to realize what was happening. “No! I’m not leaving you alone.”

“Where can we set up?” Ghost asked Silas, ignoring her protests.

Silas pointed to the studio. “It’s soundproofed.”

August shouted, “No!” again, but they kept ignoring her. Silas talked Luke through what was about to happen in slow, simple terms. They were being treated like children who needed protection. It was too late for that. Someone should have protected them a long time ago.

Silas held her back when she tried to follow Ghost and Luke into the studio. His grip was iron, and she couldn’t shake it off. “Look at me,” he demanded. August finally stilled and stared up at her uncle, blinking back tears. “Tell me what happened.”

“I don’t know,” August said. “I think… his mother locked him out of the house. He broke a window to get back in and then…” She pictured the empty liquor bottle. Silas had to know that Luke was drunk based on smell alone.

“In this heat,” Silas grumbled. “Did Ava come back while you were there?”

“No.”

Silas glanced at the clock. “You need to call Birdie.”

August hadn’t realized how late it was. They were supposed to have dinner two hours ago. “I can’t. She’ll make me come home. I can’t leave him.”

“Then tell her that.” Silas gave her his phone. “She deserves to know the truth.”

August took the phone and dialed. Birdie picked up on the first ring. Her hello was trembling, braced for bad news.

“Grandma?”

“August! August, baby, where are you? What happened?”

“I thought he was dead.” That was the scream she’d been suppressing in the car. The horror of it. The gruesome image of Luke’s bloody body slumped on the floor.

“Who? What happened?”

“My friend. He was hurt, and I found him.”

“Are you at the hospital? I’m coming to get you.”

“I’m with Silas. He’s taking care of us. Luke’s mother is abusive, and I didn’t know. I didn’t realize how bad it was. I can’t leave him alone.”

Birdie didn’t speak for a long time. “Are you in any danger?”

“She doesn’t know I was there.”

“Put Silas on the phone.”

“Please don’t tell Jojo—”

“August. Put him on the phone now .”

August offered the phone to Silas, pleading for his help with her eyes. He took the phone and said, “Hello, Mrs. Lane.”

August watched him listening, her grandmother’s voice too faint for her to hear.

Silas said, “Yes, ma’am. Jason’s boy.” He paused and said, “No, nothing like that. You know I don’t abide foolishness.

” He glanced at August. “I hear you. Them folks mean well, but they hurt more than they help sometimes.” He turned his back to August. “Yes. Yes ma’am, I’ll tell her. ”

August waited until he disconnected. “What did she say?”

“You can stay awhile. Then you need to go home.”

“How long—”

“August.” Her name was a warning. This was what he’d negotiated. “There’s a shower in my office. I’ll bring you something to change into.”

August looked down at herself. There was blood smeared on her clothes. She hadn’t worn a dress since that humiliating day at school, but she’d wanted to wear something special for Luke’s surprise.

She’d been right before, though. Surprises were never good.

“How could she do this?” August asked Silas. “Do you know her? Was she always a bad person?”

Silas sighed. “No one’s all good or bad.” He pointed to a photo on the wall. “That’s Luke’s dad. Found it last night and put it up there so I could show it to him today.”

August stared at the tall, handsome man grinning at the camera. The smile was identical to Luke’s: lips askew, a shallow indention on his right cheek that became a dimple when he laughed.

“How did he die?”

“In a bar fight, trying to protect somebody. Doubt he knew their name. That’s the kind of man he was. Someone was being bullied and he took it personally.”

August smiled. “Luke got it from him, then? He’s so kind to people.”

“Maybe.” Silas gave her a pointed look. “But did you hear me? Jason was in a bar fight . On a Wednesday afternoon.”

Ghost walked into the room before August could ask Silas what he meant. She jumped to her feet. “How is he?”

“Doped up and loopy as fuck. Cut looked worse than it was. He’ll be okay.” He looked at Silas. “Took them sutures like infantry, though.”

Something flowed between the two men that August couldn’t decipher. Instead of trying, she rushed past them to get to the studio. Luke was sleeping on the couch, his arm covered in bandages.

August sat beside him. His eyes fluttered open, glazed and unfocused. He smiled and whispered, “You,” then he fell asleep again.

“That’s right. Me.” She kissed his forehead. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there. But I’ll never let anyone hurt you again.”