Page 102 of Solar Shadows

“Too busy for your family?”

Trigger pulled. “Fuck you, David.”

“What?”he growled.

“Don’t talk to me about family. Forgotten about Christmas, eh? Left your memories in the toilet along with rest of that shit dinner?”

“You f?—”

“Shut your mouth, prick. No one wants to hear it.”

He laughed.“What a pompous cunt you are. You don’t want to talk? Good. Rot. I hope you fail at being The Sun, you little pussy.”More laughter. Loud, mocking laughter.“Isaac Davenport is The Sun? What a joke!”

I hung up, throwing my phone at the wall.

Hands balled into fists, I screamed at it, rage boiling over my sides.

“Isaac?”

My face blazed with fury, my jaw clenched. I couldn’t speak, couldn’t do anything but seethe and stare at the phone. Wishing it would become a portal, its destination the Cheshire house so I could beat the shit out of David.

Like when I was fourteen and he’d slapped myface in front of his friends in our backyard. Thought he was so funny, him and his hog friends laughing at me for loving The Spice Girls.

I hated the laughing.

Losing my shit, I punched him so hard in the gut he threw up. Their laughter stopped then, and mine kicked in, not stopping for hours.

After that, he never touched me again.

Prick.

“Isaac?”

Ollie’s voice cut through suddenly, my rage taking an immediate pause. I looked at him, my eyes hot.

“That was my brother,” I said.

Don’t you dare start crying.

“Are you alright?” he asked, moving closer.

I barely managed to hold the tears back. No crying now, no tears spent on David. Too many had fallen over that fucker. I’d suffered too much heartbreak from his hate when all I wanted was for him to say he loved me.

Darn it. Craving love seemed to be my weakness.

“It’s never fun dealing with him,” I said to Ollie. The anger might be on hold, but my hands were still tight fists, the rest of me so tense I might explode.

“Can I hug you?” he asked.

The question scrambled my circuits. “What?”

“Can I hug you?” he repeated.

“Hug me?”

“You look like you need a hug.”

Was he really asking me this? Was Ollie seriouslyoffering me a hug and not here to tell me we can’t ever get down to sexy business ever again?