Page 31 of Whatever It Takes

His brows furrow. “Fuck no. Meeting my brother was the best decision I’ve ever made.”

I let this digest, and not long after, I breathe easier and peel the paper off the muffin, able to eat more.

His constant F-bombs remind me of a video compilation I’ve watched. Someone spliced together a lot of his “fucks”—and the video lasted around three minutes. It has over 16 million views and always makes me laugh when I watch it. Ryke seems badass in every frame.

Silence stretches, and Ryke tickles his nephew’s foot. The baby has hold of the comic book and giggles.

“Loren knew about me, you know,” I say softly. Ryke looks up at me, and I add, “All these years, he knew about me, and I didn’t know about him.” I’m not in the exact same situation that Ryke had been in. I was the one in the dark. Loren was the one with the knowledge.

Ryke glances at the bathroom door, then back to me. “I’m not sure how much I’m supposed to fucking tell you—but I don’t want you thinking badly of my—ourbrother. I don’t know what you’ve been through in your life, but he’s been through a fucking lot. And what I do know…” He checks over his shoulder again and then to me. “…when Lo met his birth mom for the first time, hewanteda relationship with you and your sister. But Emily basically told him that she didn’t want you two to know that you have a brother, and out of respect for her, Lo left you alone.”

My chest tightens again. I figured as much, and then I fixate on something else he said. “So…does everyone call him Lo?” I try to straighten my glasses.

“Mostly.” He watches Maximoff shake a comic book—oh, the baby actually slobbers on the corner, trying to gnaw on the pages ofYoung Avengers.

“I’ve been calling him Loren. Is that bad?”

He almost smiles again. “You’re his fucking sister. I don’t think he’ll care either way.”

I hesitate to ask something more, but I just let it out in one breath, “Do you think he’s happy I’m here?”

His hardened eyes, likestone, nearly soften. “These relationships we have with each other—they’re not fucking easy, but I wouldn’t want to lose a single one. I think Lo feels the same.”

“…is now a good time to be here?” I wonder. “Lily just had a baby—”

“Yes,” he says deeply, strongly, full of heart. “Lo’s the best I’ve ever seen him.” It reminds me that Loren, orLo(that’ll take some getting used to), struggles with alcohol addiction, hereditary, on his father’s side.

The worst part: I’ve actually watched him relapse. The paparazzi never missed a beat.

Suddenly, the bathroom door opens, Lo hugging Lily against his side. She’s much shorter than him, and her limbs seem ganglier next to his defined biceps, all lean muscles. They stop at the rug, zeroed in on their baby Maximoff chewing the comic book.

“Close your eyes,” Lily says quickly and then nearly jumps on Loren’s back to shield his view of their son destroyingYoung Avengersright in sight.

“It’s too late, Lil,” Lo says. “I’ve seen it.”

I smile as she climbs up his back. Lo holds her like he’s going to take her for a piggyback ride, and her hands fit across his eyes.

“You didn’t see anything!” Lily says.

I wish I could snapshot this and send it to Maggie. My smile fades…or is that wrong? I shouldn’t want to publicize them anymore than they already are. That’s not why I’m here.

Maximoff rips a page.

“Ryke,” Lo groans. “I blame you for this.”

“He’s not even crying right now. I’m doing a fantastic fucking job.”

“You gave him a comic book, and he can’t even read yet.”

“He’s starting early then,” Ryke says. “Maybe you should’ve given me his diaper bag or something.”

I listen to them, but their banter isn’t totally registering in my head anymore. I remember that Loren just talked to my mom, which means I could be receiving a one-way ticket to Maine soon.

Lily uncovers Lo’s eyes. “We’re in a store withtonsof toys on the walls. You could’ve taken a Green Goblin action figure.”

Lo chimes in, “Or Wolverine, Black Widow, Hulk, Spider-Man—”

“For fuck’s sake, okay. I got it.” Ryke retrieves the ripped and wet comic from Maximoff and then picks him up. The baby giggles, and both Loren and Lily look like proud parents, their smiles infectious.