FIFTY-ONE

Down the Abyss

Dinner was horrible. Lolita felt like a pawn in a game between two brothers. They sat side by side next to each other while she sat opposite them, watching quietly. Hayden held an ice pack to one side of his face while he ate with his left hand. She hated that his eyes rarely left hers. It made her itchy and needy. She was still reeling from the adrenaline from the recent events and she needed a release from it; anything but his eyes.

“Your face doing okay?” Jarrod asked his brother after a prolonged silence.

Hayden shrugged in response. “Nothing I haven’t been though before.”

“That’s right. It’s not my fault for having hit you, but I feel guilty for not trusting Lolita.” He smiled adoringly at her. “She’s one of the decent bunch.”

“Yeah, decent,” Hayden concurred, his eyes bright with mischief.

Lolita couldn’t take it anymore. She pushed her chair back and stood up with her plate in hand.

“I’m gonna go upstairs and finish this alone. You two can catch up in my absen