My blood turned to ice and Mag disappeared from sight, seeing as my mind blanked and I had no vision at all.
“Do you know how much shit Mick is in right now?” Mom asked. “Do you, Evie? Do you?”
I did not answer as my phone was slid out of my hand and I watched Mag’s long forefinger hit the button for speaker.
And Mom’s voice filled the air.
“Answer me, Evan! Your brother fears for his life because you have shit for brains!”
I stared at the phone.
Mom kept going.
“Genius my ass!” she shouted. “Dumb as a rock. Who cares how a radio works? You gotta keep a bag safe to keep your brother safe, you do everything you can to keep that bag safe!”
“Listen to me,” Mag growled, and my eyes darted up to his face.
Oh boy.
He was using that tone he’d used with Lottie that morning.
Except worse.
Way worse.
“Who’s this?” Mom demanded.
“It doesn’t matter who this is. You can call this number again when you get the go-ahead from Evan to call this number. And if you don’t ever get that go-ahead, you never call this number.”
“Fuck you, let me talk to my daughter.”
Mag’s gaze shot to me.
Yep, I said with my eyes. That’s my mom.
“This is her mother?” Mag asked to confirm.
“I said, let me talk to my daughter,” she ordered.
“Toothpaste,” Mag muttered, staring at me.
Damn.
Somehow, I’d given it all away over a tube of toothpaste.
“Evan had her apartment tossed last night. There’s little that can be salvaged. She lost almost everything,” Mag told Mom.
“Well, my son might lose his life!” Mom snapped.
“It’s clear it’d be smooth sailing for you if you were given Sophie’s choice,” Mag remarked.
“What?” Mom asked.
“We’re done,” Mag stated.
Then he made that so by disconnecting and went on to move his finger on my screen to do other things.
He then extended my phone to me and said, “She’s blocked. She’s your mom, that’s not my call. I’m just askin’ you to give yourself a break from that at least until we know if you’ve got more than a couple pairs of vintage jeans to your name.”
I pressed my lips together and ignored the fact that Tex and Duke had both sidled close during that spectacle.
“Did she know before I told her what happened to your place?” Mag asked.
I shook my head.
“You didn’t call her?”
I shook my head.
“Your father?”
I shook my head.
He rolled his head around on his shoulders as he drew breath into his nose.
“Mag—”
“Baby,” he whispered, “I can’t. I can’t right now. Mac called. Said they dropped some of your stuff at my pad. I wanna get you home. I wanna get you fed. I wanna get you settled. I do not want to listen to you make excuses for your mother.”
I pressed my lips together again.
“You know that shit’s not right, yeah?” he asked.
I said nothing.
“You do know, you just got nothin’ else,” he said softly.
“Maybe I should go home or get a hotel room tonight or something,” I suggested.
Without hesitation, he responded, “I can’t do that either, Evie. Really. So please don’t make me.”
When I made no reply, he reached a hand to me.
I didn’t want to take it.
I wanted to run far away from him and his people and that look on his face that he got after just one very short dose of my mother.
I needed to figure myself out.
I needed to sort out my life.
What I didn’t need to do was drag a nice guy like Daniel Magnusson along for that ride.
My body had other thoughts.
In other words, I reached for his hand.
He pulled me out of the couch, murmuring, “Grab your book and your bag, honey.”
I grabbed my book and my bag as he scooped up the handles of all my other bags.
I then chanced glances at Duke and Tex, both of whom had stony faces and gazes locked on Mag.
I figured this was so I wouldn’t see the pity if they looked at me.
“Thanks for everything, guys,” I said.
Duke rearranged his expression when his attention came to me.
Tex did not and his look made me glad he didn’t know where my mother lived.
“See you tomorrow, darlin’,” Duke bid as Mag led me to the door.
“I have to work tomorrow,” I told him.
“Then see you soon,” he replied.
He would not.
I nodded.
Mag pulled me out the door, to his truck, opened my side for me, stowed my stuff in the backseat and waited until I got in before he closed it.