The Marx Brothers

Chapter Fifteen - 'Dinner'

"Get in" He told me from the driver's seat, leaning his head toward me

"I'm good thanks" I tried, using all my might to ignore him, refuse him the power Penny insisted I held

"They say hail is on its way, so I'm going to ask you one more time, get in" He attempted to persuade me.
I had heard of no hail, but the deep blue colour of the clouds above me held a small amount of green tinge, only making his demand that much harder to ignore.
I stopped my long strides and stared up at the sky, cursing at it for betraying me in such a wicked way, and then I did as I was told, getting into the small import race car.

It was just as I remembered it, only this time, it held more history, more detail in its small space. I shifted uncomfortably in the seat, knowing yet unknowing to who had earlier been sitting in it.

"Are you cold?" He asked, the gruff in his voice deeper than I remembered

"I'm fine" I folded my arms over my chest, keeping my eyes firmly out the window

"I see your sister is home" He urged conversation

"She is"

"For how long?"

I sighed and forced my eyes to sustain away contact with his own

"Not sure"

He knew I was dodging him, in every way I could, but that didn't seem to stop him from forcing dialogue on me.

"I wasn't expecting to see you at the track on Saturday"

I gave a snort, watching outside the window as small coin sized hail began to drop from the sky, small dings pounding on the vehicle

"I hope you have insurance" I muttered

"I do" He replied, unbothered "Do you know Brody personally?"

My jaw moved slightly sidewards at the sentence, his tone intrusive

"He's Brad's brother"

"I figured that, but do you know him personally?"

"No, why?" I snapped

"So you just make it a habit of yours to get into strangers cars down at the race track do you?"

I couldn't help but snap my head towards him, angered at the question

"The blond, you know her personally?" I turned on him

Suddenly, his eyes avoided mine, the question just as rude as his own

"That's what I thought" I snickered, moving my eyes back out the window, concentrating on the sound of the hail stones pelting down on the metal exterior of the car.

"You have to be careful of who you trust because of what you know now"

"I am careful" I retorted "Are you?"

"Don't spin this around Eden" He rolled his eyes, pulling into my driveway where I knew Grace would return at any moment.

"You know, you're quite the hypocrite. You can hang around anyone you want, take them racing and take them to god knows where else to do god knows what, but I can't befriend my friends brother?"
I placed my hand on the car door handle, ready to leave, no matter how violent the weather outside was

"What are you talking about?" He shot, all wounds on his face nearly transparent

"Don't play stupid with me" I scoffed "I don't even know why I bother"

"You've been talking with Brad's friends, haven't you?" His eyes narrowed

"Excuse me?" I demanded, watching him with a fierce gaze, ready for battle