Don't Tell My Brother

Chapter 12 - Near Death Experience

"Yes way." Damien was watching Lucas' horrified expression, obviously amused. "It'll be faster."

"I don't care. There's no way in hell that I'm getting onto that thing with you." Lucas crossed his arms, eyeing the motorbike as if it might bite him.

"Why not?"

"Why not?" Lucas looked at him incredulously. "Do you have any idea how dangerous those things are? Especially driven by you, because, no offense, I can't imagine you're a very responsible driver."

"Ouch." Damien faked a wince. "That really hurts, Lucas." He didn't look very hurt at all.

"I don't care. I'm not dying on the back of your stupid bike."

There'd been a motorcycle accident two years ago, and Lucas had seen a picture of the man in the local paper. The entire right side of his face had been scraped off by the gravel road, leaving twisted, raw flesh in its place. He could practically see himself, spread out like jam across the road. Or maybe trapped under a burning wreck of a bike. Dying at seventeen, on Damien Castillo's bike, was probably one of the worst ways Lucas could see himself dying. Maybe he was catastrophising a little, but better to be safe than sorry.

"You won't die." Damien said, holding back a laugh. "Might get in a little crash or two."

"That's not-"

"Kidding, kidding." Damien cut in, grinning. "Stop being so dramatic. I haven't crashed yet, and I've been riding this thing for ages. Just trust me."

Lucas almost laughed at that. "Trust you? You go out of your way to annoy me, and now you're asking me to trust you?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Don't be stupid. I'll just get the bus. Didn't you see that accident a while back? Do you want to end up like that guy?"

Damien cleared his throat, and the grin on his face dropped, just a little. "Yeah, I saw him. He's my brother."

Oh. Lucas hadn't been expecting that. He'd been prepared to go on about the dangers of motorbikes, but now it felt as if all the wind had been taken out of his sails. Damien was probably all too aware of the dangers of motorbikes, and now Lucas felt like an idiot.

"Uh...right." He said after a moment, scratching the back of his neck. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like..."

Damien waved his awkward phrases away, easy smile back in place. "Forget it. You're not wrong, they are kinda dangerous."

"Then why do you do it?" Lucas asked, tone still a little cautious.

He didn't like Damien, true, but he wasn't about to go poking around in his brother's accident. From what he could remember of the article, it'd been brutal.

"Maybe I like to live dangerously." Damien said, raising an eyebrow at Lucas, still grinning.

This obviously wasn't the real answer, but it wasn't like Lucas had expected Damien to take anything seriously. Still, he watched Damien as he tossed the keys deftly from one hand to the other, and he wondered. Surely you'd stay far away from motorbikes after an accident like that?

"Look," Damien said, pulling Lucas off that train of thought, "think about it. After the whole thing with Mateo, it's not like I'm going to let it happen again. Plus, isn't it better to get to the shelter faster so we can get back and help Lisa?"

It was a surprisingly convincing argument. Lucas did want to do his job, especially when Lisa was so stressed. And an accident in the family would probably make someone more careful about road safety, even someone like Damien. Damien was watching him with those dark eyes, waiting expectantly for an answer. Lucas sighed.