Chapter 12 - Drew’s Safe Haven
That evening, the electronic gate chime rang out again. This time, it wasn't a disgruntled process server.
When I checked the security monitor, I saw a familiar silver hatchback parked by the fountain. Out stepped my younger brother, Drew, wearing a faded canvas backpack and looking like a man who had finally dropped a fifty-pound anvil off his shoulders.
I walked out onto the veranda and unlocked the courtyard gate.
“Drew,” I greeted him warmly, stepping aside to let him in. “What brings you out to the wasteland?”
Drew dropped his backpack onto the flagstones and let out a long, shuddering sigh of relief. “I quit my job at Dad’s insurance agency, Maya. And Mom and Dad officially changed the locks on the family house because I wouldn't hand over your new address.”
I raised an eyebrow, gesturing for him to follow me inside toward the air-conditioned kitchen. “You walked away from the agency? What are you going to do?”
“Anything,” Drew said, sitting down at the kitchen island and gratefully accepting a cold bottle of water. “For the first time in my life, I’m not answering their phone calls, I’m not listening to Dad complain about how the world cheated him, and I’m not apologizing for existing. I rented a small apartment in Tempe, and I’m taking classes to finish my graphic design degree.”
A wave of profound respect washed over me. Drew had always been labeled the quiet loser of the family simply because he refused to play the toxic corporate games my father and Gretchen thrived on.
“I’m proud of you, Drew,” I said, clinking my glass against his water bottle. “And for the record, you have an open invitation here anytime you want to escape the city.”
“Thanks, man,” he smiled, looking around the expansive, beautifully lit kitchen. “Though looking at this place, I think you’ve got enough drama of your own right now. I heard about the lawsuit.”
May you like
I tossed the subpoena onto the counter. “Let them sue. Discovery is going to be the most expensive mistake of their lives.”
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