A Wall Between

Chapter 16

It was a long drive, made much longer by the fact that they didn't take a remotely direct route. They stopped for snacks, then for lunch, then for more snacks. They stopped for walks on two different beaches. At the second one, Cooper climbed a tree on a scenic walking path that overlooked the water and had Mason take a picture of him for Sasha. He'd have to send it later, though, because he and Mason had their phones off. It was the only way they could be this late in peace. Even in the two minutes Cooper had turned his on to take the picture he'd heard the flood of notification sounds, and they weren't even quite late yet.

By the time they arrived at the lake house, it was just starting to get dark.

Logan was the first one out to greet them. He gave Mason a swat on the back of his head. "Where were you guys? You should have been back hours ago."

Mason rubbed at his head as he retrieved Cooper's bag from the backseat of the car. "Having actual fun. Jealous?"

"Mum was worried."

"I'm completely okay with that."

"I was worried."

"Aww," Mason said in a way that was more genuine than mocking, but definitely a little of both. "You should have come with me to pick Cooper up. I offered."

"Yeah, because leaving Bianca here with mum and dad to think I'd died in a car crash would have been a great thing to do to her."

"I'm sorry we worried you," Cooper interjected before the back and forth could turn into a real argument. "You know we don't get on with mum and dad as well as you do. We wanted to spend some time catching up before we got here."

Logan shook his head. "You could have let us know what you were doing. Things like this aren't going to make things better with mum and dad."

"That's also something I'm totally fine with," Mason said. "In recent years I've actually experienced brief moments when they were happy with me, and honestly it just made me uncomfortable."

"Do you have to antagonise them, though? It's just three days. Don't you think this'll be nicer if we all just try to get along?"

"You mean if we try to placate mum and dad while they treat us like shit? Nah, not happening. Not when you're on the verge of becoming a father. I want my niece to be happy and healthy and to feel loved. I'm not giving you some fakey fake show that's going to leave you thinking that if you raise your kids like mum and dad raised us, things will be okay."

"I already know how you guys feel, Mase. You've been clear."

"Tch. You don't know how I feel. It took years of therapy for me to even fully understand that. Do you know what a fluffer is?"

"Uhh." The look on Logan's face suggested he at least thought he might. "No?"

"Well, you're like a fluffer but for disappointing family members, so let's head inside. I'm ready for the main show."

Their parents were sitting inside on two different sofas, in front of a fireplace none of them probably even knew how to light. Their mum stood as soon as they entered, but their dad just took another pensive sip of his whiskey.

"There you are," Cooper's mum said. "You're hours late. We were worried sick. Why didn't you answer your phones?"

"Bad reception?" Mason offered.

The look their mum gave him was unimpressed.

"Sorry, mum," Cooper said, accepting the hug she greeted him with. "We just wanted some time together to catch up before we got here."