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."
"I would think a four hour drive would be plenty of time for that. We were going to call the police if you took much longer. If it had been Logan, I would have hours ago, but we all know how the two of you can be."
Mason opened his mouth, but Logan cut in before he could say anything. "Well, they're safely here now, anyway."
"Yes, it's good to have all of my boys together again." She ran her hands through Cooper's hair and clicked her tongue. "Oh, Cooper. Your hair."
Cooper ran his fingers through his hair, thinking he must have messed it up at some point, then realised she was just commenting on his style choices.
"I think it suits him," Logan said. "I wish my hair looked that good."
"Your hair looks more professional," she said. "At least it's a light colour. It won't be hard to redye it to your natural shade once you're sick of it."
"Sure, or something different," Cooper said. "I'm happy with the ash blond for now, though."
She ran a hand over it again and made a face. "I suppose it's not too bad. It could almost pass for a natural colour."
"Are we still going to dinner, mum?" Logan asked.
"Oh, right! You brought your suit, didn't you, Cooper?"
"Uhh..." Cooper said. "I do not actually own a suit."
"What happened to the one I bought you?"
"I sold it."
"You sold it? Cooper, if you needed money that badly, you could have just asked. I'm sure you didn't get half of what that suit was actually worth, and now you don't have one at all."
In truth, Cooper hadn't sold it for the money. He had sold it because looking at it had given him anxiety. He'd wanted to burn it, but Abra had convinced him that selling it was a better option. He shrugged.
She sighed. "Well, maybe your father or one of your brothers has an extra. Mason, you brought a suit, didn't you?"
Cooper's dad was looking at his phone, and Mason had crept around the back of the sofa to disinterestedly watch the screen over his shoulder. He looked up when their mother addressed him. "No?"
"No? I know you have a suit, Mason."
"Yeah. I have swimmers, too, but I didn't bring them because I didn't plan to go for a dip in the lake."
"You knew we'd be going out to dinner. We always do."
"I don't like going to places you have to dress up super fancy just to eat."
"Not everything is about what you want."
Mason pushed off the back of the sofa so that he was standing up straight. "Yeah, seems like nothing ever is. Or what Cooper wants. We could just go to a nice, casual restaurant where we can relax a bit, but there's no compromise with you. It always has to be completely what you want, and fuck what anyone else wants."
"Language, Mason," their dad commented without looking up from his phone.
Logan was looking between them, a deep frown on his face. "Actually, me and Bianca haven't been out anywhere nice in a couple of months and I think she might not fit into the nice dress she brought with her very well anymore. Maybe it would be better for her and the baby if we went somewhere with a less strict dress code?"
"I suppose we'll have to, with these two being difficult. Why don't you take Bianca out tomorrow and buy her some new dresses? Take Cooper as well. He needs a new suit."
"Sure, mum."
Cooper had no desire for a new suit, but he was already exhausted so he kept his mouth shut.
"Well, sounds like that's sorted. Me and Cooper will need to shower before we go, so..." Mason jabbed a finger towards the stairs leading down to the lower floor of the house.
Cooper's mum nodded. "Yes, yes, go on. I'll find a restaurant and make a booking."
Cooper and Mason headed down the stairs, and Logan followed behind them.
When they reached the bottom, out of view of their parents, Mason wrapped an arm around Logan's shoulder. "If you keep this up, we might just let you into the cool siblings club."
Logan scoffed, but he didn't sound genuinely offended. "I'm already the only cool sibling."
Mason tilted his head and gave Logan a pitying look. "Logan, come on. Being a good boy for mummy and daddy is not and will never be cool." He let go of Logan and walked further into the downstairs den. "Seriously, though, I see what you're doing and I appreciate it. You want peace, and you're willing to be fair about who you side with to get it. If that's your strategy, maybe I'll be willing to work with you on this."
Logan scrubbed a hand through his short, mousey brown hair. "I'd appreciate it. It's for Bianca. I don't want her to have to be in the middle of all our family drama."
"I just hope you understand that me and Cooper aren't the source of it. We're just not going along with the bullshit peacefully anymore. Or at least I'm not. I don't expect you to kick them out of your life or anything, but don't let them fuck with how you raise your kid."
For a moment Logan looked like he was going to get angry, but then his frown deepened. He took a slow, deep breath in and let it out as a sigh. "I get it, Mason. I've been thinking about all this. A lot. Mum and dad made you both feel like you weren't loved and you weren't good enough. I'm going to love and support my daughter no matter what."
"Good."
Logan looked away and pressed his lips together into a tight line. "It wasn't all perfect for me, you know. There were all kinds of things I wanted to do but couldn't because mum and dad wanted something different. I had to be the one who was perfect, who never said no to anything, because I knew the way they treated me was conditional."
"I know, Logan. It didn't look easy, bud. It looked like a fucking nightmare, being their little puppet. We didn't always get on growing up, but I think we all get it now that we're adults. We were all just trying to get through it however we could."
Logan let out a harsh breath, sat down on the sofa, and covered his face with his hands.
Cooper couldn't remember hugging Logan a single time growing up, but he sat down next to him now and wrapped an arm tight around him. To his surprise, Logan leant into the embrace.
"You're going to be okay," Cooper murmured as he rubbed Logan's arm. "It won't be easy, and sometimes you'll make mistakes, but as long as you put your love for your daughter before anything, I don't think you can fuck things up too badly."
"And if you ever need help telling mum and dad to fuck off out of your business, I'm just a phone call away," Mason said. "Seriously, I will get on a plane any time you need and be there, in person, to help you deal with that shit."
Logan let out a weak laugh. "Thanks, I think. Anyway, I'd better go and tell Bianca to start getting ready. She takes forever."
"Oh, fuck yeah, bro," Mason said in a deadpan voice. "Women, am I right?"
Logan shrugged as he stood up. "Well she does."
As Logan headed upstairs, Cooper got his phone out. "You can take the first shower. I need to text that picture you took of me to my friend."
Mason perched on the arm of the sofa. "Is this a friend or a friend?"
"Well, he's my neighbour who I've kinda been flirting with and who I'm pretty sure has kinda been flirting back. He's pretty timid, though."
"Aw. That's genuinely really cute."
"Yeah. I don't know if he'd really be into the idea of a relationship if it came down to that, but I really like him. He's neurodivergent too and even though we're super different in some ways, I still feel that connection with him. Like he gets it."
"You're making me want to date him, and I'm not even into dudes." Mason ruffled Cooper's hair. "That's awesome. I'll leave you to your flirting while I go take a shower."
"Much appreciated."
As soon as Cooper turned on his phone, he was bombarded with text messages and missed calls. Almost all of them were from either his mum or Logan. He had warned Ellie and Abra before he'd turned off his phone, so he didn't have any worried messages from them.
Sasha had sent him a message a few hours ago asking how things were going, and Cooper felt bad for not thinking to tell him his phone would be off. He was used to being the one who texted first in their conversations.
Sorry my phone was off, Cooper sent, and then sent through the picture of himself in a tree, overlooking the ocean. Here's your tree pic.
It was several minutes before Sasha responded. Thank you. This is a very nice picture. How are you?
Surviving, Cooper responded. I hung out with Mason for most of the day and that was chill and now we're here and Logan's actually been pretty good as well. My parents are the same as ever but that's no surprise.
I'm glad things aren't too bad!
Cooper heard the bathroom door open and let out a sigh. I have to go get ready for dinner but I'll text you after.
Okay! Thank you for the tree pic!
Cooper smiled. He just had to get through three days of bullshit and then he could go home and see Sasha and maybe get a hug or something. He could do this.