Free Head Over Heels by Crystal B. Bright

drowning his sorrows.
    Take away all memories of today. Let me forget it all.
    “Great.” Gunnar shook his head. “Perfect.”
    Thane shook his head. “Nope. That’s not me.” He reached for another bottle, rum this time. “I’m not perfect.”
    “Mom’s barely in the ground and you’re—”
    “Gunny!” Eboni tugged on Gunnar’s arm. “Please.”
    Gunnar looked down at Eboni. “So he’s allowed to make a fool of himself, and we all have to excuse his behavior?”
    “Why not? We did it for you for years.” Thane said what he’d been thinking for a while and felt no shame in his words, even as Gunnar shot laser beams at him with his stare.
    “What? The alcohol makes you brave?” Gunnar started to get up like he wanted to get to Thane when Eboni’s hand on his arm and Gideon’s forearm across his chest stopped him.
    “Chill, guys.” Gideon pushed Gunnar back. “Can we get along for Mom’s sake?”
    “Yeah. After today, you won’t have to deal with me anymore.” Thane downed the second bottle and tossed it to the floor.
    Gunnar took a deep breath and lowered his head. He put his hands together in prayer form. Had Thane reduced his brother to seek answers through religion?
    “We’re all we have now.” Gunnar brought his head up and stared at Thane. “We have to stick together.”
    Thane wanted to have a smart comeback to Gunnar’s statement. He wanted to blast his brother for wanting to bond as a family when Gunnar had taken off as soon as he could, running away from the only family he knew. Somehow, Eboni had learned to forgive him. Thane hadn’t gotten to that place yet.
    Thane reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a tin of wintergreen Altoids. He showed the container to Gunnar, opened it, and popped two mints into his mouth. Without another word, he turned his back on the group. He wanted this ride and this day to end.
    Thane recognized the landscape as they approached their final destination. Knowing his mother never drank, he collected as many of the small bottles of alcohol from the mini bar that he could. He heard a small gasp. When he turned in the direction of the sound, he found Janelle covering her mouth as she turned her head away from him. Gideon, however, kept up his stare.
    “Don’t do this, man.” Gideon shook his head. “We’re all hurting.”
    “Then come see me if you need something.” Thane peeked at Gunnar, who hadn’t raised his head since he’d last spoken to Thane.
    Thane thought he would be okay not getting a judgmental look from his oldest brother. Being ignored, he found, hurt as much as the comments. His gut wrenched even as he stuffed the bottles in his jacket pockets. The glass clinked like a whisper of a promise for his salvation.
    As the limo slowed to a stop in front of Elizabeth’s home, Thane wasted no time in getting out of his seat and opening the door.
    “You want to wait until we come to a complete—”
    “No.” Thane cut off Gideon and stepped out of the car that stopped abruptly.
    More than likely, the driver had caught sight of the door opening and wanted to make sure his passenger didn’t injure himself. Thane stumbled but managed to stay upright as he stomped up to the house. Inside, he found his mother’s flower shop employee, Victor, putting the final touches to a lovely buffet table along the dining room wall. The place had flowers of all kinds everywhere—by the front door, under each window, over every surface, and even from the ceiling. A beautiful bouquet of daisies hung from the center of the room like a decorative but living chandelier.
    “Hey, Thane.” Victor pulled Thane into a hug.
    Thane left his arms dangling on his sides at first, but he couldn’t deny this old family friend. He patted Victor on his back, which triggered the waterworks. Victor embraced Thane harder and cried, which came with long, loud screeching wails.
    “We all miss her.” Thane continued rubbing Victor’s back to calm him down.
    The hug