The Sentinels come on, make it easy, say i never mattered.

Penn didn’t know how to respond to the news she shared about Bronco. He’d never been a fan of his cousin. Not personally liking someone had never prevented him from seeing why others might, but Bronco was the exception. The guy was an idiot with zero redeemable qualities. He was nothing but muscle, no brain, no wit, no personality. And while Penn’s own jealousy and self-esteem issues may have had a severely heavy hand in that assessment, it was nonetheless how he felt, and so he had a hard time understanding why Bronco’s departure held any significance to her.

But, it was at least clear to him that it did. Particularly when she asked her next question.

Penn paused to consider. The usual smart ass quips came first to his mind, but he held them back in a rather out of character move. He could tell that his answer mattered, though, and in spite of his shittier nature, he sighed. ”Because…” he hesitated, fighting against his instincts and forcing himself to lose, ”Because… I was scared if I asked, you wouldn’t have come with me. And I thought it would be better to just leave without ever having to hear you say you didn’t want to go. That you’d rather stay with your family than… be with me.”


It hadn’t been, but she hadn’t asked him to admit that yet, so he kept that bit tucked away until she forced his hand.