By the time Derek's car screeched to a stop in front of his house, Raymond was already pacing on the porch, phone in hand. He straightened when he heard the engine cut off.
"Hey, man..." Raymond walked over, but froze the moment Derek stepped out of the car. His nose wrinkled, eyes narrowing instinctively as he took a step back. "Dude…"
"You don't have to say it," Derek snapped before he even shut the door. "Yeah. I look like hell. I smell like hell. Congratulations on your observation skills."
"I wasn't gonna say that."
"But you were thinking it," Derek snarled, brushing past him toward the door.
Raymond followed, keeping an instinctive two-foot distance as though Derek carried a storm around him. "How's your mum? You sounded… shaken."
"The doctor says she'll be fine once they stabilize her blood pressure," Derek muttered, tossing his keys onto the center table like they disgusted him. "Make yourself at home or don't. I'm taking a shower."
