“If this is actually happening, you moving in here, why didn’t my mom call me and tell me about it?”
“Like the disappointment you are, you didn’t pick up her calls.”
“So they sent you here to my house, anyway?”
“Yeah, me, the jackass that’s been taking care of your spoiled butt your whole life.”
“Oh, so this is your cousin?” Matthew interrupts, still trying to figure out who Knox is.
“Hell no!” We both vehemently deny any sort of blood relation to each other in unison.
“Back inside,” I order, then Matthew falls back and shuts the door.
“He’s quite obedient,” Knox mockingly observes. “That’s how you like ‘em, huh?”
It takes everything in me to tamper down the anger bubbling inside of me. There’s got to be a mature part of him underneath all of those tattoos somewhere.
Hmm, when did he get all of that ink?
“Come back in an hour so I can say goodbye properly to my guest,” I tell him.
“Again, this is not a negotiation. I’ve been on a plane, had dinner at Grandpa Joe’s, picked up my truck from my parents’ house, and then drove here. I need a shit and a shower and some sleep.”
“Knox!”
“Even if I considered your request, which I wouldn’t, I have nowhere to go to kill time for an hour.”
Having this conversation in the middle of my hallway is getting me nowhere. It doesn’t matter that it’s been years since I’ve seen him. I know Knox and he hasn’t changed. He’s still as relentless as ever.
I hate to give him this win, but I think I may have to.
“What’s this supposed threat again?”
“I’m not discussing our family business in the hallway.”
“And you’re sure that my parents are okay?”
“Watch.”
I stare at his screen as he sends a text to both of my parents.
Knox: Made contact with Gigi. She’s safe.
My father responds immediately with a thumbs up emoji and my mom replies.
Aunt Jade: Thanks, hun’. Tell that brat to call me.
Sometimes I think Knox is the son they always wanted but they got stuck with Benji and me, both disappointments.
“Fine,” I concede. “Give me a second to explain to him.”
“You have one second. There’s something about him I don’t like.”
Knox and I have a stare off. The kind we used to have when we were kids, trying to see who would blink first. The kind we used to have when we were teenagers, trying to see who would throw a middle finger up first. The kind we used to have when I became so angry that I couldn’t even yell at him. The kind he enjoys immensely.
Dammit, he wins.
I finally break eye contact and slip back into my apartment to face Matthew. It’s his first time in my house and now I have to kick him out because Knox said so. He’s never going to understand this, and I realize that something like this may raise more questions than I’m prepared to answer. I know if the shoe were on the other foot, I would run for the hills. This is going to be messy as hell.
