Raising his hands in the universal sign of calm the fuck down, he said, “Now, chill, James. Jesus. Let me finish. He’s telling Connor and Ladd that’s what he’s doing so they’ll go along with it. They won’t like it, and if they balk he’ll tell them everything, but he’s pretty sure they’ll just do whatever because they’re in a love haze and just want all the problems to go away so they can focus on each other.”
I slowly nodded because he wasn’t wrong. Those two were so wrapped up in each other that it was a miracle they waited as long as they had to get together finally.
“So what’s the real plan?”
“They’re not going to record a thing. It’s just for show and to scare the fuck out of this guy, Troy. He’s terrified of his parents and grandparents. They’re all big names in conservative politics in Georgia. As long as he doesn’t cause any waves, they leave him alone, but if he causes even a hint of a scandal, there would be hell to pay. Not only would they disinherit him, but he’d also lose a sizeable trust from his grandfather, which will be over ten million dollars when he can finally get his hands on it in a few years.”
I whistled at that kind of money for a kid. Who the heck were these people? We had money, yeah, but not that kind.
Patrick nodded at my reaction. “Yeah, that’s what I thought, too. Rhett seems to think the kid just really wants his family to notice him. To acknowledge him in some way, but because he’s gay, they pretend he doesn’t exist until he does something they don’t like. Rhett’s convinced that if we scare him right now and then give him some advice and encouragement, he can turn everything around. I haven’t looked into the guy as in-depth as Rhett, but I think it could work. So, basically, you’re going to be participating in a fake blackmail scheme that will actually be a real-life intervention. Sounds like an exciting evening, hate that I’ll miss all the excitement.”
He chuckled because I knew this was exactly the kind of thing he loved and I hated, but I’d be there for the boys. I was always there for the boys.
“So that’s what the plan is for when you get home, but what did you do last night? Did you do Ethan?” He winked at me, and I stiffened my spine.
“No, I didn’tDOEthan, thank you very much. I told you I was at the bar, helped out with that kid, then came back to the hotel…Alone.”
Patrick shook his head with a disappointed look on his face.
“James, you’ve been watching him for months now. Why don’t you just go for it? You need to actually go out and date or fuck or something.”
I moved the collar of my tee up to make sure it was in place and then touched my left side brushing the scar there in an unconscious movement Patrick clocked right away. His eyes grew soft, and his voice settled into a lower timbre.
“You have to move on, James. It’s been almost a decade since all that happened. You know he didn’t mean it. He was young and angry and scared. He was looking for someone to blame. He was sorry as soon as it happened, and I think he’s been punishing himself ever since that day.”
He reached over the table and in an unusually tender gesture squeezed my hand, then held it tight. “Remy hasn’t forgiven himself for hurting you like that, James, and even though you say you’ve forgiven him, you’re still holding on to that pain by hiding away from the world.”
The weight of Patrick’s hand on mine was supposed to be comforting, but it felt confining. He was anchoring me here because this was something I never, ever wanted to hear.
“Yeah, you have scars. I’ve seen them. But they aren’t as bad as they were. They’ve faded over time. You’re going to have to let someone close one of these days. You’re going to need to open up, or you’re never going to find anyone for yourself. I believe, and this is just my five-cent philosophy here, but I believe Remy could heal if you finally found someone for yourself. He thinks he’s to blame for you never dating and being single after all these years.”
I tried to jerk my hand away at that horrible thought, but he held tight. I felt trapped by that one hand and the words falling from his lips.
“That’s not true at all. They’re not the reason I’ve never dated anyone.”
But I knew in the back of my mind that wasn’t altogether true. Since Patrick’s predator-like eyes were still focused on me, he saw when I realized that fact. He finally let my hand go and went back to his coffee cup, lifting it to take a sip, but never losing eye contact with me.
“You finally see it, don’t you? Took you long enough. You can’t hold on to the past, Jamie. You have to move on. Yes, your past has left some scars, both physical and emotional, but you need to get out of this holding pattern you’ve been in for the last ten years. The boys need you to move on. Ladd has found someone, but he was never as influenced by you as Remy and Rhett were. They were at such a vulnerable time in their lives when they came to live with you. You became their dad, their role model. They look to you to pattern their own lives and neither one are dating seriously, because they’re waiting for you.”
He let go of my gaze and returned to his food. It seemed he had said his piece, so we focused on eating breakfast and talking about the case of the missing kids and who he thought might be responsible. He seemed to be working closely with a person in the police department to find out what was going on, but he never mentioned a name, and I knew better than to ask. When we finished up, we parted ways with a hug and promised to text soon. We had been so close all our lives, but I felt we were moving in different directions all of a sudden. It felt like this hug was more important than all the rest we’d shared. It felt a little like goodbye.
All during the drive home and the drama with Connor, Ladd, and Troy, I kept thinking about what Patrick had said about the boys wanting me to move on. I had found that new dating app 2Gether4Ever on my phone last night. When I pulled out my phone after the confrontation was finally over and Troy had seen the error of his ways, I was reminded of what Patrick had said.
“Hey, I need to ask you guys about something. Do you guys know anything about a new app on my phone? I realized it was on there last night when I had to move a few apps around. Anyone have anything they want to tell me?” I gave them what I called my parent look. The one that none of them could ever withstand for a minute before cracking. Remy was the first to break.
“I did it, Uncle James.” He raised his hands like he was under arrest. “But I do have to say I had the best intentions.” He put one hand down and pointed at his twin. “Rhett agreed with me.” As usual, he had to bring his twin into any confrontation to shield himself. I almost laughed, but I wanted all the truth of the situation, so I just kept staring while Rhett thanked his brother for throwing him under the bus and flipped him off. I loved these boys so much, but looking at them standing there tall and proud, beards and tattoos and hearing their deep voices, they weren’t really boys anymore were they? I was processing that revelation when Remy shook my world yet again.
“Guys, what the hell?” I was pissed that they thought I was so pathetic that I needed an app to get a date. “I don’t need an app to get a date, and I don’t need any help. I do all right on my own, thank you very much.”
“Uncle James, listen for just a second. We're not trying to say you’re hopeless or that we know better. We just want you to get out there and try. In our own way, Rhett and I are looking for someone. We have wildly different ways of doing it, but we are. Ladd’s found his perfect guy. It looks like. Taylor, well, I’m actually not sure what Taylor’s doing.”
“I’m doing the hot maintenance guy in my apartment complex actually, thanks for asking!”
“Alrighty then, thanks for sharing, Taylor.” Remy flipped him off and continued, “What I’m saying is we just want you to be happy, and maybe this app might be a way to go about it, but it’s not the only way. Just, give it a look and see if you find anything interesting.”
He winked at me and then hugged me.
“We love you, Uncle James, and want you to be as happy as you’ve made us.”
Remy waved to everyone, then left.
I left them to clean up and went directly to my studio to work. I’d had too many truths thrown at me today. I needed to work with my hands and lose myself in the new wire piece I was working on. I needed the quiet so I could process everything. And I needed to decide if I was going to keep that damn app or delete it.
