“Why would I? It was a long time ago, and I was under the impression that they stopped speaking. Not long after they graduated, Clyde got strung up in a bad situation. Ended up having to do a couple months in jail. I was under the assumption that they stopped talking when he was sent away. I had no idea they resumed their connection when he was released. By then, my relationship with Janie was already starting to take a turn, rebelling in ways that didn’t have to do with drugs yet. She didn’t see eye to eye with me when I tried to help her. I met your Uncle Thad shortly after that.”
I run a hand over my mouth. I guess she has a point. It really was a long time ago. But even if it was, somewhere along the way, my mom and Clyde reunited. Enough for them to get fucking hitched. “When would they have gotten married,though? That friendship they had must’ve been serious enough for them to show up at the courthouse and sign some papers.”
Aunt Bess shrugs and rubs her palms together. She’s normally so put together, so in control of what’s going on around her that I barely ever see this side of her. The side that lacks answers and is uncertain. “I don’t know, Colson. I mean, yes, at some point that clearly happened. But your mom would participate in activities back then that I wasn’t aware of. She would go to parties and drink. She would hang out with groups of people I wasn’t involved with. I wasn’t her keeper, and it was hard to nail down any real answers with her when I did have questions.”
I nod, accepting her answer and trailing around to the other side of the room to claim a chair. “Why would someone get married, just tonotbe with that person?” I’ve been thinking about it a lot. It doesn’t make sense, and as much as I trust Aunt Bess, instinct tells me she’s holding back. It’s not just this that has me thinking about it, though. It’s also that conversation I had with her when she was waiting for me in my apartment to tell me about Mom getting arrested. When I asked her about my father.
I stretch my legs out underneath the table and watch as she paces. Uncle Thad nods his hello from across the table. “I see the way you’re looking at your aunt. Her loyalty isn’t something you should be questioning, Colson. We’ve only ever wanted the best for you.”
My gaze lingers on his, and bravo to him for reading me so easily. I’d give him a round of applause if I had the goddamn energy.
“There’s a lot going on,” Uncle Thad continues, “but if anyone is on your side, it’s her.”
Just like that, I feel like an asshole for wondering if there’s something she’s not telling me. I chalk it up to my own paranoiaand all the shit that’s been going on, the lack of sleep catching up with me.
Stewart walks in a moment later, but he’s not alone.
The tall man behind him dwarfs his height and steals all the attention in the room. Dark blue engaging eyes. Scruff on his face. Entire body clad in midnight black. Just like his son, who stands behind him.
My body goes rigid at the sight of Clyde and Finn. My mouth clamps shut, and my muscles work overtime, clenching under the guise of this being the most fucked up family reunion ever.
Across the room from me is my stepfather—Mom’shusband—and Harrison Height’s most known drug dealer.
TWENTY
COLSON
The three fileinto the room, the air uncomfortably tense. Stewart offers his best manners and gestures for them to find a seat. They round the table. A whole fucking lot of chairs in here, and they choose to sit next to me. I’m at the end, Finn is in the middle, and Clyde is on the other side of him. I stare straight ahead as the chair legs screech with the same protests I’m having in my head.
“Stewart.” My aunt awkwardly shifts in her seat. Uncle Thad’s hand moves to cover one of hers on the table. An act of comfort. My eyes track the movement of his thumb brushing the back of her hand as my aunt adds, “What’s this about?”
Stewart sits tall. I’m sure this isn’t the first time he’s been in a situation as fucked as this. In fact, he looks as laid-back as the two sitting next to me. Like their stomachs aren’t filled with wasps buzzing to protect their queen. Like it’s no big deal when it’s the biggest goddamn deal of the century.
I get why Clyde is here, but why the hell is Finn? Where does he fit into all of this?
Stewart tents his hands on the table. “I thought it’d be best for all of us to sit down. I’ll act as a mediator in order to make sure everyone walks away happy.”
Aunt Bess purses her lips then acts as if it’s just her and Stewart in the room. “We both know where that money belongs.”
“That might be so, but there are legal documents that say otherwise. I wouldn’t be doing my job unless we dealt with that appropriately. Mediation is the next step to take before dealing with the expenses of going to court.”
“We could’ve done this privately,” she gripes.
Stewart nods in understanding, but I’m not sure he realizes just how much of an overreach this is by not consulting with his client before dropping a bomb such as the Lincolns in person.
Clyde interjects, his voice deep and unapologetic. “Let’s not pretend like we don’t already know each other, Bess.”
I keep my focus ahead of me, even though I want to look over at the men next to me. They know me, and I know them. But Aunt Bess and Uncle Thad don’t know that. Theycan’tknow that. I lied to Aunt Bess’s face about Mom’s well-being in their own kitchen. She can’t know about my involvement with them or why it exists.
I suck my cheek into my mouth and use it as a means to cope. My molars edge into the sensitive flesh and do little to calm the monster traipsing in my gut.
Aunt Bess glowers at Clyde, her eyes flaring with fire. It’s so much worse than when Sebastian and I got up to no good as kids. “How dare you intrude, thinking you can say whatever you please.”
“I belong here,” he states simply. Like he’s not crashing a party he was never invited to. “Just like any of you. It’s no secret that Janie and I were married.”
“See, that’s where you’re wrong,” Bess plainly asserts. “Itwasa secret. Why couldn’t you leave her the hell alone?”
Clyde shrugs. Finn lazily rests his elbow on the arm of his chair, ignoring me like I’m ignoring him. In this room, we’re strangers. On the streets of Harrison Heights, we know eachother quite well. I think of everything he’s done to me. A lit cigarette to my neck. Having his muscle beat me down in that alleyway. Breaking my finger at his father’s instruction.
