"Yeah, I that was specific, wasn't it?" It could have been the right kneecap.
"Bad afternoon." He dropped his tools down beside the door.
I stepped over to put my arms around his neck, hoping to defuse the situation. If he was a little calmer, he might take the news about his father better, right?
Yeah, I couldn't even see the straws I was grasping at, they were too far distant from reality.
"I'm a good listener."
He gave me a hard look, like he saw right through my façade and into my black soul.
Particularly black now I had a secret to tell him that he wasn't going to want to hear: I was going to kill his father.
There was no way out of it. No way around.
I killed Zeus or Zeus killed us. Those were the choices.
Which, when you think about it, was only one choice, because I wasn't going to let him kill us.
Jules' gaze shifted over to Cass. A flash of guilt passed his features. "I had a meeting with someone."
My heart went cold. Was there any chance?
I took in a breath, then another one for good luck. "Anyone I know?"
"As a matter of fact, you do," he said. "I met up with my father."
"I knew it," Boner said loudly. "That explains everything."
Jules scowled at him. "How do you figure?"
"You look pissed off," Boner said, not oblivious to the direction the conversation might have gone.
"Only a father could put that expression on someone's face. I know, I used to wear it all the time. I'd look in the mirror and I'd say, ‘Boner—'" he pointed at an imaginary reflexion of himself right in front of him “—you have that expression on your face again. The one that says if you don't kill this motherfucker, he's going to kill you first. Am I right, folks? I mean, there are good fathers out there, but…no. Jules has that look."
"My father is a shithead," Jules said clearly trying to figure out what was going on. Sure he was missing something.
"What did he want?" Cass asked carefully.
"You don't want to know," Jules told him. He stepped past Boner and headed into the kitchen.
"Yes I do," Cass said. "I want to know exactly what he said and did.Everything."
He used his bossy, demanding voice. The one that worked on most of us. It sometimes worked on Jules.
Not today. Jules poured himself a drink of water and leaned against the counter to sip. "Trust me, you really don't want to know."
"Trust me, I really do." Cass closed the distance between them until they were almost standing chest to chest.
Jules was taller and heavier than Cass, but Cass looked ready to insist any way he had to. With his fists, if necessary. Which wasn't like him at all.
This whole thing had him on edge. If his father was there right then, I didn't think I'd be able to stop him from strangling the man.
Would I try? Honestly, I probably would. If Cass killed his father in anger, he'd have to live with that for the rest of his life. It was better if one of the rest of us did it. He didn't need the literal blood on his hands. He deserved better.
Jules stared his brother down. "He's still an asshole who doesn't give a shit about us, okay? He has no regrets for being a prick. He's still a prick, he'll always be a prick. He only wanted to talk to me because he needed something."
Cass stiffened. "What did he need?" His voice was dangerously low. It might be Jules who got strangled if we weren't careful.
