My insides are vibrating with rage by the time I make it upstairs. I made a last minute decision to storm in without knocking, because I own this fucking place and his ass works for me.
“Axel. You son of a bitch.”
“What the actual fuck, Ryker?” Axel yells as he scrambles to stand from his ridiculously small office chair in a rush, making a point to shuffle around it and push it under his desk. I’ll have Hayes order him a new one. I’m not a total asshole. That thing can’t be good for his back.
“Shut the fuck up,” I order and his mouth drops open, presumably in shock, because historically, I don’t yell. Yelling at people implies I care enough to exert that kind of energy. Untilher, no one has been worth the energy. “Your sister isthemost selfless woman I have ever known. You’d do well to remember that and lend her a goddamn hand once in a while.”
Thankfully, I’m almost as tall as he is, so when I walk to him, until we’re practically toe to toe, I poke my index finger into his chest… hard. “It would be in your best interest to respect what belongs to me, and make no mistake… Your. Sister. Is. Mine.” I’m pretty sure a growl escaped me at that last part, but I need him to understand I won’t tolerateanyonegiving her shit.
“I can’t do what she does, man. Our mother is toxic. I made the decision a long time ago to separate myself from the fucking drama of it all,” he explains. “I get she’s going through it, but Christine Bradley will seep into your pores and drown you from the inside out if you let her. There’s already too much darkness in me. I don’t have room for more.”
Shit. I’ve been so worked up over Arabella, I lost sight of the fact that he’s probably just as much a victim as she is, but it doesn’t excuse him abandoning his sister.
“Did it ever occur to you that your sister might need your help getting out from under her? She stuck around and put her life on hold, and all she’s got to show for it is her low self-worth.Youshould have helped her, goddammit.” My face is hot while I wait for him to answer.
“Fuck, man. I get it.” He waves his hands in the air. “I figured she'd have gone off to college by now and that would have fixed it.”
Does he not know? “Did you know about the loan?”
His face twists with confusion. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
Wow. He really is clueless. “Your sister took out a ten thousand dollar loan for your fucking mother. Christine was supposed to make the payments but bitched out and left it on Arabella.”
“Shit. How would I know about that?” He throws his arms across his chest as he begins to pace the room. “It’s not like I’ve had any reason to go digging into either of their finances.”
“I took care of it, but there’s more going on here than meets the eye. I just need to gather more info before I can put it in front of your sister. She needs to see the truth for what it is, and I’m afraid she’s going to need hard evidence.” I pause, watching him pace the floor. I can feel my blood pressure rising, the more we talk about this. Anger is starting to boil in my veins once again as the realization settles in how clueless he is. “She gave up her fucking scholarship to help your mother.”
“I… Didn’t know,” he admits, pausing to look me in the eye.
“Maybe if you were around more, you’d know more.” Turning, I grab the door handle and look over my shoulder. “Do not breathe a word of this to your sister. If she finds out I talked to you… I won’t hesitate to fire your ass.”
I don’t bother waiting for his acknowledgement. If he goes against me, he’s dumber than he looks.
I haven’t seen this house in a long time. It looks the same as it did back then, right down to the vertical blinds in the front window. Stepping out of the car, I take a moment to remember how different things were for me back then.
Hayes had already approached me about Gravity and I was considering it, but wasn’t convinced it was what I wanted for my life. I was searching for something back then, and had no clue my future was right in front of me all along.
Stepping up to the door, I wait a moment, collecting my thoughts. I came here for a reason, but I didn’t come with a plan.
The way I left things with Christine wasn't pleasant, but I had to end it. Clearly, she hasn’t gotten over that night, or forgiven me and I hate she’s holding that over my girl’s head. That’s why I’m here. To clear the air and somehow not let on that I’m fucking her daughter.
No time like the present. I rap my knuckles on the door three times in rapid succession, and within a couple minutes, the door slowly swings open. She’s got dark circles and bags under her eyes, but her hair is separated into sections, wrapped around curlers on the top of her head.
Her eyes widen, her spine straightens and she smooths out the loose strands of her hair, as soon as she registers who’s knocked.Sorry, but that ship has long sailed.
“Ryker? What are you doing here?”
“We need to talk.” The door opens wider and she waves me in. A wave of nausea hits me at the realization that this is likely what my sweet girl walks into every time she comes over. The house is a mess, and that’s putting it lightly. It’s notdirty, but it’scluttered, like I just walked into an amateur episode of hoarders, with paperwork stacked on almost every surface and a thick layer of dust lining everything else.
“Ryker, this is quite the surprise. I haven’t seen you in so long.”
She looks terrible and I find myself wondering what I ever saw in her to begin with. Our time together feels like a lifetime ago.
“Christine, did you tell–or insinuate–to Arabella that it washerfault I ended things between us?”
A mix of anger and shock begins to mar her face at my accusation, followed by a hand to her chest in mock horror. Is she seriously going to play this up and try to lie to me?
“Seriously? I would never do that!”
