I walk into the house and hear nothing. No talking, no shuffle of feet as Cooper paces, and no clink of the decanter to refill Oliver’s glass.
“Hello?” I call out.
“In here.” Oliver calls from the family room.
I head in there and find him sitting on the couch watching TV, the tumbler firm in his hand, and his hair damp from a recent shower.
“Hey.” I say and sit on the couch opposite him.
“So?” He asks as he tips the glass to his mouth. I watch as he swallows the entire contents in one gulp.
“What’s with all the drinking lately?” I question.
“This time of year is the worst.” He grumbles and gets up for a refill.
“The holidays?” I know this feeling, anyone from a broken home feels similarly.
“Yeah. Most wonderful time of the year, right?” He holds his glass up and tips it back again, draining it all.
“Yeah, you have to deal with family shit or something?” Admittedly, I know next to nothing about the guidance counselor himself. I know enough about his family but him in particular? Nil.
“Something like that.” He grins and sips his third refill.
I hear the back door open and the smell of grilled meat hits my nostrils. My stomach growls in response and I realize I haven’t eaten a damn thing all day, worrying about Kailey and the visit fucked me up.
“Zeke!” Cooper exclaims as he hurries into the room. “I knew I heard the bike, how is she?”
And it starts, “she’s good. She looks tired but fuck she’s dealing with Brody, we know what that’s like.”
“What do you mean by ‘dealing’?” Caine growls as he strides in behind Cooper.
“I mean they are trying to work out every single thing that’s happened in the last five years. Her disappearing act, Brody’s mental health, and what he orchestrated for her high school years.”
“She must have some real feelings to want to drag all that up and rehash it.” Oliver cuts in.
“They’ve been close since before they could speak.” I retort.
“It’s true.” Cooper sighs as he falls onto the couch beside me. “I’m scared to lose her to him.”
“She’s not going anywhere and if I don’t get a call tomorrow evening, neither will Brody.” Caine grits out.
Brody will be going six feet under is what he’s implying.
“She’ll call.” I know at this point she would do anything to protect her father.
The room falls silent and Oliver begins to tap his fingers against the tumbler.
“I will be away for the next few days.” He states.
“For?” Caine lifts an eyebrow.
“Got some shit to take care of.” Oliver answers with a shrug. He seems calm but his heavy drinking and strained actions speak otherwise.
“During the holidays?” Cooper asks.
“Always during the holidays.” Oliver replies.
Is he drunk? I try to get a good look at his face but where he’s standing has very little light and shadows obscure most of his features. From here, Oliver Ballon looks more like a mobster than a guidance counselor. Again, highlighting the fact that I know truly little about this guy. What about Kailey? What does she know?
What happens during the holidays with the Ballons? I tuck that little bit of information away and tell myself to research it later. I know he said he has very little contact with his family, but very little is still some. I need to know what he’s up to and how this could be harmful for Kailey.
Kailey wouldn't even listen to me right now anyways, I could almost taste her anger earlier. It was that palpable. She wouldn't trust a single thing I said, but I still stand by my actions. Her and Brody need to make up, need to fix everything or else we will all end up at war with each other.
"That's it?" Caine's eyes scrutinize my face. "Looks like you got a lot on your mind."
"I just got her and now she's with Landry." I say and raise an eyebrow at him. "What do you think?"
"Hmm," he hums. "Scared to lose her?"
"I guess. I really don't know what will happen or if we even had a chance to begin with. How many boyfriends does she really need?" I huff.
"I knew she'd be the one that kept us four together." Cooper nods. "She was that for us when we were kids, so why not now when we're adults?"
"And added another to the mix for balance." Oliver grins, the look condescending and ominous.
"I need to get home," I stand from the couch. "Mom went on a bender last night, I need to make sure she's alive today."
"Rehab again?" Cooper asks.
"Nah, at this point I'm hoping she falls down the stairs in her drunken stupor."
"I'll walk you out." Caine says, standing as well.
Should be fun.
I nod at the others and lead the way out of the house.
"Is he taking his meds?" Caine asks as we step out of the front door.
"I didn't see him physically take it but he looks fine." I shrug.
"How long do I let this go on?" His shoulders deflate and he looks miserable.
"I think as long as it takes. If we push or crowd her, she might pick him."
"Brody would never share her, you know this as well as I do. He wouldn't be able to with his condition." He says while crossing his arms over his chest.
He's right, Brody doesn't have the patience or the want to be generous with his girl and Kailey is every bit his girl. His capacity for feeling has slowly diminished over the years, he doesn't have the same reactions to things as we do. He's become methodical in his thinking and any emotions he should express and feel are void. Except for anger, he still has that one and I saw the proof of it on Kailey's face.
"You're the only one he's letting in, keep an eye on her."
That would make me feel like utter shit if I didn't already see the end plan. I can see where we have the potential to go, all of us.
Even Brody.
Kailey's pissed-livid-because Zeke crushed her hopes of escaping my clutches. No matter anyways. Being angry takes a lot of energy and I plan on draining her of most of hers. I get to the room and stand outside the door, surprisingly, there's no sobbing or sniffling that I can hear. That's different.
I unlock the door and step inside. Suddenly, there's a flurry of fists in my face and she lands one good blow to my mouth, causing me to stumble back out into the hallway. Then with a screech, she flies up and wraps her arms and legs around me, continuing to slap and punch me in the head.
I can’t tell you if it hurts, nope, all I can tell you is that I’m fucking hard, and I’m only getting harder by the second.
“I hate you!” She screams and her fist plows into my eye. Okay, that one hurt a bit.
My hands grab her ass and I squeeze them in handfuls. She screams something unintelligible and scrapes her nails down my cheek. I can feel the sting and I can tell she’s broken open the skin. Without thinking, I grab her face in the palm of my hand and stride back in the bedroom. I know she can’t breathe well like this and I know my anger is rising rapidly.