With him, there was the perfect balance of good and bad traits. I was sure the same could be said about myself, and we were both prone to leaning a little heavy in either direction. We just had to make sure we pulled each other back when the bad started to outweigh the good.
Huck
“So the guy was going to exploit Mercer the same way Sawyer exploited him because he blamed Ollie for everything that happened after they hooked up. I can’t believe she has the misfortune of having two separate spoiled rich kids intent on making her life hell. What are the odds?”
Vernon shook his head and watched as I shut down the bar for the night. I was supposed to get off at midnight, but after taking off in the middle of my shift with no explanation, my manager insisted I stay late and close. I’d like to think I was irreplaceable, but the bar was close to campus and had cheap drinks. All they needed was a reasonably attractive person to pour drinks and flirt with the regulars. I was far from indispensable. It was an easy, well-paying gig, so I didn’t really want to get fired, but that hadn’t stopped me from letting Vernon in through the back door, even though he was underage, once the business was done for the night. It was unlikely anyone was coming in this late to check up on me. “How can she have such bad luck when it comes to men?”
He made a disgruntled sound when I tossed a wet bar rag at him and reminded him, “We’re also some of the men in her life.”
He snorted and threw the towel back at me. “Yeah, and we’re just as fucked up as the others. The only difference is we don’t blame her for our issues or take out our frustrations on her.” He lifted his eyebrows at me and reminded me pointedly, “Her life would be a lot easier if she thought she could live without you. That’s what started all of this back then… she picked you as her favorite and the world crashed down around both of you.”
It was true. It was the first domino that sent the rest crashing down.
I was self-aware enough to know that burning hot jealousy played a part in why I was ready to rip this new guy into pieces.
When I was young, I always thought of her as mine. Not in a romantic sense, but in the sense that she was the other half of me. She completed me. She brought out the best in me. Now, that sense of ownership was different and much more intense. The thought of someone else touching her, of another man knowing how sweet she tasted, and how sexy she sounded when she let go made me want to grind my teeth to dust. It was a careful line I knew I needed to walk with caution, because the last thing I wanted or she needed was me to start taking after Sawyer. I was into her, but I knew that didn’t give me the right to start taking over her life.
“Did you explain to Mercer what was going on?” I rested my hands on the bar in front of him and watched as he tapped his black painted nails on the scarred wooden surface.
He nodded, sending white strands of hair into his eyes. “I did. She was confused and surprised. It didn’t help that the douchebag freely admitted that he knew Ollie in the past once confronted, and then insisted it was just a coincidence they were both here now. It was obvious he was lying and hiding things from her. He had more of an issue explaining why he purposely tracked Mercer down and why he was so insistent that things stayed pretty PG between them. She had a healthy suspicion of his story by the time I left. I think once she hears everything from Ollie, she’ll realize she was being used and that guy is a straight-up liar. He knows how to manipulate women. Mercer was on the brink of being brainwashed.” His fingers stopped tapping as he braced himself with a hand and leaned closer to me conspiratorially. “What are we going to do about him?”
I pushed off the edge of the bar and lifted my hand up over my head, stretching until I heard the tightness in my spine pop. “Run him out of town and make sure he knows if he comes anywhere near Ollie or anyone she cares about in the future, that will be the last bad decision he ever gets to make.”
Vernon leaned back on the barstool and smacked his hand on the bar. “Sounds fun, just like the old days. Better not let Fisher know what we’re up to. We’re supposed to have reformed and turned into decent people looking toward our future. We’re supposed to have outgrown our rough roots. He’d be disappointed if he knew we were still nothing more than the uncivilized street kids he first met.”
I snorted. “It doesn’t matter what we change on the outside; who we are on the inside will always come through. Doesn’t matter if I’m in a thousand-dollar suit or a leather jacket and jeans; I’m always going to stand up for what’s right. I’m not going to let anyone hurt the people I care about regardless of what it takes.”
“Which is exactly why I want to be you when I grow up.” He gave me a grin as I reached out to mess up his hair.
“You don’t want to be me now or then. I have a pretty girl in my bed, and we both know that isn’t who you want to cuddle up to at night, kiddo.” With a chuckle, I turned to count the money drop for the night. “You’re a genius. I shouldn’t have to tell you that.”
Vernon made a strangled sound and followed me out the back door. I shut the lights off and made sure everything was locked up tight behind me.
He swiftly changed the subject.
“So, what happens now? You and Ollie don’t have to worry about your brother anymore, and the thing that goes bump in the night now has a face. Is she going to stay with us indefinitely? Is your relationship going to be the same now that neither one of you has anyone to fear?”
I didn’t want Ollie to go anywhere. I liked having her under the same roof, but I couldn’t make that decision for her.
All she wanted was to live a normal life and make choices for herself without worrying about how they might blow up in her face. If she wanted to stay, I would be overjoyed. If she decided to go, I’d support her, but I wouldn’t love it.
It was strange how far I’d come where she was concerned. When she first showed up, it felt like my well-ordered life had vanished. Now, I was starting to think all the ways I’d grown and adapted over the years had been so I could be the man Ollie needed me to be when she came back into my life. She was still so much a part of who I was and who I wanted to be.
“I’m not sure what happens next. I’ve never not lived life looking over my shoulder because of Sawyer. The same goes for Ollie. We’ll have to figure out what our new normal looks like. Sawyer’s always been like a parasite attached to any relationship she and I have had. With him out of the picture, maybe whatever we have between us can finally breathe.”
“You’ve totally forgiven her for not going with you when you were kids?” Vernon made it sound like the possibility was farfetched. I couldn’t blame him. I’d spent years feeling wounded and angry because I felt that she betrayed and abandoned me. “Did you ever officially accept her apology?”
“I don’t know that I fully forgive her, but I understand where she was coming from now more than I did then. I get her motivations. We were all so young and just doing the best we could in a situation that was so much bigger than all of us.” I hated that she had to lose her mom to find a way out, but that didn’t change the fact she sacrificed me for the little time they had left together.