Page 132 of Prince of Pain

“Ugh, no. I don’t have time for that,” she scoffed. “I have time for you though, if you ever need to call me. I know I’m not Beckett, but I’m here if you need to vent. I’m sorry I haven’t made the effort before. I was just suffocating at home, and I was a bit of a bitch.”

“I don’t want you to be Beckett, I like you for you,” I promised. “Have you seen her? She visits me pretty regularly. I see her sometimes twice a week.”

It had been nice to reconnect with my twin. We’d both taken such separate paths in life, and things had been weird between us since she’d gone to prison when we were twenty. By the time she’d gotten out last January, I’d made friends with the guys in Blackwater and was doing my own thing, and she was used to dealing with things alone.

And she was obviously busy fucking my best friend and our brother, but whatever.

I was still a little bitter about it, but I was working on it.

“We need to leave, but we’ll see you next week,” Archer said as he leaned down to kiss Tempest’s head, patting me on the shoulder. “Look after my girl.”

“Always,” I smiled, not minding when Lexi hugged both of us tightly. They’d spent a lot of time here over the past month, and we’d all had a lot of conversations.

Tempest stood from my lap to walk them out to the main door, and I watched her go.

She was still skinny, but she’d put a couple of pounds on. I was a little obsessed with it, to be honest.

Her tits and ass were bigger, but I loved the extra weight on her thighs. I didn’t feel like I was going to break her now, her ribs not as exposed anymore either. Her face was rounder too, and her skin was slowly getting a glow to it again.

I hadn’t noticed how unhealthy she’d looked the past few years until she’d started healing here.

“How’s she doing?” Mom asked quietly once Tempest was gone, and I sighed.

“Self-esteem is through the floor without the fake confidence from drugs and alcohol, and she’s quiet when she’s not having one of her psychotic episodes. Takes a lot to pull her out of her shell, to be honest.”

Her episodes hit at any time, and we still weren't sure if she had some kind of undiagnosed mental health condition or if it was the long lasting effects of substance abuse. It was something her doctor was working on with her though, so hopefully we’d find out soon.

“Is the porn career a bad idea then?” she asked dryly, and Marla almost snapped her neck looking at her. “Oh, sorry. Forgot to tell you. Your brother’s a porn star now,” Mom added.

I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms. “I can make her feel like the hottest woman in the world. She loves the job, I just don’t let her run the social media aspects so she doesn’t see the nasty comments.”

“Ry has a job?” Marla sputtered. “It’s a miracle.”

Mom laughed, but I flipped them both off. “Fuck both of you.”

“I’m just happy you’re doing something, trust me,” Mom smirked, patting my arm. “I need to go too, but do you need anything?”

“No, I’m good. Channing dropped me off a bunch of snacks last week, and the staff here are very accommodating.”

“They’d want to be for what I pay them,” she grumbled, getting to her feet. “I’ll see you next week with Luke and Jense. Marco and Skeet will be here on Friday to check in. Angel said she’d come with Mikey and Poppy if you’re up for it.”

There had been a time when I’d spent most of my days drinking with Angel. When had I even seen her last? Or Mikey?

“I’d like to see her,” I replied, frowning. “Maybe you could bring Noah? I owe him an apology too.”

Mom cringed, not seeming convinced. “I’ll think about it. I don’t like the idea of him being in places like this.”

I couldn’t blame her for that.

“Okay, I can always talk to him when I get out, I guess. I love you.”

She smiled, dropping a kiss on top of my head. “I love you too. We’re really proud of you. Keep working hard and come home to us, okay?”

“I will.”

Marla stayed for a while longer after Mom had gone, Tempest joining us. Tempest was quiet, listening to us talk, and she kept toying with her hands. She always got twitchy when her parents left, and it didn’t help that her caffeine wasn’t allowed in here.

Her lack of coffee was almost worse than watching her come off the drugs and alcohol.

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