Page 11 of It's Not Home Without You

“Are you serious?”

Rusty nodded. Aw man, this would suck. I looked around the room once more and got on my knees in front of my soon-to-be-dead best friend.

“Russell Joel Hayward, ever since I can remember, there have been two men in my life I knew I could always count on. You and Grandpa. You two were my constants, you both have been my only family. Goodbyes are hard, and the day I left, I had already said goodbye one too many times to one too many people, I couldn’t bear to repeat it. I was such a dick and a crappy best friend, but I’m here now, if you’ll still have me. Now if you could please accept my apology because my knees are hurting and I can feel the grime from the floor climbing up my legs.”

“Forgive the pretty girl already, Rust. I know I taughtyou better than that.” Rusty’s father, Joel, came over and helped me off the dirty floor.

“Freya, good to have you back, girl.” He hugged me and kissed my cheek.

“It’s good to be back, Joel.” I hugged him a little tighter. When he stepped away, I opened my arms at Rusty who grinned and yanked me into a bear hug.

“I missed you,” he murmured in my ear.

“I missed you more,” I replied, my voice getting swallowed by the hoots and shouting from the boys in the shop.

“Your wife will kill you when you get home,” one mechanic I didn’t recognize shouted.

Did he say wife?

“Your wife!” I shouted in shock. A wife would imply Rusty was a married man.A wife meant he got married without inviting me. Oh, man did that hurt.

Rusty gave me a sad smile and played with his ring finger, and what did you know? There was a gold wedding band on it. “Got married two years ago.”

“I’m happy for you.” My voice was weak. I was still in shock, but I meant it.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Seventeen years old

“Come on,Russell, tell me where she’s at?” It was the third day in a row I had come to Hayward’s family’s auto shop hoping that Russell would tell me where I could find Freya. I was still sporting the black eye he gave me Monday after school, and I didn’t care because I deserved it. I thought I ought to let Freya cool down before I attempted to talk to her again since it didn’t go so well in the bathroom. Just thinking about it made me cringe.

On Tuesday when she didn’t show up to school, I went to her home, and I sat there for a good two hours before I got desperate when no one answered the door. Then I went straight to Russell’s job until he gave me her phone number. But no one answered when I called. Here I was again, glaring at him while he worked, and I wasn’t going anywhere until I got a response.

“Shouldn’t you be spending time with Nikki?” he replied while bent over the hood of his truck.

“For fuck’s sake, how many times do I have to tell you she isn’t my girlfriend? She told people we were together, and I never said otherwise; that was my mistake. If you must know, yesterday morning, I told her she wasn’t my girlfriend. I didn’t know where she got that ludicrous idea from. You can even ask Emma; she saw the whole thing go down.”

I knew how irrational it was. Freya was just another girl—but that was a lie. She wasn’t just any other girl. I couldn’t get her out of my mind. I didn’t know how I knew it, but she was the kind ofgirl who defined your whole life. The type ofgirl you’d look back on when you were reminiscing the past, and you’d be happy that she was a part of it.

“Jesus, Rusty, throw Max a bone already. I hate to see him look so desperate.” If my father could hear Mr. Hayward, he would lose his shit. I was a Dunnett, and we didn’t beg. We took. That kind of mentality was how my mother coped with my brother’s man-whoring. According to my mother, he was just sowing his wild oats. Prescott was just a dick. Usually, I would defend him to whatever end because he was my brother, but I heard what he told Freya, and for the first time it made me hate him. Just the thought of him with her made my blood boil. Still, I waited patiently for Russell as he wiped his hands clean with a rag then walked to me,not happy, but I saw the gleam in his eyes when he saw my black eye.

“Freya and her grandfather go camping every once in awhile. After what happened on Monday, Eugene took her camping for a few days. She’ll be back on Saturday.”

I couldn’t help the smile that broke across my face. I knew what to do to get her to forgive me.

“Thank you, man,” I said as I rushed to my car.

“Yeah well, I ain‘t apologizing for that eye,”he yelled.

“I wouldn’t expect you to.”

My good moodevaporated as soon as I got home and saw that my brother had friends over—Nikki amongst them. I nodded at them but walked straight into my room. I wasn’t up for socializing. I was mad at both of my siblings, and if my parents caught wind of it, Father would say something along the lines of “You can’t be mad at your family for that girl.” Making Freya sound diseased or something.

When I came out of the shower, towel wrapped around my hips, Nikki was lying in my bed.

“Get out.” My clipped tone left no room for argument.

“Aw, baby, you can’t still be mad at me?” She’d dropped her tone to a seductive purr, but instead of turning me on, it annoyed the hell out of me.

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