Page 3 of Demitrius

“You were mumbling.” He asked him how he knew that. “You talk out loud when you’re stressed out. It comes out like you’re mumbling, but it’s really you just talking low. I think that Zander does it too. So how bad was it? She’s mad at you, and I’m assuming you said something not so nice about her.”

“I don’t want to fall in love with her right away.” Knox just eyed him. “Well, everyone else has, and I don’t want to even date her for fear that we’ll be something to each other. I have enough going on in my life that I don’t need another complication like a woman with two kids to mess with.”

“Wow, you really did a number on her then.” He laughed, but it sounded like he was angry too. “I don’t blame her for being pissed off. You? You said some pretty harsh things, even under your breath, about a near stranger, if you said all that. Christ, man. What’s wrong with you having some fun by going out? And it’s doubtful to me that you’re going to find yourself anyone if you have an attitude like that.”

When his brother left him standing there, he could see him sitting by Mandy. She didn’t warm up to him right away, but she was speaking to him. Going out the door, feeling the need to break something, he got into his car and had to take in several deep breaths and let them out slowly before he thought he could take a chance and drive. Christ, he thought, this was a royal fuck up and he didn’t have anyone to blame but himself.

By the time he was home, he had four messages and two missed calls. All from his family. He’d gone there to help with packing things in trucks, then taking them to Mandy’s home, but he thought for sure that it would go better if he wasn’t there at all. He knew that being around Mandy right now would cause a lot of trouble. None that he was looking for, that’s for sure.

He ended up in his basement with his exercise equipment, pounding on the bag for about ten minutes, when his phone rang again. He’d told them all that he’d been feeling off and didn’t want to help out, but apparently that wasn’t an excuse enough to keep them from calling him. He answered the phone on about the fifth ring and barked his name into the phone.

“What did you do?” He asked Shipley what she meant. “You’ve hurt Mandy. She’s not saying anything, but in the words of Teddy, you looked about as pinched as Mandy did when we got back to her place to put things away. So again, what did you do to her?”

“Nothing. What did she say I did?” She told him that she wasn’t saying anything either. “Good. At least she knows when to shut up.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew his mistake. But there was no taking it back now, and he listened to Shipley beat him up with words while he took it. When she seemed to be winding down, he asked her if she was about finished, he had shit to do.

“You bastard.” He hurt knowing that he’d hurt her too. “So, are you going to start drinking soon? I’m told that all the fucking bastards—your father included, do that.” When she hung up the phone on him, he did the only thing that he could think of, which was to throw his phone across the room and hit the wall. It was shattered even as it dropped to pieces onto the floor.

“Now I need a phone.” Getting on the treadmill, he was going about as fast as he could make it without killing himself when someone knocked on his door. Not answering it made him feel like he’d live a bit longer, especially if it was August, Jack’s husband and his brother. Zoning out on the treadmill, he was nearly startled off it when his brother knocked hard on the glass door that led out into the back yard from the basement doors. Christ, would no one leave him in peace?

“I’m not in the mood.” He tried blocking the door so that his brother would get the hint and leave him alone. Fat lot of good it did him as he just shoved him out of the way and came in anyway. “I didn’t hang up on your wife; she did me.”

“I know that, dumbass. She sent me over here to see if you were all right. I didn’t know what was going on any more than she did until I talked to Knox. He’s worried about you, too. Said you were flying off the handle for no reason. Just because you don’t want to date Mandy or something like that.”

“I don’t, not that it’s any of your business.” He said it wasn’t but that he’d hurt Mandy. “Then she should have been minding her own business and not listening to me. I apparently mumble when I’m thinking, and she heard things that were private.”

Even to his own ears, that sounded lame. Grabbing a towel, suddenly realizing how sweaty he was, he asked his brother if he was going to leave soon. All he did was sit down on one of the many chairs that he’d gotten at garage sales for cheap.

“You want to talk about it?” He told him no, not at all. “I think you do. Before you break something else down here.”

“What are you talking about?” he nodded toward the heavy bag that was spilling sand onto the floor even as he stood there. “I did that a week ago.”

“Sure you did. And it’s just now leaking out. Anything else you broke a week ago that you want to talk about?” Demi sat down in the other chair that matched the ugly one that his brother was sitting in. “I’ve never seen you this pissed off before. Knox mentioned that you had a bit of beer on your breath. Are you drinking too?”

“I had half a can of beer left over from cooking hot dogs for the restaurant, and I spit it out when I tasted it. I won’t drink any more than any of the rest of us will. And Jack said I was acting like our father. I’m not that mean.”

August didn’t say anything, but he did stare at him. Leaning back in his own seat, he wondered where all this anger was coming from. He wasn’t really stressed out, not as much as he could have been. Looking at his brother, he was surprised when he snored. Christ, he’d fallen asleep in seconds. He felt his temper flare about that, too.

But instead of acting on it, like smacking his brother around until he woke up, Demi decided to take a shower. As he was getting under the hot spray, he realized how much he was telling his crew how sorry he was too. And just last week he’d made one of them cry. Something was wrong with him, and he didn’t know what to do about it.

Getting out, he was marginally better but not perfectly calm. Going into the outer area where August was, he found him on his cell phone. Getting dressed in something comfy, he opted for a pair of shorts that had seen better days as well as some socks that he thought were clean. August was getting off his cell when he was pulling on his shirt over his head.

“That was Locke. He said to tell you to behave yourself. I told him that I think you were fromnow on.” He pointed out that he wasn’t five. “Then don’t act like it. If you don’t want to be treated as a child, then act like you’re an adult.”

“I’m trying. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” He looked at his brother when he stood up. “I’ve been snapping at people for two weeks now. I think that if I make one more person cry, then I’m going to be out of staff. I just can’t seem to get my shit together enough to keep out of the doghouse. I feel like shit all the time nowadays.”

“Have you been to the doctor? I mean, you must know that this isn’t you?” He said that he’d not been, but he didn’t think he was ill. “Well, something is wrong. You’re going to have to apologize to Mandy and the rest of the family for the stunts you pulled today. It would be better all the way around if you were to tell them that you’re working on what’s wrong. I, myself, think that you’re working too hard. How many hours a week are you spending at the restaurant?”

“Sometimes as much as twenty hours a day.” August asked him if he was serious. “Yeah, I just realized that when I was in the shower. I’m there nearly all the time. I even have a cot there.”

“You’re going to go there with me now. Call your employees and tell them that you’re giving them a week off with pay. Then you’re going to come home with me and cuddle the kids. They’ll do wonders for your anger. Then, after a week if you’re better, I’ll think about allowing you—don’t you dare tell me no, Demitrius Alan Erickson. This is some serious business you’re messing with. Either do it or I will. I don’t want to lose you to some kind of heart issues.” He knew his brother was right, but it didn’t make him feel any better. He agreed to follow his brother into the place and close it down. It was only for a week. He’d be able to do that, Demi was sure.

However, the closer he got to the restaurant, the more he was regretting taking his brother up on his offer. There was just too much riding on him making a good showing of his first place.

Chapter 2

Mandy wasn’t sure she was ever going to get everything put away. While the kitchen looked big when it was empty. With a table and four chairs, the trash can and the cupboards full, it seemed as tiny as the bathroom was. Even that took on a smaller appearance when she had the linens filled out in there as well.

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