Page 79 of Win Some Love Some
“Goodbye, Liam,” Wyatt said and hit the button on his phone to disconnect the call. “And I know we’re shoving this brother thing down your throat when you’re probably not ready. But the reality is, Liam and I aren’t going anywhere. And all we want, is to know you.”
This feeling. This pressure in my chest. I’d felt this before. I didn’t like it.
After I was adopted, Antony made me see a therapist. The guy would go on and on about acknowledging my feelings. Was I mad? Was I sad? Was I happy?
He’d said kids who grew up in abusive households lost touch with their feelings because everything was about survival mode. There was no point in wondering how you felt, because it wouldn’t help you stay safe.
There was no doubt I spent a lot of years being angry. And there was no doubt in my mind that getting help from a professional back when I was a teenager, helped to check that anger.
Control it. Release it.
Except he’d said that was only part of the work.
If I was being honest with myself, I’d bailed before it got too intense. Antony told me it wasn’t healthy. He’d held all his shit in until it exploded on him.
Me, I just denied I was feeling anything. Ever.
“I hate feelings,” I muttered.
“They’re a bitch. But eventually you realize, you can’t run away from them.” He patted my shoulder. “Have fun at the wedding.”
I pulledmy truck into the parking lot of my garage. It was pouring rain and the garage bay doors were down, but I could see someone leaning against one of the doors, under the overhang, his phone pressed to his ear.
Peter. What the fuck was he doing here?
I ran through the parking lot, avoiding puddles. Whatever conversation he was having, it was engaging enough that he hadn’t heard me pull up.
“I know. You think I’m not trying? There is more than the advance on the line. We’re talking movie options too. I gotta go,” he said and disconnected the call. He turned to me with a big fake smile. “Hello Nick, just the man I wanted to see.”
“Car problems?”
I wasn’t like a doctor or anything, I didn’t take an oath to help everyone who needed it, but I hated turning away people who were in a bind. That said – I’d make an exception for this asshole. If he needed help, my schedule was going to be fully booked. For months.
“No,” he said. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about Nora.”
I laughed in the guy’s face. “She’s not doing that book with you and I’m not changing her mind.”
“Nora’s not out. She’s just on the fence. It’s my job to convince her.”
It wasn’t worth my time to argue with him. I knew Nora too well. There wasn’t going to be a book.
“What did you need, Pete?”
“It’s Peter,” he corrected me.
“Like I said, what do you need?”
“Background. On Nora. I only knew her for a few summers, but you two have been tight for a long time.”
“I’m not talking about Nora with you.” I nudged him aside to open the padlock on the bay door. It was Sunday. The garage was closed but there was always work to do and I was trying hard to stay busy and not let thoughts of Nora creep in.
Poundtown. Honest to God.
“I’m not asking for family secrets,” Peter said, holding up his hands as if to show his innocence. His phone was still in his right hand. Waiting for whoever he’d been talking to, to call him back? Was he recording? I wouldn’t put it past him.
“That’s good because I don’t have any to share.”
Pete, Peter, flashed what I imagined most people found to be a charming smile. I was unmoved.
