Page 5 of King
“Drop the attitude, little brother,” Reaper says before I can. “We’re only checking up on you.”
I’m on my last nerve with him. I’ve never come to blows with my little brother but I’m close to doing it now. Maybe beating the shit out of him will open his eyes. Make him realize we’re here to help him. We aren’t the fucking enemy.
“Fuck you, bro.” He flips Reaper off again and I just shake my head. I’m so fucking tired of the childish shit. “You both know where to find me too.”
“Well, it’s time you make fucking time for your family, Saint!” I yell, stopping their bickering before it gets started. “You have to get over whatever the fuck is wrong between you and Da because Ma wants to see you.”
“Easy for you to say,” he says. “He didn’t fuck you over, King. Or you either, Reaper.”
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
My brows dip in confusion. “What do you mean he fucked you over?” A sinking feeling settles in my gut. “What the hell did he do, Gavin?”
He stands and shoves his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “It doesn’t matter. What’s done is done.”
My fists clench. Why the hell is he protecting him? Obviously, it’s something major if he’s keeping his distance, especially from our mother. Maybe he’s trying to protect her?
“If you don’t tell us what the hell you’re talking about, how do you expect us to understand, Gavin?” Reaper asks. “How do you expect us to help fix it?”
He throws his hands in the air. “I don’t expect either one of you to fix shit!”
He drops his head, places his hands on his hips, and inhales deeply before releasing it. “Look,” he says, “I’ll try to make time to go see Ma, but I can’t promise anything, I’m booked solid.”
He’s always booked solid. I’m starting to think he’s usingForbidden Inkto stay away from all of us. Although it isn’t what I want to hear, it’s a small step towards a compromise. However, I don’t miss that he ignores Reaper’s questions. Whether my brother wants my help or not, I’ll find a way to fix whatever the hell is going on with him even if it does have something to do with our piece of shit father.
He's had a rough go of things. If I can fix it, I will because I hate to see him so angry. So closed off from all of us. I understand he has a business to run. We all fucking do. We all have shit that needs to be done. But we make time for what matters. Work isn’t an excuse to stay away from his fucking blood family. And I won’t let him use it as one anymore. It’s time for him to grow up.
He turns on his heels and makes his way to the door. “Do more than try, Gavin. I’m not fucking asking you to, I’m telling you too,” I order. “I’m tired of the bullshit. And your ass better be here tonight.”
He slams the door without responding.
“How in the hell are we supposed to help him if he won’t open up?” Reaper sighs. “He’s not the same.”
“Fucking prison will do that to you, Reaper. He missed most of his damn life. If that doesn’t change you, I don’t know what will. If he doesn’t open up, I don’t know how to help him, other than ask Da if he knows what the hell’s going on.”
“It’ll be a cold day in Hell before Da owns up to anything, and you know it. We have to do something.”
“Let’s table it for now. We got other shit going on.”
“But…”
A knock on the door interrupts whatever he’s going to say.
“Come in!”
The door opens slightly, and one of the new prospects sticks his head in. “Prez, Snake says the girls are here.”
“We’ll be out there in a minute.”
The prospect closes the door, and I turn my attention back to my middle brother. We aren’t close in age either. He had a closer relationship with Gavin than me before he got locked up. Now they’re trying to work on their relationship and get it back to how it used to be. But we became closer after getting some of the bullshit straight between us. He held a lot of anger towards me too because when I went out on my own, he thought I abandoned him. Left him to deal with our piece of shit dad. That might be the reason Saint acts the way he does toward me too.
“I’m not saying we won’t get to the bottom of whatever’s going on with him, Reaper. Let’s just make sure these girls are settled in and safe first, then we’ll tackle it, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
I can tell he doesn’t agree with me not dealing with Saint right now, but I think he trusts me enough to know I’m not going to let whatever’s happening drop. We just have to get these girls settled into their new lives for the unforeseeable future, then tackle the heavy family shit later.
I slap him on the back. “Let’s go greet our guests.”
