Page 75 of Between Desire and Denial
“They don’t give me any respect at all, and they never will. Melly is a lost cause, hence her pool remark.”
“What happened with the pool?” He frowned.
“Melly used to live with her parents a few blocks over. They had a pool too. She invited Olive over and then pushed her in during prom pictures her senior year of high school,” I heard Knox say from behind me. I turned to see him standing between my stepmother and my father. He stood tall with a small smile on his lips, and he winked at me like he and I had a secret to keep. “They’re assholes.”
There it was. My brother exactly the way I remembered him. I pulled him in for a hug and he let me. Something was different about him tonight but also completely the same as he used to be. I might have held onto that hug a little longer and squeezed him a little tighter. “It’s really freaking good to see you tonight, Knox.”
“You just saw me.” He laughed softly. “Don’t be dramatic.” But he patted my back like he understood and let me hug him extra.
It may have been dramatic, but I didn’t just mean it was good to see him here at the party, I meant it was good to see him looking aware, looking like he could handle socializing, looking like he wanted to be out in public.
When I pulled away, my father hugged me and said he was happy to see me too in a clipped tone. His tense jawline led me to believe otherwise as he and Dimitri eyed each other up.
My father was a tall, good-looking man. His dark wavy hair and bright brownish eyes the same color as mine had always landed him acting roles when he was younger, especially with his charming smile. Now, as a director, I think he held most people’s attention and respect. It was what made his career and what broke his family. Women had always thrown themselves at him, and he never resisted. Not when he was with my mother and not now with my stepmom.
It’s why I still couldn’t look him in the eye with respect, even when he tried to be consoling and sweet to me. I never forgave him for not being there for us at the end of my mother’s illness, and maybe he never forgave me for not forgiving him.
“Good to see you, Dimitri. Olive tells me you two are sharing a house for the time being.” He extended his hand to shake Dimitri’s.
Dimitri shook it but said, “Well, we’re sharing more than that, Mr. Monroe. She’s been my girlfriend for quite some time.”
“Right. It’s not something either of you has mentioned over the last year to anyone in Paradise Grove or it seems I would have heard about it?” There was question in his tone.
I watched Dimitri smirk, and a gleam shimmered in his eyes at the challenge my father threw his way. “She was traveling with my best friend, Kee. We wanted to make sure it was serious before we moved in together and let family know.”
“I’d still like a call from you, Olive, with news like this. You should respect me enough to do that.”
Knox sighed and groaned, “Dad.”
I tried my best not to explain myself immediately. It’s what I would have done had I still lived at home. I would have tried tosmooth things over and take care of everyone. Now, it felt futile. Knox was already struggling, and I’d already left.
Dimitri didn’t have me contemplating what to say for long. “Respect goes both ways.”
Dad narrowed his eyes at Dimitri and turned to my stepmother. “Why don’t we go get a drink? We can rehash family business another night. This one is for fun. Right, everyone? Olive, call me this week.” He held my gaze before he nodded to Dimitri, then he turned to Knox.
They exchanged a glance, but Knox shook his head. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen that look in my father’s eyes, and it wasn’t the first time he tried to quietly throw his weight around. He grabbed Knox’s arm, but my brother, although he’d lost muscle, still yanked it away from my dad.
“Knox,” I said softly, because that look I’d missed—the one where he was sort of himself—died right there as he stared at my dad.
My father glanced around and then waved him off before smiling big and turning toward the bar with his wife.
There was silence between the three of us now even though the party’s loud music and laughter filled the air. The tension was louder than any of the surrounding revelry. My gut twisted at thinking of what Knox and my father might have been going through. “Knox, can you—”
“Don’t. Just… let’s talk a different day.” A frown wrinkled his forehead as he stared at our dad.
“Dad’s probably just stressed.” Why was I making excuses?
“Doesn’t matter.” He glanced away, and I saw the moment he recognized two men I’d never seen before. He perked up like suddenly he had more energy. Normally I would have been happy to see him excited, but this was too much. He waved to them before he turned to me and hurriedly said, “He’ll forget about it tomorrow when he’s packing to be on the set of anothermovie.” I took a deep breath and Knox patted my shoulder. “Go enjoy the enchanted woods, Olive Bee.”
I cleared my throat as I watched him hurry off. “I’m going to go make sure he’s okay,” I said to Dimitri, but he caught my arm and pointed.
Esme was beelining toward Knox on a mission. “I think she’s about to do that for you.” I chewed on my cheek, not sure if I should intervene. “He’s got to make his own decisions.”
“He’s making the wrong ones, and I wasn’t there before to steer him in the right direction.”
“Sounds like you were a kid growing up too, Honeybee.” He nudged my shoulder. “And you’re here now. When he inevitably falls further down the shithole he’s digging, we’ll be there to get him out.”
My eyes snapped away from Knox to Dimitri’s as he saidwe. “Oh, you don’t need to be a part of this. It’s my problem to—”
