Page 13 of Not Another Yesterday
“Oh, shit. Why?”
“She said she wanted to apologize, and for me to understand why my mom enjoyed beating the living shit out of me. So she spent an hour going on and on about how my grandfather was an abusive asshole, how his father was an abusive asshole, and probably his father, and so on. And then she talked about how my mom wasn’t able to break the cycle and how hard that was to do when you grew up with violence and never knew any different.”
Two lines appear between his brows. “Fuck, Ran.”
I exhale deeply. “Yeah. It was a real fucking pep talk.”
Shane winces. “Oh, yeah. Inspirational. She just decided to stop by to tell you these things?”
“Well, I guess she was ‘in the area’”—I make air quotes—“because she visited my mom in prison.” I can’t help the rueful chuckle that escapes my mouth. “I swear, Shane, sometimes I wonder about my life.”
“You do know that you’re nothing like them, right? You’re nothing like your mom or your grandfather,” he says, holding eye contact, his hand on my left arm.
“Sure.” This is as much as I want to talk about this bullshit right now, and probably ever. “Anyway, I didn’t really get the chance to eat. Do you mind if I scarf down a sandwich before I get going?”
I can tell he feels the need to talk about my grandmother’s visit some more, but he doesn’t push it. “Yeah, sure.”
I give him a nod, then walk out of the office.
Luckily it’s busy tonight, and by the time Shane is ready to leave and spend his evening with Tori, my mood has lightened significantly. I’m actually pretty impressed at my ability to suppress heavy shit.
“Is Cat staying over tonight?” Shane asks, pulling the hood of his jacket over his strawberry-blond hair.
“No, I think she’s spending the night at her house.” I push a tray of drained whiskey glasses across the bar counter and toward Jack, who snatches them right up and puts them in the sink.
“So Tori and I might be able to get some sleep tonight,” Shane says with a suggestive grin.
“What are you talking about?”
Shane’s grin widens. “Well, you know, Cat wasn’t exactly quiet this morning.”
I guess we’re doing this.“You’re one to talk. I’ve heard Tori beg you to ‘go harder, Daddy’ more times than I can count,” I say with a wicked grin, imitating Tori’s voice.
Shane shrugs, unbothered. “She likes what she likes.”
I chuckle. “Yeah, well, how about you don’t comment on Cat enjoying herself and I won’t mention Tori? Especially not the daddy stuff.”
“Deal.” He laughs, then claps me on my shoulder. “I’ll see you at home.”
Only ten minutes later, the front doors to Murphy’s open and my brother walks in with Vada, Zack, and Summer, along with some guy I’ve never met. But my eyes are instantly drawn to Cat, who has the ability to make my entire world zoom in on her.
“Holy shit,” I laugh when I approach them.
“Ran!” Vada throws her arms around my neck. I bend to hug her back. “I’ve missed you so much. I’ve missed everyone so much!” She squeals and lets go of me. “Ran, this is my boyfriend, Brady,” Vada says with a huge, mushy smile on her face.
I throw the tiniest glance at my brother. Steve and Vada dated for almost two years before they broke things off earlier this year. But Steve appears unaffected by Vada’s new beau, which is further confirmation that Steve has someone in his life. I’ve been suspicious for a few weeks now, but he’s been tightlipped. I will get it out of him sooner or later.
I shake Brady’s hand. “Hey, what’s up, man. I’m Ronan.”
“Nice to meet you,” he says.
I let go of his hand, then hug Summer and Zack in turn, before finally pulling Cat into my arms and softly kissing her lips. She smells delicious and tastes even better. God, this girl is everything.
“How are you guys?” I’m elated to see everyone here. It’s been months since we’ve all been together.
Zack smiles widely. “Really good, man. Summer and I are just here over Thanksgiving; we fly back to L.A. on Sunday,” he says, holding Summer’s hand. Summer followed Zack to California, though she attends USC while Zack is at UCLA, still in pursuit of becoming a director.
I sigh. “Man, Shane just left.” I know he’d love to hang out with everyone, too.
