Page 38 of Coach's Pet

Have I always cowered to his demands?

Fuck me.

“Doesn’t matter. You’re dead either way. Tell us, why did you lie about our mother? Why not turn us against her instead of an innocent woman?”

He laughs.

Fucking laughs!

The roar of outrage coming from both my brothers is almost enough to make me pull the trigger. But I reel it in for the moment.

“Because what better way to keep you three ungrateful bastards under my thumb? If you had a purpose to stay with me, the poor widower who lost his doting wife, then I could control what happened. It was so easy for you all to follow my lead, and when my businesses started crumbling, it was fuel to fire.”

Black dots float within my eyes, and I breathe hard. The anger builds so fast; I pull the fucking trigger without thinking. His brain splatters as the bullet comes out of the back of his head. “Good riddance, you son of a bitch.”

Pulling out my phone, I snap a photo and put the gun down on a table behind me. Sliding my phone back into my pocket, I mutter what needs to happen. “Get him buried, and I’ll clean up this mess. John, is the thing you needed to clear up a few weeks ago taken care of?”

“Eh. I’ll nip it in the bud soon enough.” He hedges, and I don’t say a word. It must be important, but he’s not ready to talk about it.

“Alright. Joey, why don’t you go sit with Crucinda. She might be asleep, but I don’t want her alone.”

He pulls me into a hug and whispers, “This fucking changes everything. We have to earn her trust and…”

Patting him on the back and running a hand on the back of his head, I calm him down. “She’s our only family now. We will show her what it’s like to have a family that’s ride or die.”

“What if she doesn’t accept us?” Ah, there’s the vulnerability I know Joey for. He may be a hair trigger and brutally honest, but he still wants to be accepted.

“She will. You heard her before all of this. Crucinda craves family, and that’s what we are going to give her.”

“Okay. Okay. Enough of the sappy shit.” Joey says and pushes away from me, causing us all to laugh. He shakes his head as he looks at our father, dead and lying in a pool of blood. “Serves you right,” he mutters and leaves.

“This is going to be hard for him.” John pulls our father’s arms from the post Queenie tied him to. Smiling, he wraps him in the tarp.

“Joey will survive. He’s a strong kid.” Pulling my phone back out of my pocket, I look at the camera app and see Joey walk into my bedroom. Crucinda is asleep as he sits down on the bed and starts talking to her. He’s apologizing again. Joey’s shoulders shake, and I shut the app off. This is a moment he needs with her.

“Are you going to be good, though?” John has our dead father on his shoulder, and he’s asking me if I’m going to be good with all this?

“Are you?” I throw back at him as he turns and stares at me.

“I’ll survive.” He opens the door that leads to the woods behind my house, and he’s gone, leaving me with a mop and a trash bag to clean up the goo.

Once I clean the area, I pour hydrogen peroxide on the blood and know I have about fifteen minutes before I can mop that shit up.

Twenty

When I wake up,I feel someone looking at me. A small bit of fear freaks me out for a moment before I force myself to open my eyes and see who’s sitting beside me. It’s Joey on my left, John is across the end of the bed, and Jason is sitting in a chair on the right side, holding my hand. My chest expands as I look in their faces. They are so peaceful as they sleep.

Not moving, I lie here, knowing I’m safe. I have not achieved this feeling with anyone but Jasper and Boris. A stabbing pain hits my chest, and I gasp. The sound wakes up the guys, and I blink before looking at each of them.

“Sorry. I…I didn’t mean to wake you all.” Hot tears run down my face, and even though I know they were acting in accordance with how their father raised them, the pain isn’t gone.

“What’s wrong, pebble?” Jason is the first to react and squeeze my hand. His action forces me to look at him, and he growls. “Are you in pain? Can we get you anything?”

Joey is already up and running to get me some water as John stretches and tells us he’s going to get food. “You…you don’t have to do this. Just leave me here and let me wallow in my pity.” I’m miserable, and it’s silly.

“You were thinking about Jasper and Boris, weren’t you?” There’s an edge to his voice, and I know I should try to assuage his thoughts.

But I’m not a liar.

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