My heart ached for Rook as his voice roughened, and he sniffled hard as his emotions threatened to crack him like an egg. His shoulders curled, and he rubbed his face with his hand before threading his hand through his hair. Curling up into a ball, he fell quiet as he carefully gathered himself, and I didn’t do him the disservice of looking away.
“I tried. I tried to make my case, but she never was gonna hear me out. She said her father would never allow it, that she’s not ready to take that leap. If that was all . . . I could’a accepted it. But then, she said the joke had gone too far. I don’t think I was supposed to hear that part. Suddenly, all those secret feelings she had come pouring out, and I—” His voice wobbled noticeably, and Rook bit his lips hard as he took a stabilizing breath. “When I told her just put feelers out, that maybe her dad would be open to it, I think that’s when she realized things went too far.”
“Why’d you go to her father knowing that?” He puffed out his lips at my probe, and I clenched my fists between my knees. “If she told you to fuck off, you should’ve, Rook.”
“You know when we go to Calgary, and you lose the game, so you have to play until you win? That’s how I felt. I couldn’t leave it like that. If all I was to her all that time was a dog, I’d bite her on my way out. So, I went to her dad and told him I was fuckin’ her . . . that he raised a sick, twisted bitch who led me on for four years. That I hoped he was proud of her for being a heartless cunt that’ll be alone by her own actions . . . I ain’t say all that, though . . .” Trailing off, Rook cast his flashing, hurt eyes at me briefly, and a dry, raspy chuckle flooded the space between us. “He’s not a bad guy. He just doesn’t like to look at us poor people. He’s the kinda guy that’ll suck the toes of the Queen to be able to brag about it. But when I laid out on him, he was pissed. He called her, told her to get her ass home. And then . . .”
“She spun the story of the manipulative trailer trash punk that’d do anything to claw up the greasy pole.” My surmise earned me a miserable nod, and Rook’s eyes flared with anger that twisted his face and flooded up past his hairline. Now, some of the pieces are falling into place, and I took a breath, holding it briefly. “And it was easier to believe that than the truth. Yeah. Rook, things are gonna get bad. I need to be able to count on you. You can’t let it get to your head like earlier. You’re gonna have plenty of chances to beat this out, but you gotta understand that you can’t go lookin’ for a fight. They have to come to us. Got it?”
“Yeah, I got it.” Holding out his fist, Rook smiled gratefully at me. The first time he smiled the past two weeks since I picked him up. Has it only been two weeks? I bumped my knuckles against his, and he swiftly snatched my palm to rub the thick callouses on my palm. “Do you think she’ll come back?”
Surprise rose the thick carpet of hairs up my arm, and I exhaled a heavy sigh as I rested my head back against the siding. It really has only been two weeks.
“If she doesn’t, I’ll go after her. You’re only nineteen, Rook. Life gets infinitely better when you have someone in it that compliments you, not commands you. That’s why I’m here. Spyder and me . . . we complement each other. I could’a left five years ago when Minter recalled me, but my gut told me to stay. You listen to your gut. Be pissed. Be sad. But if something feels wrong, it probably is. Now, you have experience with selfish, ulterior motives. Remember this tightness in your gut. You’re gonna feel it again.” I didn’t wanna talk about Nicole right now; I’d held her until I couldn’t anymore, and that said all it needed to.
Hopefully.
Chapter Twenty-One
Nicole
“Wow. I didn’t know you were struggling so much, Nicole.” For once, my sister seemed deep in thought and extremely conscious of her words, and I ducked my head. Tears prickled my eyes, and I fiddled with my cup of tea as her fierce eyes bored into my crown. “Why are you so upset about what Tom did at my wedding? You did everything right, Nicole. I mean, yeah, maybe you shouldn’t have invited him, but he was your boyfriend at the time. You weren’t wrong for inviting him. You weren’t wrong at any point. It’s Tom’s fault, entirely. Okay, we’re gonna ignore that like it never happened, okay? You’re my sister, and I know you better than anyone. No more avoiding me because you’re making an issue outta somethin’ that’s not.”
“O-okay . . . just accept my apology, please, Jackie?” Glancing up under my lashes, the tension in my body eased when my sister nodded firmly. Slumping back into my seat, I raked my hand through my hair
