Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 131271 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 656(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131271 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 656(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
7
HAYES
“Where are you going?” Jacob frowns as I pull on my jacket. He’s still in his boxers, with wet hair dripping down his torso. Shawn, who is also mostly undressed, peers up at me.
“I’ve got a study group,” I say quickly. “Trying to get on top of this stupid assignment.” I don’t embellish more than that. Lying isn’t my favorite pastime, especially to my brothers, but I’ve learned that it’s easier to keep track of if you provide limited information.
Jacob narrows his eyes as he tugs socks onto his feet. “Study group? At this time?”
“Yeah. It’s not something official. Just a group of us who realized we don’t know what the fuck we’re doing.”
When I lie, a little self-depreciation makes what I’m saying more believable. I don’t know why, but there you go. Whatever works.
“Study group. Is that what they’re calling it these days?” Shawn grins knowingly.
“Who? People who are two minutes younger than you? Yeah, we’re a totally different generation with all these lit new terms.” I roll my eyes, and he laughs.
“Just tell us if you’re dumping our asses to get some pussy.”
“Yep, I say. That’s exactly what I’m doing.” I grab my bag from the bench and raise my hand. “Catch you later.”
***
I toss my bag into the trunk of my car and drive across town to O’Connor’s. It’s a dark and noisy sports bar where all the jocks hang out for game nights. It doesn’t matter if you’re a football player, into basketball, or a puck head; you keep up with the other sports teams and what they’re achieving. It’s expected.
I can’t be certain that Forester will be there tonight, but I’m making a calculated guess. I wasn’t lying when I told Riley that I think he has a thing for her. Maybe it wouldn’t have been anything outside of a casual desire for a one-night thing, but it’s become more because I’ve claimed her. Not that he’s after my sloppy seconds or anything. It’s more that he’d like to rub the fact that he fucked her in my face if he gets the chance. Like a dog pissing on a lamppost to mark territory.
He’s not getting the chance.
To be honest, I think hell would freeze over before Riley entertained him, but I want to make sure he knows she’s pretend-mine at the very least.
Fuck.
That word. Mine.
I’ve never been territorial about anything. I share everything with my brothers without even thinking. It’s always been that way. Drilled into us by a shared fear of our father. There’s a strength to being united that a lot of siblings never have to fall back on, but we were forced to realize at a young age.
But seeing Riley again and feeling the connection, the tether to the past that’s more than just memories, has made me want something for myself.
Jacob was always against anyone who came into our lives after Dad died. There’s a whole tangled web of emotions driving him, layers I can’t even begin to unravel. I know he hated the new men in Mom’s life—on that, we were the same. We shared the fear that one of them might be like Dad or worse, and at the same time dreaded the unbearable possibility that a stranger could treat us better than our own flesh and blood. And then there was the deeper, unspoken dread: that we’d have to confront the truth about Dad—that he wasn’t the hero the world believed him to be.
It’s so tempting to bury pain, to wrap it in layers of denial until it doesn’t sting so sharply anymore. Like an oyster shielding itself from a piece of grit, you can coat your hurt with lies, smoothing the edges until it’s less raw, less urgent. Over time, it hardens into something you can live with, something you almost forget is there. But then someone comes along, pries open your shell, and pokes at the pearl you’ve created. That’s when it happens—the wound you’ve hidden for so long gapes open, and there’s no pretending it wasn’t there.
Riley represents more to Jacob than just a person from our past. Like a song playing in the background when your world is falling apart, seeing her is like a melody of pain. He thinks I don’t know, but I understand my brother.
I understand Shawn, too. He likes a quiet life, so he won’t go against Jacob.
Keeping Riley away from them will make my life easier. I’m twenty-one, and it’s time to make my way without my brothers always influencing my path. The time’s right because we’re so close to being forced apart by the game that’s always kept us together.
I’m ten minutes early, which is what I intended, and I wait for Riley, glancing up and down the street. I should have offered to collect her, but I didn’t want to intrude too much into her life before we talked more. She might decide she doesn’t want me to know where she lives, which is absolutely her prerogative.