Fortunate Son

by Jay Crownover

  It made no sense that instead of being there to assure Aston everything would be all right, I ran to the one person who was going to have zero sympathy for my dumb ass. I vaguely remembered feeling like I couldn’t breathe all night until I finally saw Bowe. I was choking on my own unfamiliar emotions, but as soon as she touched my face, and those honey-colored eyes locked onto mine, the invisible claws shredding my insides didn’t seem nearly as sharp. What sense did it make that she was the only person who could both rile me up and calm me down with no effort? I always felt like she was playing with me, that I was nothing more than a toy she could wind up and send spinning when she was bored. She also conveniently put me on a shelf and forgot all about my existence when it was convenient for her. Which was one of the main reasons our relationship hovered close to contentious.

  I was just stepping out of the shower when I heard the doorbell, followed by a series of rapid knocks on the front door. I waited for a minute to see if Bowe would wake up, but there wasn’t any movement from the end of the hallway where her bedroom was. Like I said, she was impossible to wake up, no matter how insistent her visitor seemed to be.

  Swearing under my breath, I pulled on a pair of track pants, scrubbed a towel over my wet hair, and stomped toward the door. According to my phone, it was already late into the afternoon, which would explain why I felt so discombobulated, and also why my stomach was suddenly growling. I never slept this late, regardless of the circumstances.

  I pulled the door open without checking who was on the other side because I was sure there was no way Bowe’s dad would let her live alone without all possible security measures in place. She was bound to have one of those recording doorbells along with an alarm system, so it was unlikely I would get murdered once I opened the door.

  If looks could really kill, I would be six feet under from the way the dude on the other side was glaring at me.

  I flicked the towel around my neck and lifted an eyebrow at the heavily tattooed visitor. “Can I help you?”

  He looked like the typical kind of guy who always circled around Bowe. He was tall and skinny. Both his arms were tattooed down to his fingers. His shaggy hair was an odd mix of jet-black roots and lilac strands cut in an intentionally messy style. He had several big, heavy earrings dangling from each ear, and more rings on his fingers than a repeat Super Bowl winner. He wasn’t bad looking by any stretch of the imagination, but he was such a cliché ‘band-dude’ that I wanted to laugh. He looked like every other guy Bowe flirted with since she’d been old enough to date. Half the time, I wondered if they were just trying to cosplay as her dad. She got mad at me when I asked her why she kept going after the same type when none of them ever seemed to stick around for very long.

  “Who are you?” The question was barked at me in a cold tone as I used one corner of the towel to clean some residual water out of my ear.

  I tilted my head a little and tried to knock it out when the towel didn’t work. I watched him watch me, his angry gaze sliding over my half-dressed form that was as different from his as night and day.

  He was tall, but I was almost a giant. I definitely got my Uncle Rome’s height. Both Zowen and I were a couple inches taller than all the men in our family except for my dad’s older brother.

  I’d never been skinny. I played sports since I was young and was blessed with really good genes. I’d always been fit and in good shape, but as I got older and more dedicated to football and my health, I was ripped. I knew it. Anyone who looked at me with or without clothes on knew it.

  This dude had me beat when it came to ink in terms of quantity, but no one could touch me when it came to quality. I didn’t have a body full of ink to relive all my memories through images on my skin, but I did have one intricate and detailed piece I’d had both my father and his best friend and business partner, Nash Donovan, work on over a period of time once I was old enough. It started out as a way for me to try and relate to my old man, a way to understand him and figure out what made him tick. In the end, it turned into one of the few experiences we shared where I felt like we finally got closer. It was something he gave me that I would have with me forever, so even though tattoos had never been as big a part of my life as they were for so many in my extended family, I felt like I had a good grasp as to why they were so special and important to so many people and how they could show the world who someone was without using words.

  The stranger cleared his throat and shifted his weight on his feet as we continued to stare at one another. Again, he demanded to know, “Who in the hell are you? I’ve never seen you before, and I spend pretty much all my free time with Bowe.”

  I straightened my head and gave it a shake, sending water flying everywhere. “Are you her boyfriend?”

  If so, it would explain why he was envisioning tearing my head from my body with his bare hands and not bothering to hide it.

  I saw him start to nod just as a raspy voice with a soft Texas twang drifted up from behind me.

  “No. He’s not my boyfriend. But he is my friend, and we’re in a band together.” I felt Bowe put her hand on my shoulder as she shoved me to one side to peer out the open door. “Why did you answer my front door half-naked, Archer? And what are you doing here, Nyle? We don’t have plans today.”

  Bowe’s colorful hair was a tangled mess on top of her head. She was still wearing the same outfit she had on when I showed up unannounced so early this morning. She was always a little rough around the edges, which was annoying because she was such a pretty girl, but it was undeniably cute when she was rumpled and sleepy and still looked like a badass. It reminded me of another time and place when I was the reason why her hair ended up wild and snarled. I could clearly recall just how soft and silky it felt in my hands, and how fucking sexy it was when the neon strands dragged across my skin. We’d gone from harsh words to heavy breathing in the blink of an eye. It was all so overwhelming, and I never knew how to deal with having such strong feelings for a girl who lived so far away and was so different from me. I knew opposites could attract because my parents were a prime example of vast differences balancing each other out, but it never made since to me to fall for someone with whom I had nothing in common. That seemed so much harder than it had to be.

  The edge of her elbow caught me right in the gut, making me cough in surprise as she glared up at me. I lifted the towel back over my head and turned on my bare heel to head back to the bathroom.

  “I was just getting out of the shower when someone started knocking and wouldn’t stop. It seemed important, so I answered the door.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Had no clue it was just one of your many admirers anxious to see you. So boring.”

  I heard her swear under her breath at the slight dig. It was true, though. Everywhere she went, it seemed like she had different boys falling at her feet. It was partly the edgy, hot girl in a band thing she had going on. But a big chunk of it was her whole unattainable vibe. Everyone wanted what they couldn’t have, and Bowe was a master at playing the ‘you-can-look-but-not-touch’ game.

  “For real. Who the fuck is that asshole, Bowe? I just saw you last night, and you didn’t mention you were going to have a visitor.”

  I chuckled to myself as I stepped back into the bathroom. I kept the door open a crack so I could unabashedly listen to their conversation.

  This guy had to be a new addition to Bowe’s circle of friends. Otherwise, he would know one thing she absolutely hated more than anything was being questioned or pushed into a corner. She liked to think she didn’t answer to anyone. Especially not some guy who wasn’t even her boyfriend… even though it was obvious he clearly wanted to be.

  “Exactly. I saw you last night. So why are you out here pounding on my door? We don’t have practice today, and even if we did, it would be hours and hours from now. You and I don’t have plans together today either. There’s no reason for you to be here.” Her raspy voice was cold, and even though I couldn’t see her, I could clearly picture the way her spine wou
ld snap straight with irritation, and her shoulders would square off. Bowe Keller wasn’t a pushover, and the girl always gave just as good as she got.

  I heard the tattooed band dude nervously clear his throat. The various chains and accessories he was wearing jangled loud enough for me to hear inside the house as he shifted his weight.

  “I thought it would be okay if I dropped by. I wanted to see if you maybe wanted to go get something to eat with me. We’ve been practicing nonstop lately and putting in a lot of hours. This is our first real break in weeks. I thought I could treat you. I didn’t know you were going to have company.” I heard him make an annoyed sound as he switched from conciliatory to confrontational. I wanted to warn him he was about to reach the point of no return if he kept trying to guilt-trip her about having another man in her house, but it was more fun to listen to him dig his own grave. I only wished I had a ring-side seat to this beat down. “How do you even know a bland meathead like that? He’s not the kind of guy you usually hang out with.”

  I tossed my head back and laughed at my reflection in the mirror. Driving like a madman through the middle of the night was insane, but this might have made the whole trip worthwhile.

  “First of all, we are nowhere near the ‘just-drop-by’ stage of friendship. Second of all, why would I want to spend my first day off in forever with someone I see all the damn time? Third, and most important, who is and isn’t allowed to stay at my house is no business of yours. I don’t owe you an explanation about anything in my private life. We play music together, and we’re friendly with one another because of the band, but that’s it. You don’t get to question me about anyone I know or how I might know them.” I knew if I could see her, her dark eyebrows would be dipped down in a severe V over her tiny nose, and her intense eyes would be shooting amber sparks of annoyance. She was pretty when she was mad. She was also a little bit scary, even though she wasn’t very big. She seemed a lot taller than she was when she was angry because her attitude and charisma were huge. When we stood next to one another, the top of her head only reached my shoulder, and that was after a late growth spurt she had after she turned sixteen.

  “And he’s not a meathead. Who are you to judge someone you don’t know anything about? I hate judgmental, critical people. I have things to do today, Nyle. I’ll see you at practice. Don’t invite yourself over to my house ever again. I won’t be as nice as Ry was if I answer the door and find you on the other side of it.”

  The door slammed shut with a thump of finality. I slipped my t-shirt over my head and stuck my head into the hallway just in time to see Bowe march toward the small, but tidy, and very modern kitchen. My stomach growled again, reminding me it had been hours since the greasy food I indulged in on the road. I needed a real meal and a trip to get some provisions.

  I followed Bowe into the kitchen, grinning as she angrily swiped her hair out of her face while chugging milk directly from a carton she grabbed out of the fridge.

  “Comb your hair and put on clothes you didn’t sleep in. I’m hungry and need to hit a store to grab some stuff, including underwear. I didn’t bring anything with me when I left Denver.”

  She glared at me over the milk container, making me laugh because she had a bit of a white mustache leftover before she wiped it with the back of her hand. “Why do I have to go with you? I didn’t invite you to ruin my day off either.” She winged a midnight-colored eyebrow upward and asked, “How long are you planning on hiding out here anyway?”

  I shook my head. “Dunno. But I’m not in a hurry to head home.”

  She sighed and closed the fridge with more force than necessary. “You have to head back and face her eventually. Do you know how shitty you’ll feel if she leaves for school or something and you don’t get the chance to say goodbye or clear the air? I get that you’re mad and confused. I totally understand that you’re hurting, but you guys have been in each other’s lives for too long to just let everything go without any kind of closure.”

  It was my turn to lift my eyebrows in question. “Really? Because I’ve known you just as long as I’ve known Aston, and the last time we were together, you left without a word and refused to come back or even see me again. You only text back if I threaten to tell your parents you’re out of communication, and you never answer me if I call you. How come I owe Aston some kind of closure, but you don’t owe me anything?” It was one of the things that forever lived under my skin that she’d written me off so easily, regardless of all that we’d been through together, both good and bad.

  A heavy silence lingered as we stared at each other without blinking. There was so much between the two of us, often there didn’t seem like there were enough words in the world to encompass it all. However, the way we looked at each other spoke volumes.

  My mother once told me that someone could hide what was in their heart, but what they were really feeling was always reflected in their eyes. I wondered what Bowe saw when she looked at me, because I knew what I saw when I looked at her.

  Longing.

  Regret.

  Confusion.

  Frustration.

  And not too long ago, I could’ve sworn what was there in those molten depths was love… and hate.

  “You owe Aston because you love her, and she loved you. I don’t owe you anything because you and I are nothing to each other. We aren’t friends. We aren’t family. And we aren’t lovers. All we are is two people who can’t seem to escape each other because our parents keep forcing us to spend time together. It’s so annoying.” She huffed out a breath and flounced by me, but I could see that it was all bravado. My question had shaken her a little bit. “I’ll go with you, but only because I want to eat and make sure you don’t buy too much stuff. You aren’t welcome here, Ry. I’m not going to be your safe haven indefinitely.”

  I watched her disappear into the bathroom, leaning back on a counter in the kitchen as I confided my whispered secret to the walls, “But you’ve always been my safe haven.”

  Even if she didn’t realize it or acknowledge it, she was always the person I turned to when I needed someone to make me feel better. When I had nothing left to give, she was the one who filled my empty tank back up. Sometimes she topped it off with poison, but I’d grown accustomed to the bitter taste. It was uniquely hers and stood out from all the sweetness everyone else brought to the table.

  Which is why Bowe lingered in a way no one else did.

  Bowe

  I WATCHED WITH wide eyes as Ry shoveled a second massive breakfast burrito into his mouth. It was closer to dinnertime than breakfast, but he insisted he wanted something full of bacon and smothered in cheese and green chili. He’d always been a big eater, but usually it was reserved for boring, unseasoned food in large quantities that he used to replace the calories he burned. The only time I really remembered him indulging in much of anything was during the holidays when everyone gathered together, or when he allowed himself to slip and drink just a bit too much. Bad things happened when Ry’s suppressed bad boy managed to slip his leash. I had first-hand experience with just how different he was when he let himself run wild.

  “Are you eating your feelings right now, Archer?” I pointed the end of my fork at him and grinned when he glowered at me from across the table where we were seated at a small Tex-Mex place close to my house. “Keep eating like that while you’re down here, and you’re going to have to double your workouts when you go back for training.” I cocked my head to the side and asked, “Do college football players even get summer break like regular students, or are you really breaking the rules and playing hooky?”

  I wasn’t very interested in sports. My dad’s best friend, who was also my godfather, was a former college all-star just like Ry. He’d tried his best to get me interested in football before his first daughter came along and thankfully showed an actual interest in sports. Granted, Glory picked figure skating and not football, but my Uncle Rowdy was just as supportive and excited for her to compete on the ice as he was
to watch Ry on the field. My cousins also tinkered around when it came to sports. They were quite a bit younger than me since, as my mom always put it, “Your Uncle Asa took forever to get his shit together.”

  But one of the boys seemed pretty serious about football and was following in Ry’s footsteps. The other, well, I was pretty sure he was just doing whatever he thought would get him the most girls and make him popular. I’d overheard my parents mention they were worried that my Uncle Asa was getting his just desserts by being blessed with a baby boy who was exactly like him, and that it was a good thing he already had an in with the local law since his mom was a police officer. I thought both boys were super cute and a lot of fun, but they were closer in age to the twins, so the four of them usually spent time together when they visited.

  Ry wiped his mouth and slumped back in the terracotta-colored seat. “I was supposed to stick around and help a few other guys and one of the assistant coaches run a summer camp for the incoming class and future prospects. Summer training doesn’t start until June. It’s recommended we pick up a couple classes in the summer to lighten the load during the season when we’re so busy and committed to other things, but I decided not to enroll this summer because I wanted to have a little bit of free time to spend with Aston before we both got busy with school and life. I have to take a full course load anyway since I’m focusing on Chemistry as my major. I thought we might even take a trip out to New York to see Royce before school started since neither one of us has seen him in a while. Probably pissed a few people off by not being there for camp, but they’ll get over it.”

  I dropped my fork on my plate and reached for my glass of sweet tea. “When are you going to call your folks and let them know you’re all right? Daire has been texting me since this morning. She’s managed to hold them off for now, but you know your dad. If you wait too long, he’s going to show up and demand answers. He’s going to be pissed you made your mom worry, and he’s going to be even more upset that you left without saying anything to him. You know how protective he is of you and your sister.”