by AS Teague
We both stood and I pulled her into my side. “It’s a deal.” I pressed my lips to the top of her head. “I’m sorry you’re home under these circumstances. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t really fucking happy to see you.”
Her arm around my waist flexed and as she squeezed, she whispered, “Me too. Me fucking too, Lawson.”
33
Piper
“This is bullshit!” Hampton shouted as he pushed through the front door the following morning, not bothering to knock.
“I don’t think you should just walk right in like that,” Smith said dryly, sauntering in behind him.
Hampton didn’t even acknowledge his husband’s comment, just continued to barrel through the living room. “Piper!”
“In here,” I shouted weakly in response. I didn’t have the strength to raise my voice much above a whisper, my throat raw from the tears I’d spent the night before shedding.
Frankly, I wasn’t interested in any company today, but I knew better than to try to tell Hampton that I didn’t want to see him. He’d ignore me, telling me I was too upset to know what I really wanted and would stay anyway. It was better to humor him and hope he left sooner rather than later.
Lawson, on the other hand, wasn’t having his crap today. “Hampton, now’s not the time,” he growled, blocking the route Hampton was taking toward where I was sitting at the kitchen table.
Hampton shoved past his brother, though, his focus a laser beam on me. When his eyes met mine, he stopped, his mouth falling open. “Is that a fucking cat in your lap?”
His comment, coupled with the way his mouth hung open, caused the smallest of grins to grace my lips and I nodded as I continued to stroke Seven’s soft fur. “She seems to think I’m her human.”
Hampton glanced back at where Lawson stood fuming. “Have I entered a parallel dimension? First, Piper gets kicked out of medical school and then becomes friends with a cat?”
Lawson frowned as he crossed the room to stand beside me. “Now’s not the time for fuckin jokes. And Pippie’s not really up for company right now unless it’s in the form of an attorney.”
I patted his hand that had come to rest on my shoulder. “It’s okay.” Looking around the hulking form of my seething best friend, I spied Smith standing back near the doorway, toying with the hem of his sequined shirt. “Smith? That you hiding in the shadows back there?”
At the sound of his name, he snapped to attention. “Hey there, Pip.” He smiled shyly and made his way over to where we were all gathered. When he reached Hampton’s side, he slipped an arm around his waist and leaned into Hampton’s side. “How ya doin’?”
Lawson’s fingers flexed, biting into my shoulder. “How’s she doing? Really? You couldn’t come up with anything better than that? You obviously don’t do improv, do you?”
Hampton’s face turned a shade of red that rivaled a fire truck and I sprang to my feet, pushing Seven out of my lap. “Law!” I snapped. “Why don’t you get our guests something to drink?”
Lawson just continued to glare at Smith until I kicked his shin. “I’m thirsty too.”
He narrowed his eyes at his brother and gave a final huff before he stalked into the kitchen.
Hampton began peppering me with questions the minute Lawson was out of sight. “How did this happen? What did they say? I don’t know what idiot would ever even think you would do something like this. I swear to God, I wish I had been there when they told you to leave. I would have—” I interrupted his ranting by putting my hand over his mouth.
“Shut up.” I smiled.
When he held his hands up in surrender I dropped my own from his face and took a step back. “I know you’re upset for me. And I appreciate that, but I don’t really have any answers for you.” I shrugged. “I have the same questions you do.”
Smith piped up, “Well, I agree with Hampton. This is just bullshit.” He rounded his partner and came to my side, pulling me into a tight embrace. “My question earlier was silly. I should have asked what we can do for you instead.”
I patted his back and then stepped away. “Law’s already called a lawyer. The only thing left to do right now is to wait until the hearing.”
“So, you can’t go back to the hospital?” Smith questioned. When I shook my head, the crease between his brow deepened.
“It’s just temporary, I hope. This has to be some sort of misunderstanding.”
A string of curses told me Hampton felt the same way I did. He finished his rant the same way he started. “This is just complete and utter bullshit!”
“So you’ve both said,” Lawson deadpanned, coming back into the room with one glass of water in his hands.
I didn’t want to admit it, but Lawson was right. I wasn’t up for their antics today. I felt like Atlas, my shoulders sagging under the weight of the world.
I’d shuffled over to the kitchen table and all but flopped back down into one of the chairs. When their heads swung in my direction, worry was etched on the Reed brothers’ faces.
“I’m really tired.” I attempted a half smile. “I didn’t sleep well last night. There’s nothing you two can do for me. Why don’t you go home? I’ll let you know if anything major happens.”
Hampton crossed the distance in two long strides and squatted until he was eye level with where I sat. His eyes were clouded with concern, his usually goofy demeanor replaced with a sincerity I hadn’t seen in ages. “Pip, I can see you’re feeling defeated.” His hand squeezed my knee. “I’m not going anywhere for a while.”
My bottom lip quivered. “I am feeling a little bit like my career is over,” I admitted, my voice low. “But, okay. You and Smith can stay for a while. I could probably use the company.”
My whole life, I’d run to Hampton, relying on him for almost all my needs. When I’d been sad, it was Hampton who made me laugh. When I’d been happy, it was him I celebrated with. After Jack had died, even though he was just as devastated as I was, he’d been the only person who could offer any measure of comfort.
But things were different now. And it wasn’t Hampton’s arms I wanted wrapped around me. But I was too tired to argue with him now. I knew eventually he’d get bored of staring at me in silence and he’d leave me alone with the person I wanted to comfort me.
I just had to wait him out.
“No!” Lawson barked as he smacked his palm on the counter. I jumped and looked at him over my shoulder.
“She’s told you repeatedly that she’s tired and that there’s nothing you can do for her, and yet you aren’t hearing what she’s saying. She doesn’t want you here.”
The vein in Hampton’s forehead began to bulge as he pushed out of the squat he was in and took one stride to where his older brother stood. Lawson’s face was a scary combination of anger and frustration, and I knew things were about to get intense between them.
It had been a long time since I’d seen the two of them go toe-to-toe, but things hadn’t been pretty then and that was when they were nothing more than a couple of kids. Now, these two grown men were liable to destroy everything in the house while they beat the shit out of each other.
“What the fuck, Lawson? Since when did you start making decisions for Piper?” Hampton barked, shoving Lawson’s shoulder.
Lawson pushed him back. “The day you came over here and begged me to take her was the day you gave up the right to steamroll over her the way you always have.”
I glanced over at where Smith stood by the front door, his mouth hanging open.
“Enough!” I shouted, pushing my way in between where they stood. “Hampton, I’ll call you tomorrow.” I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away from the brawl that was about to happen, and when we were within arm’s length, Smith took over, grabbing his arm and ushering him through the door. I mouthed a silent ‘thank you’ and he gave me a wink before I slammed the door behind them.
Spinning, I rounded on where Lawson still stood, chest heaving. “What the hell was that?” I
yelled.
He shook his head. “Not now.”
A bitter laugh escaped my lips. “Oh, no. You don’t get to act like that and then try to tell me not now.” I marched across the room until I was the one standing in Lawson’s personal space. “What did you mean when you said he didn’t get to steamroll me anymore?”
His eyes finally focused on my face and when they did they were blazing. “You let him walk all over you. And you always have. I mean, Christ, Piper! You told him three times you didn’t want company and then he gives you a smile and you just let him have his way. And it’s always been that way. When you were kids, he always picked the games you played, no matter how many times you told him you hated what he chose. In high school he constantly blew you off for girls and parties and later on Jack and yet, you always covered for him. Then one night he announces over dinner that he married some jack off and you have to move out and after a few minutes’ protest you convince yourself he was only doing what was best for you. Jesus Christ! You’ve made yourself nothing more than his lap dog and you don’t even see it!”
My mouth was hanging open. The words that were spilling out of Lawson’s mouth were so true I couldn’t even say anything in protest. But that didn’t stop them from burning so badly I was nearly on fire.
“You’re an asshole,” I murmured, taking a step away from him. I needed distance between us, afraid of what I might do if my hand was within arm’s reach of him.
He smiled bitterly. “No, Hampton is an asshole.”
I shook my head. “He’s always had my best interests at heart. Everything he’s ever done was because he loved me. You don’t know what you’re talking about. Because you’ve always been jealous of our relationship.”
He blinked, the look on his face incredulous. “Jealous? Of you being in love with my gay brother?”
My head snapped back. “I’m not in love with Hampton!”
He scoffed, “Sure, you’re not. That’s why you’ve been following him around for years.”
My cheeks heated. “I haven’t been in love with Hampton since I was nineteen. I saw him making out with some dude at a frat party and realized he’d never feel the same about me.”
He threw his hands in the air. “Then why did you stay with him instead of going somewhere else for medical school?”
“Where was I going to go, Lawson? Las Vegas? There a good medical school there on the Strip? Maybe I could have stayed with you, since you’d given me an open invitation. Oh, wait, that’s right. You left and never looked back.”
His chin jerked up, his mouth a thin line. I’d made a point and he knew it, even if he didn’t want to admit it. “What about the school you were planning to go to before Jack died?”
I whirled and stalked into the kitchen, pulling a bottle of water from the fridge as I shouted over my shoulder, “I wanted to make sure Hampton was okay. Because, he’s my best friend. That I love. As a friend. Besides, what was the point?”
“The point was to do what you wanted to do for once in your life, instead of what Hampton wanted.”
I let out a strangled scream. “I was doing what I wanted to do! God, are you even listening to me?” I shook my head. “No, you’re not. You’re too busy being a jerk.”
“Oh, so now I’m the jerk?”
“You’ve always been a jerk!”
“And you’ve always been a pushover.”
His phone rang, stopping him from saying anything more. I watched as he snatched it from the table and put it to his ear. “Reed,” he snapped at whoever was on the other end. “Now’s not a good time.” Pause. “I’m in the middle of something.” Pause. “Fine. Give me fifteen.”
He ended the call and shoved the phone in his pocket. “You know what, I don’t think we’re getting anywhere with this. I’ve got something to take care of and you need to cool off.”
He strode past me, making a beeline for the front door.
“Oh, so you’re just going to do what you always do, huh?”
I followed behind him and out onto the porch.
“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Run away, like you always do.”
He stopped in his tracks and turned around to face me. His face was no longer red and contorted with anger. It was eerily calm, his lips pressed together so hard they were nearly white. “I may always run away, but at least I’m smart enough to know what I’m running from. You’re so wrapped up in God knows what, you can’t see the truth that’s smacking you in the face.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I yelled from my spot on the porch. But he didn’t answer me, just climbed into the seat of his car and slammed the door so hard the windows rattled.
The engine roared to life and he was gone before I even got the chance to utter another word.
34
Lawson
I was seething.
I gripped the steering wheel so hard the skin on my knuckles was at risk of splitting open as I tried to get a grip on my anger.
I couldn’t understand why she didn’t see the way Hampton treated her. And it infuriated me knowing it had always been that way.
“What’s your deal?” Pieters rumbled from the passenger seat. I’d picked him up a few minutes earlier and we were headed to the office.
There’d been some new information in the case and he’d thought we needed to see it right away.
I shook my head. “I was in the middle of a…heated conversation when you called.”
“Ah. Trouble in paradise?”
I cut my eyes to him and said through clenched teeth, “No.”
He had a sly smile on his face, as though any part of the last few days had been funny. “She finally wised up and dumped your ass, huh?”
I blew out a breath. “No.”
He nudged me with his elbow. “Come on, man, tell me what this conversation was about then.”
I stared straight ahead, watching the cars pass through the intersection. “Hampton. It was about Hampton.”
“Another man?”
I turned to look at him. “The other man. The one guy who’s always been our problem.”
His brow wrinkled. “Isn’t Hampton your brother?”
“Yep,” I said, punctuation the last letter. “She’s spent most of her life thinking she was in love with him. Who, by the way, could never return her feelings, because he’s into men. And he’s spent her whole life using the way she feels about him to his advantage. And, you know, man, I’m sure he doesn’t mean it. He just knows he can get his way with her. And Hampton really enjoys having things his way.” I huffed out a breath and shoved a hand through my hair. “She just lets him get away with shit. Everything he’s ever done that was fucked up, and she forgives him like that,” I tell him, snapping my fingers.
He ran a hand over his close-clipped beard and asked, “And let me guess. You said something to her about it?”
“He came barging in my house today, and after she told him she wanted him to leave he sweet talked her into staying. She never stands up to him.”
“So you did it for her?”
“Yeah, after almost getting into a fist fight with him, he finally left.”
“And then you told her to stop letting him control her?”
“In so many words, yeah. She doesn’t need anyone telling her what to do.”
“But by telling her she needs to stand up for herself, aren’t you telling her what to do?”
I opened my mouth to argue but then clamped it shut. “Fuck.”
He dipped his chin, a smirk on his face. “Man, I love it when I’m right and you’re wrong.” He waved a hand in my direction. “Your face gets—” Pieters was interrupted by the squealing of tires and a split second later, the jarring impact of a vehicle slamming into the back of mine.
My body sailed forward, into the airbag that had instantly deployed and then bounced back and slammed into the seat. The belt I’d always made it a point to wear kept my torso from moving too much, but t
he pressure on my chest was intense. The force of the impact sent us rolling into the vehicle in front of us.
“What the fuck!” I shouted and then craned my neck to where Pieters was sitting next to me, cursing loudly.
Pulling on the handle, I pushed the door open and climbed out. A teenage boy, who couldn’t be any older than seventeen, sat in the wrecked sports car behind me, his face a mask of shock.
I jogged to the car and rapped on the window, breaking him out of whatever trance he was in, and asked, “You okay, kid?”
He clamped his jaw shut and nodded before he scrubbed a hand over his pale face. “My dad’s gonna kill me.”
I took a step back and surveyed the wreckage. My truck’s back bumper was bent in the middle and would need to be replaced. The front bumper was also a little mangled, but that was the worst of the damage.
His car, on the other hand…that shit was totaled.
Yep. His dad was going to kill him. “Nah, it’s not that bad,” I lied.
The kid’s face was still ghostly white and he looked like he was only seconds away from losing it.
“Anything on you hurt? Your neck okay?”
He nodded with the neck I had just asked about, so I assumed he was fine.
“Why don’t you get out of the car and come over here while we wait on the cops to get here.” I prodded gently.
Pieters shouted my name and I glanced over at where he was standing. “Police are on the way.” He held his phone up and I lifted my chin to acknowledge what he’d said before guiding the shaken kid over to the median.
“What’s your name?” I asked, trying to keep him talking.
“Matt,” he croaked.
I stuck my hand out. “I’m Lawson.” He took it and gave me a firm shake. “How old are you, kid?”
“Eighteen.”
“I wrecked my ’Stang when I was nineteen,” I told him.
His eyes flickered at that. “You did?”
