“Hey, Son.”
I want to roll my eyes at his jovial response. We’ve hardly spoken to each other since he dropped his surprise marriage on me, now he wants to show up here like everything is perfect?
I guess when you’re Jasper Ward and you live in a world with rose-colored glasses, focusing only on yourself, you tend to forget it’s not sunshine and rainbows for everyone else around you.
“Hi,” I reply. No sunshine. No rainbows. Just his son, standing here wishing he’d move his fucking car so I can leave.
“You headin’ off somewhere?” he asks. His olive skin is darker, likely from all the vacationing he’s been doing over the past few weeks. I want to curl my lip in annoyance, but when I think about how I’ve spent the past few weeks since he’s been gone, I can’t find it in me to be bothered.
With him away, it’s given me and Ivy space to enjoy ourselves without the watchful eyes of our parents around.
“Meeting up with the guys. Band practice.”
He nods, surveying the yard and the landscaping I had installed last week, making his way to the front of the house.
I know the terms of our deal. I haven’t let shit go around here, yet I’m waiting for him to say something condescending that’ll have me biting my tongue to avoid telling him off.
Let him say what he’s here to say, then send him on his way.
“I won’t keep you. I just wanted to stop by and talk to you about your mom.”
I break eye contact with him, pinching my lips together, stopping myself from shaking my head.
Anytime he brings her up, it turns into an argument. He wanted out of their marriage, the way I see it, how she’s doing or where she’s at is none of his concern.
“I saw your Uncle Travis down at Miller’s the other day when I dropped my car off to have it serviced. He told me.” He pauses. “Why didn’t you tell me what was going on, Brix?”
“There’s nothing for me to say. Not to you, anyway.”
He winces, looking wounded as he glances down at the ground, nodding his head even though I know it’s more in acceptance than agreeance. I’ve upset him, and for a second, I consider asking him why it bothers him?
“Maybe that’s true. I lost the right to ask about her years ago, but I still care about your mother. You may not believe me, but I do.”
I force a chuckle, turning away from him to look for Ivy. She was supposed to be coming with me, but now she’s nowhere in sight.
“I’m proud of you, Brix.” I rear back, regarding him with furrowed brows. He must see the disbelief on my face, a look of guilt passing over his. “I may not have told you in a while, but it doesn’t mean it’s not true.”
“You have an interesting way of showing it.”
“I take a lot of blame for where things are now. Between me. With your mother. That’s on me. You’ve carried a lot of the weight of our divorce, and I’m sorry. I’m proud of the man you are, the man you’ve become. I couldn’t convince her to seek help, but she is now. She has you, and it’s because of you, she’s going to pull through this.”
I blink back the tears threatening to fill the brim of my eyes. He’s struck a chord.
“You’ve been there for her. You’ve welcomed Ivy. She told me how you helped her with her car. Thank you,” he says, his voice trailing off at the end.
I nod, rubbing the bridge of my nose. He takes a step toward me, pulling me into a hug.
The sound of the door closing behind us has us both taking a step back, turning toward the house. Ivy is standing there, eyes wide and staring between the two of us.
“Ivy, hello. It’s good to see you.”
“You, too, Jasper!” She looks to me, concern etching her face, searching mine for the answers she’s looking for. I mouth, “it’s okay,” to her, which helps in the moment.
“What are you up to?”
“Oh, I’m just going with Brix to check out his band practice.” Ivy hesitates, not sure if that’s the right answer, but it’s the safe one.
Remembering what he said just a moment ago about welcoming Ivy, I wonder if he’s trying to piece together all the many ways I’ve been there for Ivy since she moved to Carolina Beach.
If she has an itch, I’ve been there to help scratch it. Maybe not literally, but figuratively.
“Well, I will get out of here. You two have a good night.”
He walks backward to the car, opening the door as he climbs in. Motioning to Ivy to get in, she nods nervously, jogging to the door.
“What happened?” she asks incredulously. “You had me freaked out for a second. You looked upset.”
Her hair is curled, part of it pulled up with the rest down hanging over her shoulder in waves.
She must be wearing some sort of lipstick that makes her lips look shiny, which distracts me momentarily as I’m lost in thought of kissing her, wanting to taste her.
“Brix…” She waits. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine, I promise. Just shit with my mom. Let’s get out of here.”
“Okay.” She pauses, sounding more like a question. She ducks to check the rearview mirror. Seeing my father has pulled out and driven off, she slides across the bench seat closer to me, before buckling herself in.
It’s not until I back out and put the car in drive when I reach my hand down, resting it against her thigh, that the tension finally eases up.
She doesn’t press me as we make the trip across town over to Tysin’s house, which I’m thankful for. She knows when to push me and when to give me space. Right now, I just need time to digest our conversation.
“I think that’s Kyla’s car.” Ivy points to the car parked in Tysin’s drive.
Glancing at the cars parked along the street, I search for any sign of Madden or why Kyla may be here when he’s not around.
“This could get interesting,” I joke, turning the truck off and climbing out, holding my hand out to Ivy as she slides out behind me.
“What the heck is she doing here?”
She’s caught off guard when I grab her hand, slipping my fingers through hers, pulling her with me.
“Probably the same thing we do when we’re alone.” Flashing her a wink, she presses her lips together to smother her grin.
I don’t bother waiting for Tysin to answer the door, knowing damn well he’s expecting me. Pounding my fist on the solid oak, I reach for the handle, stepping back to let Ivy lead the way.
“Ivy?” Kyla asks incredulously, pushing away from Tysin who’s leaning against the kitchen counter. His hands are braced against the marble countertop, not bothering to disguise the fact something was clearly going on between them.
It’s as if he’s dangling the fact he’s been messing around with Kyla right in front of Madden, waiting for the moment he catches them. She’s an adult and capable of making decisions for herself, but we both know with Tysin’s history with women, Madden won’t be happy about it.
For a second, I contemplate calling him out on it, and judging by the way his eyes bounce between Ivy and me, he knows the easier rebuttal. Clenching my jaw, narrowing my eyes on him, warning him not to say a word.
I still haven’t figured out how to talk to her about the bet. I hate even calling it that.
Every time I think about it, the fear of her walking away the way my dad did my mom creeps in. She has every right to know the truth, every right to walk away, but like the bastard I am, I want to hold onto her for a little while longer.
I can’t hear what Ivy and Kyla are talking about, but judging by their whispered words, it has to do with the two of us. Kyla’s eyes bounce from Tysin, over to me, then back to Ivy as she shuffles from side to side.
None of us know what to say, how to explain or justify our relationships, so instead, I change the subject entirely.
“You talk to Madden yet? I don’t want to sit around here all fucking day. Let’s get this show on the road.”
Tysin leads the way through the kitchen, down
the hall heading to his basement where our equipment is set up. For a second, I expect Kyla to take off, not wanting to be here when her brother shows up, but she doesn’t.
As soon as Tysin bought his house, we immediately went to work on soundproofing it, giving us a space to practice. He still wants to make a booth where we can record our music, but we need to save up more before we do.
Our priority is to cut our demo. Something we can send out to the major record labels. The only other hope we have of getting seen is if we get lucky and someone finds us on social media. Kyla’s been helping us out, capturing videos at our shows, and uploading them on social media.
I hear Kyla whisper to Ivy, asking her what’s going on between us. Bending down, I plug the microphone into the speaker as Tysin picks up his guitar doing the same.
My eyes find Ivy’s across the room as she and Kyla take a seat on the couch directly across from where our makeshift stage is set up. I focus my ear to her, waiting to hear her answer.
“Things are good,” she says, not breaking eye contact. “We’re friendly…” Her voice trails off.
The steps creak, and I see Kyla’s eyes widen, darting over to Tysin before looking up at where her brother jogs down the stairs.
“Yo,” he says, tossing his keys onto the table, pausing to look over at Kyla sitting on the couch. “What are you doing here?”
He stops, looking at her and around to the two of us. I hold my hands up, signaling for him to not bother asking me. I’m staying out of this. Turning back toward the speaker, I busy myself with plugging in the rest of our equipment.
Having Ivy here, it’s like my body is on hyperalert. Every time she moves, I sense her near me. Whenever I glance her way, I always find her looking back at me.
“I met Ivy here. She mentioned how Brix had helped her with her car. I wanted to have him look at mine.” Kyla’s eyes dart to mine as I stand, looking over at Madden. He’s in the middle of adjusting the height on his drum throne.
“Ahh, yeah,” I mutter, not sure what to say. “She mentioned she thought her oil was leaking. I told her I’d take a look before she took it into the shop.”
Madden’s holding his drumsticks in front of him, pausing before he takes a seat.
“Why didn’t you just ask me? I could’ve come over to look at it for you.”
“I just didn’t want to bother you.” Kyla’s tongue darts out, wetting her lips as she rubs them together. She knows she’s caught in a lie, but she keeps on adding to it until she ends up spiraling out of control.
“So, you thought it wouldn’t bother Brix, but asking your brother was too much?”
“Brix owed me one,” she spits out like her mouth is on fire if she doesn’t get it out.
“Oh,” he says, brows bunched together as he looks between us. Tysin has the nerve to chuckle under his breath, adjusting the strap of his guitar on his shoulder. He sticks his pick in his mouth like he has all the time in the world to wait on this conversation.
Meanwhile, not one person has brought up his name, suspecting he’s the person she was here to see. How did I get roped into this shit?
“I put in a good word for him with my best friend. He owes me,” Kyla jokes, plastering a fake smile on her face, clapping her hand on Ivy’s knee.
Madden drops it, taking a seat and hits the pedal on his drums, checking the sound. I tug on my microphone cord, giving it more length to move around. Ivy’s eyes blaze into me, her leg bouncing on the floor.
She reaches her hand up, tucking a long strand of her brown hair behind her ear. She’s dressed in a sexy cobalt-blue tank top and black denim shorts. Her toenails are painted a bright pink, which is a color I’ve never seen her wear before, but it’s sexy on her.
Kyla’s too busy trying to hide the fact she can’t take her eyes off Tysin as I mouth to Ivy, “friendly?” She bites her lip to cover up her laugh when I quirk my brow at her, earning me a shrug.
“I’ll make you my best friend later,” I mouth slowly, hoping she can make out what I’m saying.
This time she doesn’t try to hold back the grin from stretching across her face and fuck me if I don’t love seeing how happy the thought of us together makes her.
“Can’t wait,” she mouths back.
For the rest of our band practice, she sits, never taking her eyes off me, with her leg bouncing to the beat of the music and a smile on her face that makes me feel like there is nowhere else in the world she’d rather be.
Twenty-Three
Ivy
“I’ll take a panty ripper.” Brix winks, leaning over the bar reaching for my hand.
Since we got back from Myrtle Beach, we’ve been playing with fire. Where we were once careful about showing PDA and who could be around to see us, has since gone out the window.
Brix has never been one to give a shit what people say or think. Just like now, as his fingers wrap around mine, pressing a kiss against my skin. Goose bumps spread up my arms from his touch alone.
Even standing here, in a crowded bar, the look on his face and the way his lips feel on my skin, it’s like it’s only the two of us.
“Panty ripper, huh?” I quirk my brow, gazing at his mouth for a moment before staring him in the eyes. Reaching for the bottle of coconut rum, preparing to mix his drink, I question, “Isn’t that a little fruity for you?”
“I wasn’t talking about the drink, baby.”
When he winks at me, a shiver shoots down my body. Putting the bottle back, I reach into the cooler to grab a chilled glass and fill it with beer before sliding it across the counter to him.
“Is that a no?”
“That’s a wait until tonight.”
He bites down on his lip, dragging his lip ring into his mouth, and I imagine doing the very same thing.
“When is your break?”
“Break? I got here twenty minutes ago.”
“I think you’ve been working very hard.” He accentuates the word hard with a firm voice, eyes widening as he wags his brows suggestively.
“Hard, huh?”
“Mmmhm, very hard. You deserve a few minutes to relax.” He looks past me to Jayde and yells, “Jayde, it’s time my girl gets a break. She’s overworked right now, and it’s bullshit.”
“Shut up, Ward. Don’t you have music to play or some shit?”
She doesn’t look up from the drink she’s mixing to address him. I just laugh.
“I guess she’s right,” he jokes. “I’ll make it up to you later, though.”
Brix grabs his beer, taking a step back from the bar and turns to head over to the table with the guys. They don’t go on for about thirty minutes, but the atmosphere is starting to fill with anticipation.
They play here often, no matter how much they do, they still manage to pull in a crowd of people from all over North Carolina to see them live.
I notice we’re running low on ice, so I head into the back to get more. Before I do, I make a quick run to the bathroom near where Brix and his bandmates and friends are sitting.
After getting through the line and quickly washing my hands, I opt to take the hall passing by them, wanting to wish him good luck before his set.
“I hate to break it to you, but it looks like it’s she who has you eating out of the palm of her hand!” Tysin shouts over the music, cackling.
“Shut the fuck up,” Brix mutters.
“Well, looks like you’ve won part of the bet. You fucked her.”
Overhearing the word bet pauses me in my tracks. My heart feels like it fell into a pit at the bottom of my stomach, the knot wrapping around it twisting further.
What bet? What the hell is he talking about?
“I’m waiting for the part where you send her ass heartbroken back to wherever the hell she came from, though.”
“I said shut the fuck up, you stupid motherfucker. You hear me?” Brix seethes. The anger is at a level I’ve never heard from him before. What I don’t hear is how he’s arguing he’s wrong, denying e
very word that comes out of his mouth.
Taking a step back, I turn to go the other way through the back of the bar. Tears fill my eyes, but I do my best to fight them off with everything in me.
How could I have been so stupid?
It was only last weekend I had told Brix how scared I was, waiting for the moment when I found out this had been nothing but a joke to him. Now everything I feared has become a reality.
All night I tried to put the thoughts out of my mind. Thankfully, Brix and the guys went on stage shortly after, and I didn’t have to face him right away. I didn’t think I’d be able to fake my way through it until we had a chance to talk later.
I knew if he found out I overheard, his anger would only be worse. I didn’t want to do this with him before they were supposed to play. Whatever this was about would have to wait until later.
I kept coming back to what Tysin said. How he had made a bet to not only fuck me but to break my heart at the same time. I was nothing but a joke to him.
A joke.
The word twisted like a knife every time I thought about it.
“Are you okay?” Oaklyn asks later that night. “Ever since you came back from getting ice, you’ve acted like something is bothering you. Did something happen? You good?”
Taking a heavy breath, I nod. Not even sure how to say it. I don’t even think I could without breaking down.
“I’m just not feeling very well is all.”
“Are you sure? Do you want to sit down? You look as white as a sheet.”
She leads me over to the barstool in the back room, pushing a glass of ice water in my hand, forcing me to drink.
“Just sit for a minute, will ya? We’ll be fine for a bit if you need a break or something.”
“Yeah. Okay.” I nod, holding the glass up to my lips. Sweat dots my forehead, my hands clammy. Leaning my head against the wall, I stare through the doorway toward the stage where Brix and the guys play. I think back to the first night, the way he flirted with the women in the front of the crowd, gyrating against their hands, letting them feel him up as he sang.
He hasn’t been doing it anymore. In fact, he hasn’t since before the night he brought home the blonde-haired girl. My mind sifts through all the memories, the nights we spent together, looking for any sign or clues that would’ve signaled this was going on.
BRIX: A Stepbrother Bully Romance (A Rebels Havoc Book 1) Page 14
