Didn't Expect You (Against All Odds #2) - Claudia Burgoa Page 0,81
nothing innocent about those hugs.”
“Funny that you mention that. They are indeed innocent,” I clarify. “Am I attracted to her? Yes. She’s gorgeous, smart, and most importantly, she understands me. Am I going to act on that? No, because I’m not in a good place. That reminds me, I am going to California next weekend to visit Mom.”
He blinks a couple of times and repeats, “Mom?”
“Yes. I started therapy, and you know what I realized?”
He stares at me, mouth open and eyes wide. Well, I surprised myself too when I began searching for a counselor. Two and a half weeks, six sessions, and four books haven’t transformed me, but at least I realized that it’s time to confront my mother.
“Please, don’t say that we have mommy issues?” he responds.
“No, but maybe we do. I have abandonment issues, and I need closure from her.”
“She has a new family,” he growls.
“We know,” I agree. “She’s still the woman who up and left us without even a goodbye. There has to be more to our parents’ divorce.”
“You are hoping that there is more because if not, it makes her the bitch who left her children,” he roars.
“I need to know what that more is, Langford,” I claim. “You might be okay not solving your past, but I am not.”
“Everyone copes differently,” he claims.
I narrow my gaze and ask, “Are you going to therapy too?”
He shakes his head. “No. I’d rather read and then discuss my shit with you or Persy. Which brings me to, I want to talk to Dad about his new family.”
“What about it?” I ask instead of reminding him that they aren’t new.
Dad remarried almost twenty years ago. There’s nothing new about them. My stepmother is fine but awkward as fuck. She has no fucking clue on how to treat Ford and me. Clyde, her son, is a leach who sucks us dry any time he can. If I had a choice, I’d rather not deal with them. I love my dad, and that’s why I put up with his family.
“We have to stop having these awkward reunions with his wife, Ruby, and Clyde. They don’t like us, and we hate them. Why not leave them at home and hang out with just us, his sons?” he suggests.
“I like that,” I agree with him and say, “We can go to L.A. next weekend. Play a round of golf with Dad, then have a cup of coffee with Mom afterward.”
He exhales harshly, takes a look around the terrace and asks, “What if I don’t want to see our mother?”
“You can wait for me at home while I’m with her, and then we can spend the weekend with Nyx and Persy,” I suggest.
“Again with Nyx,” he protests.
“She’s my friend,” I argue.
“Dude, Eros is my friend, and you don’t see me hugging him and kissing him. Do you?” Good. He’s joking.
Since his temper has simmered down, I take the opportunity to say, “I have a lot of shit to work through before I can make a move.”
“So, he thinks,” he mumbles. “Man, you’re drooling for her. It took you a lot of self-control not to push her family away from her so you could be the one hugging her. But you’re fucked up, and she deserves someone better.”
“You’re an asshole.”
“So they say.”
“Listen, I’m not sure if what’s happening with Nyx is real. I won’t know until I get closure,” I emphasize.
“From Bronwyn too?”
I nod.
“Call if you need me,” he offers. “Just, don’t fuck with Nyx or I swear I’ll push you down the Grand Canyon and claim it to be an accident.”
“With a brother like you, I don’t need enemies.”
He shrugs and we go back inside the house. Since the place is empty, I text Nyx.
Nate: Where are you?
Nyx: The park.
Nate: I’m going to do some work, but if you don’t come back in a couple of hours I’ll catch up with you.
Nyx: It’s Saturday. You shouldn’t be working. The anti-workaholic rules apply to both of us.
I look up at Ford, who seems like he needs a few hours without the Brassards, and I fire up a text.
Nate: Since when did we come up with those rules? Though, I’m doing this for Ford. Miss you.
Nyx: It’s one of those unspoken rules. Don’t work much, okay?
Thirty-Three
Nate
Nyx is right. I shouldn’t be working on Saturday. Instead of going to the library, I give Ford a few options to let out some steam. Skydiving on Long Island, flying to Jersey to the racetrack, or playing video