I thought it was a shame, but my father praised him for it.
CHAPTER FOUR
GRAVE
“WHERE ARE YOU going?” Lucy asks, sitting up in her bed.
“I have somewhere to be,” I lie, yanking my jeans up my legs.
She frowns but doesn’t say anything else. She knows when I’m done, I’m done, and there’s nothing she can do to make me stay.
“What are you doing tonight?” she asks.
“I don’t know.” I grab my shirt off the floor and slide it on. Fuck, I really need a shower and some clean clothes.
“Grave—”
“I’ll call you,” I interrupt her and exit her room. I make my way out of her penthouse and into her private elevator. As the doors close, I pull out my cell and press call.
“Hello?” Luca answers on the first ring.
“Hey, I’m out. You have anything?” I ask, leaning my head back against the wall. I get most of my shit from Luca Bianchi. My brother hates that he’s my main supplier, but there’s nothing he can do about it.
“Yeah, I’ll swing by Kingdom later and drop some off.”
“Sounds good. Thanks.”
“Anytime.”
We hang up as the door slides open, and I step off into the parking garage. I fall into my car, not really sure where I’m going but knowing I can’t stay here any longer.
I’m not in love with Lucy and she’s aware of that. Regardless of what she feels for me, she knows where she stands. And you have to respect a bitch who doesn’t push something that she knows won’t ever happen.
I drive through town, my radio blaring “Mansion” by NF on max volume to drown out all my thoughts. I haven’t called my brother back, but he sent me a message an hour ago to call him. I didn’t respond.
He’s probably getting his morning wood sucked now. Since Titan is up for sharing his woman with him, he’s probably drowning himself in Emilee. They have some fucked-up threesome thing going on.
I come up to a stoplight and sit there while a car with two girls pulls up next to me. They barely look sixteen. The driver smiles at me, and then her eyes run over my neck tattoo and sleeve, and her smile grows. I look away from her, staring straight ahead, not having the time to deal with a girl who has daddy issues. Most women who want to fuck me do it to piss off their fathers. The only flaw in their plans is that I don’t ever stay around long enough to meet their dads.
The song changes to “MONSTERS” by Shinedown, and I rev my engine, waiting for the light to change as well. I look to my left and see a flower shop. It’s got a blood-red awning and glass storefront. A red rose is painted on one of the windows. It reminds me of my mother.
Seventeen years old
The service is about to come to an end. We’ve only been to one other funeral before, and they had a picture of Aunt Beth and the front of the church was full of flowers.
My brother sits to my right, back ramrod straight. Emilee’s hand in his on her lap. “Where are Mom’s flowers?” I ask him.
He leans into me but keeps his eyes facing ahead. “Dad said no flowers. He didn’t want them cluttering the house afterward.”
I fist my hands. Dad hates them. Always said it’s a waste of money to pay so much for something that is just going to die within a matter of days. “Mom loved flowers,” I tell him.
He sighs heavily. Even he knows it isn’t right, but he doesn’t challenge Dad. I don’t know why he cares so much about what Dad thinks of him. I guess if I were the chosen child, I would feel differently about the situation.
“Will you shut the fuck up, Kyle?” my father growls in my ear. “Show some fucking respect.”
The light turns green, and I pull into a front row parking spot at the flower shop and come to a stop. Sitting in my car, I don’t know what I’m doing. But without any more thought, I get out. I open the glass door that reads Roses and step inside. The smell of flowers hits me like a fucking punch to my face. It makes me nauseous. This is why my father never bought them for my mother. He hated the way they smelled and what they represented—life.
I don’t want to be anything like him.
“Hello?” I ask when I don’t see anyone behind the counter in