Intrigued By Danger (The Danger Family #3)

13. Declan

13

DECLAN

Six Weeks Later…

Me and my brothers were sitting on Dymon’s patio watching SportsCenter on his projector screen and rolling up a blunt. We’d just came back from the first home football game, and emotions was still high from the thriller overtime win, so Quinci wanted everybody to come get drinks at they place. I accepted the invitation because I would have done anything to keep my mind busy since Elle was gone. For the last two weeks, her ass had been on a traveling festival with an R I hadn’t even noticed Benjamin and Leah standing in the foyer. As if nearly losing all my oxygen wasn’t enough, after I let her down, she stuck her fingers inside her, then went and stuck them in Benjamin’s mouth… and then Leah’s, which completely surprised me. I had a lot of questions, but she’d left the next morning and my mind had been in a state of bliss since.

Droplets of water landed on my screen, pulling my attention from it.

“Come on, sprung ass nigga, light the J,” Dymon said.

I looked at the kitchen window to see if it was open or not.

“Mane, them girls can’t hear us.”

Quinci, Greysen, my sisters, and Winter were in the house drinking and doing whatever else they were doing. Donovan and my nieces were with my parents until we were done here. As far as I knew, Winter still thought I was gay. She’d been all over me up until a few weeks ago, so I hoped—no, I prayed she’d found someone to keep her company, so maybe she’d extend the time. Splitting my time between work, my family, and Elle had been a task, but one I was willing to keep up for a long time. Because we wanted to stay under the radar, we decided it was best to remain discreet. Our last outing was the date to the Keys, and I hated it. I wanted to show her little ass off.

Diesel waved off the blunt and Dymon passed it back to me.

“Hell yeah! Out here, smells like where I’m supposed to be,” Kemba said, walking through the door rubbing his hands together. “Damn. Maybe not. Y’all being lame as hell out here. The ladies in there slamming bones and throwing shots back and y’all sitting out here like some old ass niggas. What’s up with y’all?”

Kemba walked around the table dapping all of us up.

“What’s up, bro? You good?” I spoke.

“Yeah, yeah. I told Quinci I was going to stop by since I couldn’t get to y’all at the game. What y’all on for the rest of the night? You know JB’s going up after this win.” He sat on the other side Diesel.

I passed him the blunt.

“Yeah, I’mma hold you to that, Sweetheart.”

I turned to see Johnny coming through the door and my mood immediately shifted. I didn’t like that dude. He hadn’t done anything to me, personally, but Elle was getting tired of blocking them fake ass numbers he was texting her from. Every time I saw him, I had to bite my tongue, because knocking his ass out would out me and Elle. Kemba sensed my frustration and asked me if I wanted him to stop bringing him around. I wasn’t a hating ass nigga, plus Elle had warned me of his cleverness, so I told him I was straight. From the way she spoke about him, it would be his pleasure if he got under my skin.

“What’s up, y’all?” Johnny spoke and sat next to Dymon, closest to me. He looked at me. “Uhh, I can’t tell y’all apart yet. Let me guess, you are uh… Declan?”

He was tipsy, so I felt in my veins that I was going to have to damn near sit on my hands to stop myself from knocking him out.

I raised my eyebrows. “Sure.”

Dymon passed the blunt.

“Well, I guess I do know y’all apart.”

“Hold who to what? What was that about?” Diesel asked him.

I shook my head as I pulled on the blunt. What he said was flirtatious and out of the five women in there, he could only be talking to two of them. Me and Dymon didn’t care who Denim and Metri dated. They were adults and knew how to protect themselves, but not according to Diesel and Duncan Danger. They swore they were helpless women who didn’t know how to pick a man to save their lives. Denim had a man that was hanging on by a thread and Metri hadn’t found anyone suitable to present to them. So, I was afraid that if Johnny said something crazy, Diesel would choke his ass before I had a chance to.

“Ah, man,” He kissed his teeth. “Denim—”

“No.” Diesel shook his head. “Whatever it is. The answer is no.”

Johnny laughed. “She did say you were very protective of her.”

He nodded. “True.”

I hid my smirk by blowing out the smoke.

He looked at me again. “So, Kemba told me I needed to talk to you—”

“About what?” I spat quickly.

“Jesus Christ, why are y’all so testy? Living around all these trees don’t make you just wanna breathe.” He inhaled and exhaled deeply. “Is that a New York thing? I don’t travel much.”

I stared at him, blinking back the red that was starting to appear in my eyes.

“My fault, but I was wondering if you could use some help at the grove, or…” He turned to Dymon. “Or you. It doesn’t matter.”

“What do you think you could do for me?” Dymon asked.

I looked at Kemba and he shook his head slightly. He told me that would talk to him, but I told him he didn’t have to. Johnny was just being himself, and he was honestly kind of like Kemba, but it didn’t help that I didn’t like him. Dymon and Diesel were my brothers, so they wouldn’t fuck with him off the strength of me.

“I don’t know. Anything you need me to do. I have a Vo-tech degree, so I’d much rather work with my hands. I could be a good distributor for that if you needed me too. That shit some fire.”

Dymon locked eyes with me and Diesel before looking back at him.

“Aye, man,” Dymon chuckled.

That was his chuckle before he snapped.

Johnny pulled his phone out of his pocket and tapped the screen. When Elle’s Instagram reel popped up, I could feel my chest starting to get tight. Because of the song that started playing from his phone, Diesel and Dymon automatically knew what he was watching. They looked at me and then back Johnny.

“So, yeah, I could do anything with my hands, and I am going to be here for a lot longer than expected, so it wouldn’t hurt to start putting some money in my pocket.”

He swiped his screen and Elle’s reel from our date started playing. It was a nice ass montage of discreet photos her, our food and drinks, and then she snuck a discreet photo of me in there too. I looked at the projector before I knocked his phone out of his hand. He was already on strike two.

“I see. Apply on the site,” Dymon said and reached for the blunt.

He nodded. “Fa sho.”

Several awkward moments of silence went by.

Johnny cleared his throat. “So, we are all men here.”

“John,” Kemba called his name. “Relax.”

“Nah, Kem, we grown men. Y’all don’t fuck with me or something?”

“Bro.” Diesel clasped his hands together. “You just talk a lot, that’s it. When we chilling, we just chilling, that’s it. Smoke, have a couple drinks. That’s it. We don’t talk about business, none of that.”

“Oh, that’s my fault. It just felt like something else for a minute.”

I looked at him. “What else would it be?” I asked.

“Shit, I don’t know. That’s why I asked. I don’t like being in the grey area.”

“You don’t?”

He flicked his eyes to me and then back at his phone.

Ignoring my questions, he looked at Diesel, “Do you know who Elle might be messing around with? I keep asking Kemba and he acting like he don’t know, and Grey her best friend. He keeping it on the hush, like it’s him or something.”

My blood was starting to boil, and he was about to strike out. I didn’t want to hear Elle’s name leaving his lips for nothing.

“I stay out of women’s business,” Diesel responded.

“Oh, I feel that.”

“And we also don’t sweat women who don’t want us,” I threw in.

Diesel looked at me and tilted his head to the side, as to shake his head.

Johnny’s lips curved into a smirk. “Well, you don’t have to, you got money.”

I sat up. “Excuse me?”

Diesel discreetly dropped his ankle on my shin to calm me down.

“Yo, J, let’s be out. You wilding right now. You had too much to drink.”

He laughed and threw his hands up. “Why we gotta leave? He threw a jab, and I threw one back. I thought we were bonding.”

My heart thumped hard in my chest. I was trying to calm myself down, but that stupid ass smirk was about to push me over the edge.

“Damn. You know what, Kem, let’s be out. I can’t talk business or bitches with these niggas,” he said and stood up.

“Watch yo’ mouth,” I snapped.

“Oh. Do you know who Elle fucking around with? Is it Benny, still?”

When my eyebrows went together, his nearly lifted off his face.

“Ohhh, I see now, it’s you. It’s you, Elle fucking with. That’s why Kemba been all hush, hush about it.”

“Johnny, let’s go,” Kemba said, standing up.

“Wait, but…” He paused, throwing his thumb over his shoulder, squinting. “I thought you and Red Head…”

I jumped up, forcing my brothers to their feet.

“Damn, y’all move like the Avengers. No hard feelings, bro. You don’t have to be stingy with Elle though. She’s very friendly,” he said smirking.

Before I could stop myself, my hands were around his throat. It took nothing to yank his ass to the middle of the table. My brothers and Kemba were trying to pry my hands from around his neck. I couldn’t hear anything past the roaring sounds in my ear, even though I saw their mouths moving. Johnny’s eyes were starting to bulge out of his sockets, so I squeezed harder. Out the corner of my eye, I saw the girls had run out on the porch with shocked looks on their faces. Diesel pressed his head into my temple and grabbed my wrists as tight as he could, finally forcing me to release his neck. He dropped on the table grabbing at his neck, trying to catch his breath. Diesel kept his grip on my wrists as he pushed me off the porch, past the yard, near the trees.

“The fuck was that, Declan?” He hissed.

I humped my shoulders up and down.

I walked away from him and started pacing back and forth, pissed.

“Dec.” Diesel fell in step with me. “Relax. Calm down, bro. Fuck. How you let him get to you like that?”

I stopped and looked at him. “Telling me to calm down and then asking me some fuck ass shit like that ain’t going to help. You heard what the fuck he was saying.”

“You choking him was about Elle, really?”

I didn’t respond.

“She not fucking with him, is she?”

I shook my head.

“So, why you let him get to you?”

“I don’t know.”

“Yes, you do. You’re the most level-headed man I know. You think before you do anything.”

“I love her. Elle. A’ight. I do, and just listening to him speak about her pissed me off. Plus, he’s been texting her, trying to get back with her, and I guess it was just the rage of just knowing that it’s a possibility that she could go back to him.”

“Why is that a possibility?”

“Because I am going to break her heart, Diesel. Every day I been waking up praying that Winter haven’t found out about Elle or that she keeps whatever nigga is entertaining her right now, so I can keep Elle a little longer. The writings are on the wall, bro. The other day we were watching some stupid show, and she randomly said, if we broke up, her and Donovan would move back to New York. You know I cannot let that happen. I won’t let that happen.”

“And it ain’t going to fucking happen.”

“You cannot guarantee that,” I snapped.

“I think you better check my track records of guarantees.”

We stared at each other, and he raised his eyebrows as if he was waiting for me to say something else.

“Come on.”

I hesitated.

“A’ight, nigga. One of these bobcats around here jump out on your ass, then what?”

I laughed, but the adrenaline that was flowing through my body had me believing that I could take on whatever wildlife popped out of the trees.

“Yeah, come on.”

When we started walking back toward the house, Dymon was walking toward us.

“My nigga! All those times I whooped your ass, you were letting me!”

I chuckled. “Not now, Dymon.”

“Okay,” He held his hands up. “I don’t want any smoke. You had that nigga neck so tight,” Dymon said as he reenacted how I had Johnny’s neck.

Diesel laughed at him, while I shook my head.

“Yeah, bro. You go home, get some rest and I’ll see you tomorrow,” Diesel told me.

I dapped him and Dymon up and cut across the yard to my house. I let myself in through the back door and went straight into my mancave to my bar. While I searched for the strongest drink in my collection, the door to my mancave opened and slammed. I didn’t have to turn around to know it was Winter.

“You mothafucka! I put two and two together!” Winter shouted. “You fighting niggas over your side piece!”

Ignoring her, I continued to scan my alcohol collection before settling on the aged Pearl Louis Remy Martin my father gifted me a while back. I turned and set it on the counter and glanced at Winter who stood at the door with her fists balled up at her side. I grabbed a glass off the shelf.

“You don’t have shit to say, Declan!”

“Not really,” I said as I rinsed the glass.

“Not really? For weeks! For weeks, you let me think that you were fucking some nigga and the whole time you fucking that bitch, Elle! It’s crazy because her recent posts kept popping up on my ‘For You’ page. I’m liking her posts and the whole time the bitch is fucking my nigga! You was spending money on that hoe, Declan! Flowers and shit!”

Her screaming at the top of her lungs didn’t faze me at all. I stared at her as I cracked opened the bottle of liquor. I didn’t need any ice as I needed to taste every year, for however old this shit was. I poured enough liquor to cover the bottom, and threw it back, shaking my head at the burn.

“You really don’t have shit to say, Declan!”

“I’m not sure what you want me to say, Winter,” I said as I poured another shot.

“You’re not sure? You not sure… You not…” She scoffed before charging toward the bar.

She loved throwing things when she was mad, so I already knew what was on her mind. I snatched up my bottle just before she could grab it, and she instead yanked up the ashtray and launched it to the wall, breaking it.

“Our son got me that,” I said, before throwing back my shot.

“I don’t give a fuck!”

“Of course you don’t, Winter.”

She came around the bar and pushed me.

“Stop Winter,” I said, nudging her away from me. “I ain’t in the mood for your shit tonight.”

I poured a little more than a shot in my glass before putting the top back on my bottle and placing it back on the shelf.

“Watch out,” I said, trying to walk around her, but she slid in front of me. “You know I can move you if I really want too, girl. Move, now.”

She held her position.

“You’re not going to move? Okay, so we’ll just stand here and look at each other stupid then. I really don’t see why you so mad. This shit is your fault.”

“Excuse me! My fault, Declan?”

“Yeah, your fault.” I walked around her toward the couch. “I am not the one who walked in here and said Winter, you don’t show me any passion, so I think it’s best that I go and fuck other people to make us better…” I sat down and looked at her. “Only after I was caught cheating to begin with. That wasn’t me. That was all you, my dear.”

She opened her mouth to respond, but I held my glass up stopping her.

“And I asked— no, begged you to tell me what I could do to fix this, and you, Winter, said that this—fucking other people, was going to fix us. And because I love you, I went along with it. I watched you get your pussy played with under the table. I looked at you get fucked in the bathroom. You even flipped out on me after Kemba knocked ol’ boy ass out.”

“You—"

“It!... It was you who came up with this silly ass ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy, but then got so frustrated about your own rules, that you decided to go through my phone, and—”

“What the fuck else was I supposed to believe when you have a bitch saved as Junior in your phone!”

I chuckled and gulped down some of my drink. “Shit, me, I would have thought you had some nigga saved under a woman’s name, but nah. You went for the…mothafuckin’ jugular, baby. Be my beard. Heavy monthly payment. No more kids. Protection, if we ever have sex again. What was that other bullshit you said? You said some other bullshit, I can’t remember… oh, top or bottom?” I laughed and shook my head. “Top or mothafuckin’ bottom. All that shit went out the fucking window when you realized that a nigga actively chooses every fucking day to not cheat on yo’ ass. It wasn’t no talk about protection then… no top or bottom shit then, was it?”

I could see her swallow the lump in her throat from where I sat. Her huffing was louder than the humming of the refrigerator. While she stood over there trying to gather her thoughts, I sipped my drink.

“Declan, I want to close the relationship.”

“Of course, you do, but I don’t see that happening, not right now.”

She inhaled so hard; I heard the saliva go down her throat.

Her head tilted to the side. “You claim I made all the rules, and the rule after—”

“It hasn’t been three months yet.”

“Okay, so are you really trying to get back at me or something, because…”

“Get back at you for what, Winter? I’m only doing what you told me to do. I never wanted this. I was never going to have sex with Elle. It just happened.”

“Do you think I’m about to sit here and listen to you talk about the bitch you were fucking?”

I shook my head. “I haven’t insulted you, nor the men you fucking with.”

She shook her head. “I’m really trying to keep it together, Declan, but you really trying me for real. So, I’m just going to say, end it and I’ll end it too.”

“And if I don’t end it with Elle? I really don’t give a fuck what you do, to be honest.”

“Then you’re more like your father than I thought.”

I let out a low whistle. “That’s not going to work this time, come harder than that.”

“Come harder than that?” She asked, walking toward me. “Come harder than that. Declan, if you don’t end it, I will take your son back to New York and you will never see him again. He is nine and the courts will happily give me full custody and I still get the heavy monthly payment.”

“Look at you. The real you coming out. Maybe my dad was right about you. You’ll never take my son away from me. You better believe that shit.”

“What are you going to do? Get big bad Diesel on me. Declan, I may not have your last name, but I have something way more powerful than your last name, and that’s information.”

I waved her off, but there could be some truth in what she was saying. She’d been privy to a lot of conversations and on the other side of some of my very heated rants about my family. Anything she could possibly know, no matter how small was potentially dangerous. I’d been so fucking bold because I trusted Diesel when he said that Winter was never going to take my child away.

“You were to pussy whipped to make me sign an NDA. I think I know a few things that can make the Danger Incorporations stock go down.”

“And you’ll just look like a disgruntled girlfriend, Winter.”

“Maybe so, but—”

“Denim will eat you alive before we even see the inside of a court room and you know it. I don’t know what type of game you’re playing, but—”

“This ain’t no game, Declan. You got your dick wet, congratulations, now end it.”

I chuckled. “This is who you really are?”

“No, this is who you’re forcing me to be. You can monologue, and dialogue and play semantics all you fucking want, but you know sleeping with Elle was out the fucking question. You’d feel the same fucking way if I was fucking Kemba, no matter what the fuck the agreement was.”

“You don’t know what the fuck I would have agreed to, Winter. You wanted some outside dick, and you got it, all but forced me to get some outside pussy, and now look at you… pissed. I don’t give a fuck what you know, you’re not in control of this situation.”

“Oh, but I am, Declan. I will not only ruin you and your family’s lives professionally, but personally as well. You think that they treat you as an outsider now, baby. Oh God, when I’m done with my expose, they will never speak to you again.”

She’d finally backed into a corner.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, before I stood. “And what do I get, huh? What do I get out of going back to being the dutiful boyfriend, huh? I’ll leave Elle alone, but it’ll just be another woman, because I’ll never touch you again. I’ll really turn into my father, Winter.”

Her lips spread across her face. “Declan, you’re just angry right now and worked up since you almost killed a man tonight. I am going to let you calm down and we are going to try and have another conversation later.”

Ignoring that, I pulled my ringing phone out of my pocket and saw Junior on the screen.

“Good. Right on time. End that shit and I might let you take all that anger out on my pussy,” she said, before standing on her tiptoes, trying to kiss me, but I turned my head at the last moment “Whatever. I’ll leave you to your phone call.”

I watched her walk out of the room before I dropped onto the couch. I looked at the phone, scared to slide the button over to answer the phone. I knew she’d talked to either Grey or Quinci and knew what happened. As far as I knew, she still hadn’t told Greysen, and I didn’t know if she’d used tonight to tell her or not. Before I could gather my thoughts, her name popped back up on the screen, Facetiming me. I took a deep breath before I answered the phone.

When the phone connected, she was lying in bed with the covers pulled up to her neck. Judging from the water in her eyes, she knew. When she blinked and the water slipped down the sides of her face, I had to look away from the screen to keep it together.

“Elle, I lost it. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” I apologized.

She sniffed. “I know. It’s okay, Dec.”

I looked at the screen. “No, the fuck it’s not, Baby. I never lose my cool like that, ever. I fucking let him get to me, even after you told me what the fuck he was capable of. You make me insane girl,” I chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

She smiled. “I do.”

“Hell yeah. How was the show today?”

“Busy. Stressful. Oh my God, but I made it through. Those flowers really brightened my day, because you just don’t know…”

“Tell me.”

“My fucking favorite flatirons went out, and do you know I was all over the freaking creation trying to get some, and… oh you’re going to be angry at me.”

“Never could I ever be mad at you.”

“Okay, but I kind of had to be a little inpatient today, and I kind of told them people that you are my boyfriend.”

“I am your boyfriend, and that’s okay. You got what you needed. Did you apologize?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Then that’s all that matters, Baby. Whenever you can use my name, use it. It’s yours to use.”

She grinned. “I, uh… I kind of have an early call time.”

“I know. Fuck, I know.”

The long silence between us was so loud.

“Is this…” Elle paused as water well up in her eyes.

“Nah. When you get back, let’s go somewhere for a few days. Talk a little. Fuck a little. Cry a little but in a good way,” I said, and winked.

Her eyes widened. “You are something else, Declan, but okay, I think the other girl will be back in a day or two…”

“Perfect. I’ll talk to you later. Good night and I know you’re going to kill it tomorrow. I been stalking yo’ reels and shit. Notifications on. You really be doing that shit girl. They be looking so happy when they get out of your seat. What the fuck am I supposed to do when you go on one of those six-month international tours?”

“Come with? Or come kidnap me like you did before. Maybe we can explore that a little deeper,” she said, making her eyebrows jump.

I chortled. “You are fucking hilarious. Go to sleep before I pull my dick out.”

“Night, Dec. I-I will text you when I get up.

“Yeah, me too,” I said, winking at her, knowing that I knew what she was about to let slip.

When she ended the call, I sighed. That was probably one of the hardest phone calls I’d ever had. I downed the last corner of my drink before leaving my mancave. Winter jumped out in front of me. Even if she had of scared me, that Pearl Louis was hitting so my reflexes was off. I knew her ass was around here listening. I hoped her heart was in her ass.

“That didn’t sound like ending it to me,” Winter hissed.

“She knew what was going on. We both know what’s going on. I’m doing what you said, I’m just doing it the way I want too.”

“And I just… texted this guy.”

I squinted at her. “Winter. Hear me and hear me well. I do not give a fuck what you do. You can text him back and tell him that you don’t have to end it for all I care.”

Her mouth dropped opened. “Declan, you are really trying to hurt me, and…” Her eyes started to fill up with water.

“I’m going to bed. Find somewhere else to sleep, and I’m not playing,” I walked around her and went to our bedroom.

By the time I’d got fully undressed, I was to fucked up to think about taking a shower. I got in the bed and stared at the ceiling, knowing it was about to be a long fucking night.

The Next Afternoon…

Me, my siblings, and my father been sitting in Dymon’s mancave staring at each other for the last ten minutes in silence. Thirty minutes ago, my twin called me and told me that we were summoned by our father. We hadn’t really talked since that day at the office. Our only genuine word to each other was ‘hello’, and the rest were fake conversations around everyone else, so no one picked up the tension, especially my mother. Him and I had stressed her out enough, so I was happy she had an emergency in New York this morning. Because of the tension between us, and me only having less than a solid good hour of sleep, I knew I was going to have to keep biting my tongue.

My dad cleared his throat and looked from me to Dymon to Diesel. “So, which one of you is the animal I’ve heard so much about.”

Me, Dymon, and Diesel, shot Denim and Demetria daggers.

“I ain’t say nothing!” They snapped at the same time.

“Oh, no. You all’s little bubble is not leaking air. I go into the seafood place this morning to pick up the salmon for Quinci and you know what I heard? Whispers. ‘Oh, they are wealthy, I’ll sue for twenty million and settle for ten.”

“Dad, now—”

Denim started and he snapped his fingers, shushing her.

“I’m standing at the butcher and some woman approached me and told me that I needed to control my animal of a son, and you know how I feel about being compared to animals. There was almost a real lawsuit and thank God, your mother wasn’t there.”

No one said anything.

“Somebody better say something, and it better make sense, quickly.”

We all looked around at each other.

“Now, when I put my own two and two together, and come to my own conclusions…” He paused, bouncing his eyes between my brothers and then me. “I’m going to say I was right and that theatrical stunt you pulled in your brothers’ office was all for what? One day you’re going to realize that I have your best interest at heart whether you want to believe it or not.”

Demetria and Denim’s eyebrows were fused together, confused. They didn’t know about me pulling up on our dad and they only found about Elle last night. When we decided to be discreet, I told Metri that I would tell her when the time was right, so she left me alone.

“So, you’re going to stay quiet?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “What do you want me to say? That you were right about Elle? No, I won’t say that, because you weren’t. That was my own fuck up. Leave her out of it.”

“I’m not? Declan, you nearly choked a man to death last night. Do you know what type of lawsuit that is? This is what—”

“Dad, no.” I shook my head. “I don’t need a lecture. Whatever happens, happens. None of it matters anymore because I plan to end it with Elle.”

They all looked at me with crazy looks on their faces.

“Plan to?”

“Yes, Dad. When she gets back, I am going to have a conversation with her. I will talk to Kemba and see where Johnny’s head is, or whatever, and that’s it. If it blows up, I’ll take it on the chin. It is what it is.”

“Dec… that girl can’t take Don away from you,” Diesel said.

Denim inhaled sharply. “I will bury that hoe, Declan, before she even buys a plane ticket.”

I chuckled lightly. “I know, Denim.”

Dad pointed at Diesel. “You’re condoning this?”

“Dad, you and Mom are in an open marriage right about now. It’s not Declan’s fault that she was so eager to get some new dick that she didn’t make the rules plain.”

“And we wouldn’t like that dude anyway, even if him or Elle fucked or not. He talks too much, and don’t know how to read the room,” Dymon added.

Hearing my siblings take up for me had my chest tightening. I was happy that they were taking up for me, but if they knew the real reason, I was leaving Elle alone, they’d never forgive me. All night, I sat up thinking about them never forgiving me. They’d be completely done with me. Every rant I had about them to Winter crossed my mind and anything I told her would paint them in a bad light.

My dad nodded slowly. “Okay, I see what’s going on. Everybody out, before y’all give me a heart attack.”

When we stood up, he said, “Not you, number two. Sit down,” he ordered.

The look on Diesel’s face asked me if I wanted him to stay and I shook my head. He looked at our dad before they all filed out of the room. He stared at me from across the room before he got up and came over and joined me on the couch. I stared ahead while he looked upside my head.

“You’re in deep?”

I nodded slowly.

“Declan, let me tell you something…”

“Dad, no,” I said, shaking my head.

“No, no. Just listen. I know you think that I treated you differently because I didn’t love you, but that’s not true. Admittingly, I treated you differently, because I…” He sighed. “I didn’t know how to love you, specifically, when you’re like this. Son, you know when I was coming up, my father was the same way. Whenever I couldn’t do something and would cry…” He pounded his fist into his hand. “Dangers do not fucking cry. We cannot afford to cry. That’s how my father was and that’s who I became. It worked for me, so I figured it could work for you. It frustrated me that your mother kept going against me whenever I tried to correct it. In hindsight, thank goodness your mother wasn’t having it, unlike my mom. By the time your mother drilled in my head that I needed to be different with you, you’d already hated me. So, I figured, I missed that window, and if you weren’t going to be tough that way, you were going to be tough other ways. That’s why I’m always hard on you. Not because I thought you were incapable.”

My throat tightened as water welled up in my eyes. Trying to blink back the tears didn’t help as a lone tear slipped down the right side of my face.

He reached out and swiped at my tear with the back of his hand. “This, son, is what was hard for me to do because it wasn’t done for me. I fucked up, and I’m truly sorry, Son. I really am.”

I blinked and more tears slipped down my face.

“I want you to be happy, but I don’t want you to be like me. Juggling women is not who you are. It shouldn’t have been me either, but…”

I looked at him.

“Look at how you are right now, Declan. You’re a mess. Look me in my eyes and tell me that that the young lady is worth this, and I will leave you alone about her.”

“Dad. She’s worth all of it and more, but it doesn’t matter, because I’m choosing… choosing my family,” I choked the rest out.

He stood and pulled me up into the tightest hug.

“I don’t… I don’t know, the real reason you’re doing this, and you don’t have to tell me, but I don’t want you to suffer anymore, Declan. Whatever you feel like you need to do, I will behind you 1000%.”

I thanked him by embracing him tighter.