Chapter Nine His Sister Was a Witch
Mila
I’m immediately on edge when I walk into Catacomb a little late and find Shawn sitting next to Jordan’s desk. Where there’s one idiot, there’s usually another, but I don’t see Rhodes anywhere. “Where is he?” I mumble. “Tell me he didn’t let himself into my office.”
“He’s not here,” Jordan answers quickly. “Shawn came alone, and a full half hour early, I might add.”
The way she raises her brows at him like someone scolding a toddler makes me laugh, though I’m surprised to find I’m a little disappointed that Rhodes isn’t here. I may not have any idea what I’m doing with him or what I want, but clearly... I want something. “Why so early? Did you mix up your appointment time?”
Something about the way he’s looking at me makes me feel like he can see right through me, but that might just be his glossy stoner look. “No, I like to be early. Plus, I figured Jordan would keep me entertained while I wait.”
His gaze flicks back to her, and I’d be a fool not to recognize his expression. Stoned or not, I know googly-eyes when I see them.
The poor guy.
Chuckling, I nod to Jordan. “I don’t think I pay you enough for that. What do you think?”
She eyes Shawn, shaking her head with a slight, playful smile. “Definitely not. He already stole my snacks.”
“I thought they were for guests,” he argues, making himself more comfortable in his seat. “Felt weird they were hidden by her phone, but whatever. I thought she was just snacky.”
“Snacky?” she laughs. “Usually, yeah. But now you owe me a bag of butter snaps. Two, actually.”
“Not my fault you have good taste. Anything else I owe you?”
She taps her finger on her chin, then huffs. “Nope. I’m good.”
Shawn stands up to move into her space, laughing when she looks ready to punch him in the throat if he tries anything funny, but all he does is grab her Dr. Pepper and take a drink — lips touching and all. “You sure?”
“Now you owe me a six pack of those,” she deadpans, shoving him gently. “Go sit down, heathen.”
“I’ll get all of it by tonight if you agree to come over.”
Her eyebrows completely disappear under blonde bangs. “Pardon?”
“What’s that face? I just want to cook for you, nothing salacious... unless that’s why you’re making that face. Is that what you wanna do? I mean, I’m down, but just remember you went there first. I’m not trying to Roscoe this opportunity.”
My face heats up when I realize what he means. “Don’t you have a girlfriend already?”
“No.” He frowns, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. “We broke up — for good this time.”
“How long ago?”
His dark brown eyes flick between both of us like he’s on trial. “Almost two weeks ago.”
“Yeah, I’ll pass,” Jordan says bluntly. “You’re cute and all, but I’m nobody’s rebound.”
“It’s not a rebound,” he argues, but doesn’t seem to take her rejection to heart when he leans forward on his knees. “You think I’m cute?”
“Of course I do, I’m not blind. But this is definitely a rebound.” She shifts her weight and takes her time eyeing him, adding, “So ask me again in two months. If we’re both still single, I’ll say yes.”
His smile returns with a vengeance. “You got it. I’m still coming here for my weekly facial though, so get used to this cute face.”
I’ve known Jordan long enough to know how pleased she is with this, but I’ve also known Jagger’s friend group long enough to be wary. Shawn is the nicest, there’s no arguing that point. I just wish it meant he wasn’t a playboy like the rest.
“Speaking of facials, we all need to get back to work, hm?” I nod to her, ignoring the way they immediately start talking again the second I leave.
Good for her, if it works out. That’ll mean my two best friends are dating two best friends, and I’m over here in the middle trying to hide from a third. Statistically, Rhodes and I have the lowest chance of working out. We’re complete opposites, and everything about him suggests he’s just going to break my heart before the end.
He’s still seeing someone else, after all.
That same girl who was yelling at him outside of Bad Habits was back again this morning, smiling and laughing as she walked Rhodes to the door. I just don’t get it. If he wants her, then fine. Leave me the hell alone. And if he wants me, what the hell is he doing entertaining other girls?
It pisses me off all over again, so when the giant himself walks into my room just as I’m about to go on lunch, I’m ready to snap. “Can I help you?”
“Damn, girl. Bad day?”
He takes a seat like I invited him to stay, exhausting me. As always.
“Nope, I was having a great day. Unexpected visitors tend to fuck that up, though.”
“Is it Shawn? It’s Shawn, isn’t it? I told him to leave you guys alone, but he insists he needs those facials now. He’s an idiot.”
I hate the way he’s looking at me with his legs all wide and an amused expression, like he really doesn’t understand why I don’t want him here.
“It wasn’t Shawn. It’s you.”
Finally, he looks a little uncomfortable. “Not pulling any punches today, huh? That mean you’re not interested in going to lunch with me?”
“Why don’t you take one of your whores?” I snap. “One today wasn’t enough for you?”
Frowning, Rhodes flinches back like I slapped him. “The fuck does that mean? I don’t have whores, and I wasn’t with someone today.”
Oh good, now he’s outright lying to me. Does he think I’m stupid? “So it’s just a coincidence then that I keep seeing the same girl hanging out and hanging all over you, but she never actually goes inside the gym. Yeah. That definitely makes sense.”
That frown slowly fades away and he has the audacity to chuckle. “Okay, Mila. No need to be jealous, woman. That’s my younger sister. Full sister, by the way, so no. She isn’t one of my whores, and I’ve never in my life considered touching her in that way.”
Ew. Ew. Fuck.
“Oh god,” I mumble. “I... you don’t have siblings,” I remember suddenly. “You said you’re an only child.”
“Nah, I do. She found me a couple months ago, and apparently my parents decided to keep this one. She’s been trying to get me to come around, but I have no interest in getting to know them. I’m not angry, I just... don’t care.”
Shit. He’s over here dealing with some serious family shit and I just called him and his sister whores. Good for me. “Oh. Your... birth parents. She doesn’t look much younger than you, are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. She came with receipts, of course. They were in high school when they got pregnant with me, then it happened again right after they graduated, but they couldn’t give up another kid so they made it work. Guess they figured out how condoms work after that, I don’t really know. She claims they want to meet me, but they’ve never tried, and I don’t really want to open that box, you know? I’m doing fine, they’re doing fine, my adoptive parents are doing fine, it’s best to just leave it at that. Sapphire’s not the type to just let things go though, so every time we hang out or talk, she somehow finds a way to bring them up again. It would be nice to just have a sister and not have to think about the rest of them. Maybe that makes me fucked up, I don’t know.”
With the way he’s rambling, I can tell this is something he’s wanted to talk about for a while, but I’m the asshole who has been keeping him at arm’s length. I hate myself a little for it.
“I’m sorry,” I say quietly. “I don’t think it makes you fucked up, though. You don’t owe them anything. No one owes their parents anything.”
“Yeah, that’s what I tell myself.” He stands up like he’s about to leave, but turns back before he gets to the door. “You want me to call her and prove it to you? I know how territorial you are over me.” He smiles like he’s fucking with me, easing the tension in the room a little. I find I’m glad for it.
“No, I believe you. Do you... want to talk about it? I know a little something about choosing not to engage with family.”
Nodding, he grips the handle on the door. “Yeah, I’d like to hear about that. Does that mean you’ll go to lunch with me right now? Or at the very least, I know you want some froyo.”
My stomach growls before I can try to back out. “Sure. Froyo sounds great.”
Grabbing my purse, I beg my stomach to quit doing somersaults as I follow him across Catacomb and right past Jordan’s judgy gaze. I know I’ll have to answer to her later and probably Remi too, but for now... I have some things to figure out.
We stay quiet until we’ve both got pineapple froyo to distract us, and I’m the one who breaks the silence first. “When did you find out you were adopted?”
He finishes up whatever he’s doing on his phone, and puts it away before responding. “When I realized I looked very different from Christina and Daryl. They’re both blonde with crystal blue eyes, and when I was five, I asked them why my skin was darker and my hair was curlier than theirs and they told me. I didn’t fully understand what it meant beyond the fact that they weren’t my parents — but I also didn’t understand how people made babies, so I didn’t think much about it. Then in middle school I had more questions and they told me how they found me and all that. I never really felt close with them, and that’s not their fault. They’re nice people, I just never got those... I don’t know how to explain it... motherly vibes? I didn’t feel those until I met Jay’s mom Karina. She’s the only one I call mom. What about you? You said you were close with your brother, but what about your parents?”
That’s a lot of information to absorb, especially since he’s trying to flip the conversation to me, so I save the ten thousand questions I have for later. “Yes. I love Max, but our parents... they always tried to control me. They had my whole life planned out by the time I was six, and anytime I did anything that interfered with it, they punished me. My mom threw a fit when I told her I’d rather be an esthetician than a surgeon and tried to cut me off, so I dyed my hair black, got a bunch of tattoos and piercings, and basically told her to fuck off. She thought it was just a phase I’d grow out of but I realized then that while I’d initially done it all just to piss her off, I’d been hiding who I really was my whole life. They couldn’t handle the real me so I haven’t spoken to them in years.”
I swear he looks proud of me as he takes his next bite. “Good. Fuck them. I like this look, but I’d love to see a picture of how you looked before so I can make fun of you.”
“That’s easy enough. Just scroll back further on my Instagram,” I laugh. “I’ve never been ashamed of who I was so I never deleted anything.”
I have to fight the urge to watch his tongue as he licks his plump lips. “I’ll Instastalk you tonight. I’ve gotten down to like two years ago, but I’ll go further. Have you looked at mine?”
“Nope,” I lie, refusing to tell him I creep on him every single time he sends me a message. Sometimes even when he doesn’t. “I see you enough in person.”
“Not nearly enough,” he argues playfully. “I’ll be sure to tape my picture on your bathroom mirror so you see me every morning too.”
“That’s just creepy,” I mumble, shoving my spoon into my mouth instead of blurting out that he could just be in my bathroom in the morning. “So Sapphire wants you to talk to your birth parents?”
Sitting back, his leg brushes mine under the table, but he doesn’t seem to be pushing for anything more than this. “Yeah. She found me on Instagram — actually, she found me on TikTok, but I don’t open those messages so she reached out on IG and told me she wanted to meet me. I was straight up with her and said I was interested in getting to know her too, but not them. She agreed, and ever since then she’s been trying to change my mind. I think she just wants us to be a normal family for holidays, but that’s not what we are.”
“I don’t blame you. It has to be hard to know... well, all of that.” I don’t have it in me to repeat back that his parents didn’t want to keep him, but kept a baby they had just a couple years later. “You said you’re not angry with them? I would be.”
“I was for a while,” he admits. “I didn’t even realize I wasn’t anymore until Sapphire kept pushing and I had to explain it to her. I actually really do love the idea of having a sister, but I don’t need parents anymore, you know? When I did need them they weren’t there, so why now? Why cater to their guilt when I’ve got enough going on? That’s not on me.”
It’s hard not to see him in a new light. A new, mature, emotionally stable light. “That’s fair. It’s not on us to make our parents feel better, especially under these circumstances. Hopefully Sapphire understands that and can lay off a little.”
“She mostly has, but she tried again last week and I got pretty annoyed with her. She apologized today and I actually told her about you. Pretty sure she’s going to make an appointment soon.”
Oh, that won’t be awkward at all. “Then I guess we’re even for Mrs. Mayweather.”
“Yeah, maybe.” He smiles like he knows something I don’t. “How is business, anyway?”
“Pretty good, honestly. We’re not exactly killing it yet but we’ve got enough customers to pay the bills and it’ll get better.”
“That’s good. Do you still walk inside the building and smile every time when you remember it’s yours? That you did what you set out to do?”
Yeah, unless I’m fuming because I think the hot guy who works next to me is secretly fucking his sister. Hmph. “Usually,” I admit. “It still feels surreal. I spent a lot of time working for other people so now that I’m my own boss, it’s a little overwhelming... but amazing.”
“It suits you.” He takes the last bite of his dessert and then slides the cup aside to take a bite of mine. “You need more food than this, Mila.”
Warmth floods through me for reasons I don’t quite understand. “I’ll be just fine. I really should be getting back, though... I have an appointment soon.”
“Yeah, I figured you’d say that. That’s why I have Milo’s on the way for you. It’ll be at Catacomb in—” he checks his Grubhub app— “ten minutes.” The grin on his face tells me he knows exactly how smooth that was. “Eat when you have a minute.”
The giant idiot just walks away with a wink, leaving me sitting there with my jaw on the floor and my heart twisted in knots. I don’t know what happened, but the Rhodes I’ve seen today... he’s worth risking a lot for.
I just wish I knew which version of him was real.