Chapter 3
3
Silas
I leaned against the island, scrolling through my phone while Mom and Dad were mixing up a couple of batches of cookies. “Can I borrow one of your cars today? I need to stop by the mall to do some shopping.”
“Christmas is in two days. Talk about last-minute,” Dad teased.
“I ran out of time before leaving LA.” That wasn’t really true, but I wasn’t about to admit I’d spent the last couple of weeks in California hitting up as many clubs and parties as I could.
Mom put her spoon down and dug through her purse on the counter. “You can take the Volvo.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I grabbed the keys from her and turned toward the hallway, nearly bumping into Cash as he strolled into the kitchen.
“Hey,” he said, raking a hand through his brown hair. He glanced at the keys in my hand. “Are you heading out?”
“Yeah. Got some gifts to pick up.”
“Mind if I tag along? I was going to wait until after Christmas to buy some clothes for our ski trip, but I think I need some warmer stuff now.” He chuckled.
“Okay.” I grabbed my jacket from the hook on the wall next to the front door. “You ready to go now?”
He nodded. “Yep. Let me just tell your sister I’m leaving.”
“I’ll meet you in the car.”
While I waited for Cash, I started the SUV and turned on the heater. A minute later, he climbed inside, blowing on his hands to warm them up.
“You weren’t joking about being cold, were you?” I asked, reversing out of the driveway.
The roads were clear, though the sidewalks were covered in muddy piles of snow from the last storm.
He shrugged. “Honestly? It’s not as bad as I expected. I just needed an excuse to leave with you.”
“Why?” I glanced at him.
“Britt was looking at some earrings online last night. She doesn’t think I noticed, but I figured I’d try to find them for her.”
“Did you wait until the last minute to shop too?”
Cash shook his head. “I’ve had her Christmas gifts picked out for a while, but she’s been stressed about her job search. I thought it would be nice to get her something to celebrate getting the position.”
“That’s cool,” I said, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel to a beat playing in my head. Keeping time with music was something I did even when I wasn’t sitting behind a drum set. “So, what do you do when you’re not being the perfect boyfriend?”
He laughed, then paused briefly before he answered. “I’m a sober companion.”
I stiffened slightly. “Sober companion? Like, you help people stay off drugs?”
“Pretty much. I work with clients who are in recovery. Basically, I help them stay on track while they adjust to life outside of rehab.”
“That’s gotta be heavy sometimes,” I replied, keeping my voice neutral. He’d likely have something to say if he knew what I liked to indulge in.
“It can be,” he admitted. “But when you see someone put in the work to turn their life around, it makes it all worth it.”
I nodded absently, my thoughts drifting to Donnie. I’d been planning to swing by and pick up some coke while I was out but with Cash tagging along, there was no way that was happening.
“So, what about you? Britt told me about your band. You guys have an album coming out soon and headlining your first tour, right? That’s huge.”
“It is,” I agreed. “We’ve been playing together for almost ten years, and all of our hard work started paying off a couple of years ago.”
“She’s proud of you, you know,” Cash said, and he sounded genuine.
I lifted a brow. “Interesting. It’s sort of nice hearing she brags about me. Growing up, she was the golden child.”
“She talks about you a lot,” he explained. “You two are different, but it’s clear she cares about you.”
I didn’t respond, unsure of what to say. Instead, I nodded toward the mall as I pulled into the nearly full parking lot. “We should find those earrings before this place gets even busier.”
“Good idea.”
When Britt and I were kids, we’d race downstairs at the crack of dawn on Christmas morning, barely able to contain our excitement as we tore into the presents waiting under the tree. Breakfast was an afterthought, something we rushed through just to get back to playing with our new toys.
Now, things were a little more laid-back. We didn’t wake up as early, and breakfast came first. One thing that hadn’t changed was Mom’s pancakes with red and green sprinkles.
The smell of coffee and bacon greeted me as I headed downstairs. My mom was at the stove, humming along to “Jingle Bell Rock” as she added ladles of batter onto a skillet .
“Morning.” I grabbed a mug from the cabinet and started pouring myself a cup of coffee.
“Morning, honey. I was about to send your dad up to drag you out of bed.”
“Got the fire started,” Dad announced as he walked into the kitchen. When he noticed me standing near Mom, he grinned. “Merry Christmas, Son.”
“Merry Christmas.”
“Okay, everything will be ready in just a minute. Silas, can you set the table while your dad helps me with the food?”
“Sure.” I grabbed a stack of plates from the cabinet before snagging some forks and knives from the silverware drawer.
Britt and Cash were already in the dining room when I rounded the corner. My sister was showing Cash something on her phone, and then he laughed and gave her a quick kiss.
Britt glanced up at me. “Finally decided to join us, I see,” she teased.
“It’s not even nine.” I rolled my eyes. “Give me a break.”
Cash chuckled, but before he could chime in, Mom entered with a platter of pancakes, followed by Dad carrying the bacon and eggs.
“Everything looks delicious, Melissa,” Cash noted as we began passing the food around.
“Pancakes with sprinkles were always Britt and Silas’s favorite.” Mom added a spoonful of eggs to her plate. “There’s just some things you never outgrow.”
She was right.
Breakfast passed in a blur of conversation and laughter. Britt shared stories about her last year of residency, and I glanced at Cash as he gazed at my sister with admiration in his blue eyes. Judging by that look alone, I wouldn’t be surprised if he decided to move to Boston with Britt. Even though I didn’t have much experience with actual relationships, it seemed as though they had a good thing going on.
My parents clearly liked him too. Dad leaned back in his chair, listening intently as Cash talked about his job and living in Texas, while Mom beamed every time he said something nice about Britt.
When we finished eating, my mom wiped her hands on a napkin and declared, “All right, it’s time for presents! We can take care of the dishes later.”
Britt’s face lit up, and she grabbed Cash’s arm, dragging him into the living room while Dad and I followed. I sank into the couch as Britt began passing gifts around.
Mom unwrapped my gift first. “Oh, I love it.” She beamed as she pulled out the perfume I’d bought. She’d always said it was her favorite scent, but far too expensive to spend her money on.
Dad went next and couldn’t hide his smile when he opened a gift bag from me filled with Bruins’ merch and tickets to a game. “I haven’t been to a hockey game in years. Thank you.”
My sister had been harder to buy for and after searching the mall, I’d opted to get her gift cards to all her favorite stores. “Looks like I’m going on a shopping spree when I move back.” She chuckled. “Thanks, Si.”
Soon the floor was covered in opened boxes and wrapping paper.
“I think that’s everything,” Mom announced as Dad shook open a garbage bag.
“Actually, Melissa, there’s one more back in the corner.” Cash stood to grab the small bag and handed it to Britt.
She lifted a brow. “What’s this? I thought we were going to open our gifts to each other when we got back to Houston?”
He shook his head and grinned. “Just open it.”
She pulled out a small jewelry box and lifted the lid. “Oh my gosh. How‘d you know I wanted these?”
“I saw you looking at them two nights ago. That’s the real reason I went to the mall with your brother.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. “Thank you. I love them.”
Once we cleaned up the mess, we settled in to watch a Christmas movie and relax for a bit. It was in that moment, I realized no matter how much I enjoyed my life in LA, there was something I liked about the quiet time at home with my family as well.
The music blaring from the speakers was loud enough to rattle the windows of the large house. The Silenced Misfits were known to throw epic parties, and judging by the size of the crowd, it seemed a lot of people had learned about their reputation.
I stood in the corner of the kitchen, sipping a beer, talking to a group of guys who claimed to be Surrender’s biggest fans when Elliott walked in. He spotted me immediately, weaving through the partygoers to join me.
“Hey, man.” He looked at the beer in my hand. “Keeping it chill tonight?”
I smirked. “Nah. This is just a warm-up.”
He barked out a laugh and poured some beer into a red cup. “Can you believe we used to hang with these guys when no one had heard of either of our bands?”
“Time flies. They’ve sure stepped it up since we left for LA.” I nodded at the people dancing and singing along to The Silenced Misfits’ music.
Elliott was mid-sip when his gaze landed on the doorway. His expression darkened immediately. “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” he muttered.
I followed his line of sight to see Donnie walk in, his usual cocky grin plastered across his face.
Elliott looked at me. “Did you know he was going to be here?”
I nodded. “I told him about the party the other day.”
“You’ve already hung out with him?”
I knew what he was really asking. Like my other bandmates, he was well aware of Donnie’s business . And while Elliott usually let me do my own thing, recently he had been making little comments about how I chose to “blow off steam.”
“I ran into him the day I got back.” I shrugged as if I hadn’t sought Donnie out.
Elliott didn’t look convinced. “Just remember what Malachi said. We can’t have anything derail what we’ ve got coming up.”
“Relax,” I said, brushing him off. “I’ve got everything under control.”
It appeared he wanted to say more, but before he could, a brunette in a red dress appeared at his side, resting a hand on his arm.
“Hey,” she said with a flirtatious smile. “You’re Elliott Spencer, aren’t you?”
“Yep.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and focused on her.
I took that as an opportunity to slip away, making a beeline for Donnie.
“Silas,” he called out when he spotted me. “Thanks for getting me on the guest list. I didn’t expect there to be so many people here.”
“Didn’t I say you could make some bank tonight?”
“You sure did.” He looked around the crowd, and I could practically see the dollar signs lighting up his eyes.
Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, I handed him some cash so I could have a little fun before he likely ran out of product. Then I began introducing him around, pointing out those I knew would be interested in what he was selling. It didn’t take long for people to start slipping him cash as he handed over small bags from his pocket.
A while later, I found him leaning against the wall near the kitchen. “Busy night?” I asked, handing him a beer.
Donnie chuckled, pocketing the cash from his last deal. “You could say that. I’ve never moved this much product in one night. Thanks for the hook up, man.”
“No problem.”
“I’ve got a little left. Do you want it?” He pulled another baggie from his jacket.
Since most people had left already, it was more likely someone would see what we were doing, and I didn’t need any photos of me in the middle of a drug deal leaking to the press. Once I was sure we were in the clear, I nodded. “Sure.”
Donnie handed it over, and I slipped him more money. “Hopefully, I’ll see you before you head back to LA,” he said before taking off .
It was almost four in the morning by the time I got back to my parents’ house. As I walked up the driveway, I spotted a shadowy figure near the side of the house.
Cash.
His phone was pressed to his ear, and his voice was low, but I could hear him just fine. “I know it’s hard, but you’ve got this. I’ll make sure to stop by as soon as I’m back in town.”
“What the hell are you doing?” I snapped, loud enough to make him jump.
“Call me if you need anything else, okay?” He ended the call and narrowed his eyes on me.
“Who were you talking to?” I demanded. “Are you cheating on Britt or something?”
His jaw clenched, and he took a step toward me. “No. Of course, I’m not. I was talking to a client who needed help.”
I blinked, his words sinking in. “A client?”
“Yes, a client. You know, from my job where I help people stay sober?”
“Shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to?—”
“Yeah, you did, but I can’t be too mad since you were just looking out for your sister.” He stared at me for a moment. “Did you have fun tonight?”
I tensed, wondering if he knew what I’d been up to or if I was just feeling paranoid. “I did. Is there something wrong with that?”
“Nope.” He shook his head. “Just be careful. It’d kill your parents and Britt if anything happened to you.”
I gave him a curt nod before heading inside. As I climbed the stairs to my old room, I thought about how overly concerned everyone seemed lately. And while I realized how lucky I was to have people who cared about me, I really wanted everyone to back off and let me live my life.