21. Jay
Jay
When we found out she was going to be at the family dinner, we knew this was our shot. We were going to pull her to the side and let her know she only heard part of our conversation. But then she opens the door and has someone with her, a man, her boyfriend.
I almost choked, swallowing my water wrong when he said that.
As soon as Dad messaged to tell us they were home, we’d been coming over and prying Julia for information on Selena, but she doesn’t know anything about her.
How do you not know details about your daughter’s life?
Not to mention she steered every conversation to talk about herself.
It was the perfect setup. Or so we thought.
But shit had to hit the fan and ruin our chances of talking to Selena.
That and she has a boyfriend. What the ever loving fuck!
It took every ounce of my energy not to climb across the table and punch the fucker in the face when he kissed her.
At least he stood up for her when Julia started spilling her vile words.
“We should be going after her!” My voice rises with each word as we stand there, watching Selena leave with another man. She’s upset. Fuck, I would be too if my mother spoke to me the way hers did. How can Dad seriously love a woman who’s that cruel?
“Did you see how upset she was because of her mother? There’s no way she would listen to anything we have to say.
We need to give her some time to cool off.
Dad’s home, now we can get her address,” Eli tells us calmly as he steps back over to the table and sits down, picking up his fork, taking a bite of the roast.
“Julia’s a real bitch. How does Dad see anything in her?” Zeke blurts as he drops down in his chair. “Should we go?” His eyes gaze down the direction that Dad and Julia disappeared.
“No, let’s wait and see if she comes back out. We can get her address and make a plan to see her away from that bitch.” Eli picks up his glass of water and takes a swallow.
“I don’t know. Fuck, guys, she’s got a boyfriend,” I whisper, pain dripping with every word.
I just knew that tonight was going to be the night.
We were finally going to talk to Selena.
After we explained she misheard what we were saying, she’d forgive us and then we could tell her as a unified front that the three of us wanted to talk to her.
We are past the point of caring what Dad or Julia think about it or her being our stepsister.
We sit there in silence, each of our gazes drifting toward the hallway, waiting. Just when we’re about to give up, Dad steps back into the room.
“Sorry about that, boys. Julia is inconsolable at the moment. She had to take some Ativan and lay down.” He takes a seat back at the head of the table and picks up his fork, moving the now cold food around on his plate.
I want to say that Julia’s a bitch but Eli clears his throat and I know that’s my cue to keep my mouth shut.
“I think that tonight was overwhelming for everyone,” Eli speaks up.
“Right,” Zeke adds sarcastically.
“We just wanted a night for us all to be together. To make these dinners a tradition,” Dad mumbles softly.
“Tonight was a lot, Dad. Selena just learned that her family home is being sold, and she knew nothing about it. Maybe that could’ve been handled a little more delicately.
” Then. lowering my voice I add, “Also, if her mother wasn’t harping on about her weight every second.
” Dad acts as if he doesn’t hear, just keeps picking at the food on his plate.
When did he turn into this man that I don’t know anymore?
“Dad, why don’t you give us her address and we’ll check in on her. Talk with her.” Zeke speaks up as he pushes his plate away, done with this farce of a meal. All we need to know is where she lives, and then we can get the hell out of here.
Dad perks up at Zeke’s offer, a smile forming on his face. “Yes, that’s perfect. The three of you can bond and maybe help her to ease this tension between her and Julia.” He stands and steps over to the desk in the corner and takes a pen and paper out of the drawer.
He scribbles something on the paper and then steps back over to the table and hands it to me.
“Yeah, and maybe you can talk to Julia about the house.” Zeke’s gaze moves from me to Eli. “If Selena can’t afford to buy it, then we can. That way it can stay in the family.”
Dad nods. “I can do that. Please finish the food, I'm going to check on Julia. I love you, boys.”
“We’re heading out; we have an early day tomorrow.” We all stand and say our goodbyes and head to the door. I clutch the paper tightly in my hand, filled with both excitement and fear of finding out where Selena lives.
The ride home is filled with quiet tension. We didn’t even turn on the radio; all you can hear is the exhale of our breaths. As soon as Eli puts the truck in park in our driveway, I’m opening the door and rushing up the sidewalk to the front door.
Finally, we have Selena’s address. We know where she lives, and there’s no way she can block us once we show up at her door. She’s going to have to talk to us. To listen to what we have to say.
If Dad and Julia hadn’t taken such a long vacation, then we’d already know where she lived and explained everything to her. But they did. Now we have an added complication—she has a boyfriend.
Zeke walks into the house just a couple minutes after me and heads straight to his bedroom, not saying a word.
“He still had hope of having a chance with her. Tonight changed that for him,” Eli tells me as he steps inside the house, locking the front door behind him and joining me on the couch.
I must be clueless because I don’t get how one night could change his feelings.
“She has a boyfriend.” Sarcasm drips from each word Eli spills.
“I can hear you talking about me,” Zeke growls angrily as he steps back in the room. “And you’re right, she does have a boyfriend. Besides, we're fools if we think she’ll be okay with dating the three of us. Did you hear the way her cunt of a mother spoke to her?”
Eli and I just sit there after he speaks. Zeke goes to the kitchen and a couple of minutes later he returns with three bottles of beer. He hands both Eli and me one before sitting down on the other end of the couch.
“We’ve fucked girls together and as amazing as the idea sounds of sharing her, do you think we really could? I’ve thought about it and I don’t think we’ve discussed it enough.”
“We could totally do it. We are all hung up on Selena and the three of us have a bond stronger than just being brothers. There’s no way there would be a rift between us if she’s the girl who’s our center.”
Eli just sits there with his head down, his eyes locked on the ground.
“It doesn’t matter. She’s our stepsister, and she has a boyfriend. It's a moot point now,” Eli finally announces.
“I don’t give a shit. I can’t stop thinking about Selena. I’ve never been this attracted to a woman before and I don’t want to let it go without giving it a chance. And as far as the boyfriend, it sounds new. And I plan to fight for her.”
“Dad—” Zeke begins, but doesn't get to finish.
“This is our life, not Dad’s. We’re not related by blood, and we met her before we even knew who she was, so there’s not a damn reason we couldn’t or shouldn’t pursue her. It’s not incest.” I slam the beer bottle on the table, causing some of it to splatter out.
“I get that. Believe me, I do. But Dad would be furious, not to mention what his new wife would think,” Eli interjects.
“She’s a fucking cunt. Did you hear the way she talked to Selena? And Dad just sat back and let her. He would’ve never done that before. I don’t know what she’s done to him, but he’s been different since meeting her. And can each of you tell me honestly that you’re not still interested in her?”
I lock eyes with both of them, the answer clear as day. Yes! They still want her.
Eli looks at me, his teeth clenched, and I know he’s thinking about what I said.
“What do you think?” he finally asks Zeke.
“I don’t know. Even if I was okay with the idea, it doesn’t matter since she’s seeing someone,” Zeke reminds us yet again as if we could forget about one of the obstacles in our path.
“Who says they’ll last?” My loud voice echoes in the room. “Did either of you pay attention to them?”
“How could we not?” Eli sighs.
“Well they may be close, but there wasn’t any spark between them.” Yeah he kissed her, but something was off.
“Okay, before we can even think about pursuing a relationship with her, we need to get her to listen to us. Tell her that everything at the wedding wasn’t as it seemed. We were in shock. Any thoughts on how we do that?” Zeke asks.
We all just look at each other, no one saying a word, and drink our beers, lost in thought.
It’s not until five minutes later that an idea pops into my mind and I speak up. “I think we should approach her one at a time. That way, it doesn’t look like we’re ganging up on her.” “That’s a good idea,” Zeke says with a smile. “It will feel less confrontational.”
“Then what?” Eli asks.
“We woo her. Make her see we’d make better boyfriends than the one she has.”
“And if she doesn’t want to let him go?” Zeke asks, taking his turn at questioning my plan.
“Then I guess she’s going to have four boyfriends, because I’m not losing her. I also think we need to talk to Dad without Julia around. I don’t like this man he’s become since being with her.”
We all nod in agreement. Dad has definitely changed.