Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
HUX
With every stroke of the axe, I let a bit more tension release from my shoulders. I have about a million other things I should be doing. This job is typically reserved for the hired summer help, but for two hours I have been splitting wood at a punishing speed.
The last twenty-four hours have been a mind fuck, to say the least, leaving me full of pent-up emotion.
How did this happen? How have I gotten myself so wrapped up in a girl who will be leaving this secluded pothole of a town in a little over a month?
I’ve seen summer heartbreak play out before and it was disastrous.
This shouldn’t have happened. I don’t want attachment, I sure as hell ain’t hard up for sex, so why? Why do I find myself constantly thinking about her, wondering when I’ll run into her again? She’s like a good afternoon buzz, and I gave up drinking two years ago.
“We’ve got plenty of kindling son, and we definitely don’t need wood chips. How about you go easy on that one.” My dad nods toward the log I just set down on the chopping block. He smirks as he starts to load a wheelbarrow.
“Oh, look who decided to show back up. How goes the wild goose chase?” I bite back.
I see the sadness wash across his face and immediately feel guilty, but it’s hard to feel bad when he has been doing this to himself for the last two years. There is nothing to find, Storm is gone, and instead of moving forward and helping the only son he has left, he’s out there chasing ghosts.
Always the optimist, he quickly changes the subject and chooses to ignore my nasty dig. “Numbers are looking really good this season.” He shields his eyes from the hot sun and looks out over the lake. “If we keep this warm, dry weather, I think we are guaranteed the best season in a decade or so.”
This should make me happy, and of course, I’m grateful that my parents can breathe a bit of relief, at least financially. But what does this change for me? Nothing. If anything, it proves how badly they need me here.
“That’s great, Pop, I’m happy for you.” I bring the axe down with intense force.
“For all of us, Hux. I know you’re still upset you came back, but is it really that bad of a life here?”
“I’m really not in the mood to talk about this right now. It doesn’t matter how I feel, I’m stuck here. Your favorite son made sure of that.”
“That’s not fair, I never picked one of you over the other. I know you’re still mad at him, but he was hurting Hux. It was beyond his control.”
“You don’t think I’m hurting? It wasn’t just his heart that broke, he broke us all.
” I kick over the stack of wood next to the axe and grab the T-shirt I stripped off an hour ago.
I throw it over my shoulders, using the ends to wipe my face.
I take off, walking away from the man I love desperately, but who I don’t know how to heal either.
Using the side employee entrance, I barge into the maintenance room and grab a bottle of water from the mini-fridge. I need to calm down, I have too much to do, and I can’t keep letting my emotions get me fired up.
As I lift the water to my lips and start to chug, I hear the washing machine lid shut behind me. I turn to see Everly standing there, her eyes raking over my bare, sweat-covered chest. A chest that is currently heavy and full with rage.
“Hi.” Her voice squeaks like a mouse as she searches my face, trying to read my emotions.
I don’t think as I cross the distance between us, forcefully meeting her lips head-on. She gasps in surprise but grants me the access I need. My hands find her ass as I hoist her up onto the ancient spinning washing machine.
I need her, all of her, right here, right now. Her hands frantically explore my bare chest, as my hands run up and down her thighs. I press myself harder into her as I kiss down her neck. I am craving a hit of her just like a drug, anything to take away this anger.
Kissing my way back to her mouth, I devour her once again, my other hand undoing the button on her shorts. Grasping her hips, I lift her up slightly so I can slide them off when Everly abruptly pulls her lips from mine and places both hands firmly in the middle of my chest.
“Stop,” she pants in a hushed tone.
I immediately pull back, making eye contact with her. Did I scare her? Her eyes wander to the slightly open door that leads to the back office. The office Rhonda is almost surely in at this hour.
“Not here. First, if Rhonda walks in, we will probably give her a heart attack, and second, what is this? What are we doing?”
Avoiding her last question, I smirk. “No chance we would take out Rhonda that easily. She would murder us both right here, and then bring us back to life to clean up the bloody mess.”
Everly swats at my chest. “I’m serious… what about Ashlee? We haven’t even talked about how you have a girlfriend and how not okay this whole thing is. This is not me, I don’t do this.”
“You don’t do what exactly? Slum it with some country guy?
Sorry to ruin your pretty boy streak. And as for me, I’m not committed to anyone, and I don’t plan to be.
So my conscience is clear. Sounds like you’re the only one with some kind of problem.
” Any playfulness I was trying to find is now gone, my anger is aimed directly at her.
I want to reassure her that Ashlee is of zero concern for her, but the comment has triggered me once again. Her face instantly twists in what looks like a mixture of sadness and distaste at my response.
“That’s not what I meant…”
“Everly!” Rhonda calls from the office. She quickly hops off the washing machine, slipping out of my reach.
Pulling down and straightening her shirt, she looks back at me right before disappearing through the doorway.
Her eyes meet mine, and the look is enough to break my heart.
Though I can’t completely read her emotions, I know it’s not good.
She looks broken, disappointed, and I feel too messed up to try to fix it.
I kick the washing machine hard, leaving a dent in the sheet metal. I lower my forehead to touch the smooth, cool surface.
I definitely have fucked up.