39. CHAPTER 39 #3
“I haven’t convinced him of anything.”
Tek’s laugh is chilling. “Oh, please. You expect me to believe you didn’t orchestrate this whole thing? How long have you been sneaking around behind my back?”
Eden sighs, long and hard, and I know he’s using all his strength to not attack. “I never—”
“Shawn knew, didn’t she? That’s why she was screwing around with Reeze.”
“I never—”
“Oh my god, it all makes sense now. You act like the victim and throw all of Reeze’s kit on the street, then you have a sudden change of heart.
Fuck! How did I not see this before? It was so damn obvious.
You both ran away on the same. Fucking. Day.
” Tek pounds his fist against his own head in time with his words.
“I never… We never—”
Tek cuts me off. “Did you let him fuck you?”
Anger is all I see. Red, hot, murderous anger. “I don’t let him do anything.”
His eyes are back on Eden. “So you have fucked him?”
“Are you gonna let me answer, or just keep interrupting?”
“You don’t get to talk to me like that, you… you, fucking predator. I don’t care who knows—who sees, and I sure as hell don’t care about the consequences. But if I find out that you touched him before he turned eighteen—”
I feel the rumble inside of Eden before I hear him roar. “Who the hell do you think I am?!”
“The old man that’s been fucking my brother!”
He’s been so strong, but I know Eden’s had enough. And even though I desperately want to see him force Tek out of the cabin, my time for holding back has expired as well.
“Shut your fucking mouth.” My voice is low, and I see my brother's eyes widen. Unlatching myself from around Eden, I stand and face Tek front on. “If you speak to him like that one more time, I’ll never talk to you again.”
“Don’t be stupid.”
“I’m not stupid.”
“Come on, Jin. Wake up. Can’t you see what he’s doing?”
“I came onto him.”
Silence crashes with the weight of a lead balloon, then Tek is tripping over his words. “He’s, but… You can’t… You’re only nineteen. He’s thirty-four. He should have said no.”
“He did—”
“But you—
“I wanted it, Tek.”
“Goddamnit, Jin. Why can’t you get it through your thick fucking skull. You’re not old enough to know what you want.”
“I’m not a fucking child!” I scream at the top of my lungs.
And I don’t know if it’s my ego, or my pride, or whatever it is burning in my stomach, but I take a step closer to him.
“I’m old enough to move out of home. I’m old enough to vote.
I can join the army tomorrow if I wanted to.
But this is where you draw the line? You didn't seem to care when I was forced into studying something that would lock me into a career I never wanted for the rest of my life.”
“I had nothing to do with that.”
“But you didn’t speak up for me, either.”
“It… That wasn’t my place.”
“But this is?”
“It’s different, and you know it.”
“That’s right. It is different, because it was my choice. I hadn’t seen or spoken to Eden since Easter. I didn’t know he was gonna be here. He didn’t know I was gonna show up. He tried to force me out. He had me sleeping in the shed out the back, for Christ’s sake.”
“And then what? He got sick of fucking his hand so he moved you into his bed?”
“I’ve had enough of your bullshit.” I watch as Tek’s eyes pan away from me as Eden’s voice moves closer.
He doesn’t push me behind him or try to step between my brother and me.
He stands beside me, because that’s where he wants me to be.
His equal, because no one has been manipulated here.
“Stop talking about Jin like he’s something that can be used. ”
“So what do you call it, then?”
Eden shrugs, just as annoyingly nonchalant as he does with me. “I mean, sure. We fuck. We fuck a lot. But I love him, too.”
Tek is bright red, his hands are balled into fists, as his nostrils are flaring as he moves towards Eden. “I’m gonna kill you.”
“Stop it,” I cry, stepping between them. “I love him, too.”
Tek’s top lip twitches as he leans down to me.
“You’re a fucking idiot. Do you seriously think this relationship will work?
I know what he’s like. I’ve watched him fuck his way through woman after woman for twenty years, and you think you’re the special one?
The best you can hope for is to be his dirty little secret that he keeps hidden because of the shame of it all. ”
“I’ll never hide you,” Eden whispers, but the tears are already back.
Tek raises his arm. “Would you fuck off!” Then he swings; his fist flying towards me, only missing my face by inches as he punches Eden.
Then he’s grabbing my face—forcing me to look at him.
“You mean nothing to him. You were just something for him to put his dick in until he got out of here and found something better.”
“I told you not to speak to him like that!” The crack of knuckles on skull catches me off guard as Eden punches Tek.
Dazed, but still so damn drunk with hatred—just as much with me as with Eden—he lunges, but Eden shoves him against the wall.
One hand firmly against his sternum, and running on pure emotion, he uses his extra reach to successfully land another punch.
“Enough!”
With his arm raised ready to lay into Tek for a third time, Eden looks in shock to the open doorway.
“I said, that’s enough!”
“What the fuck are you doing here, Carey?”
“Stopping this bullshit from continuing any further.”
It’s… Eden’s brother?
I knew he was working at the shop, but… I’d never have been able to pick him out in a lineup.
They’re the complete opposite of each other.
Where Eden’s hair is long and dark, Carey’s is short and sandy blonde.
Eden has brown eyes. Carey has blue.
Eden is muscular and tall. Carey is lean and looks like he’d be shoulder to shoulder with Tek.
“I told you to stay in the truck.”
“Shut the fuck up, Tek,” Carey dismisses him with a vexed roll of his eyes before they settle on me.
He doesn’t say anything, he just stares. At least that’s like his brother.
His gaze eventually drags down to my bare chest and the strips of cling film still hanging there. Then they’re on my stomach, my bare hip bones, Eden’s sweatpants hanging low. Carey’s gaze is so heavy I instinctively grab the rolled waistband and take a step back.
His inspection over, he tilts his head to the side, and with the hint of a smirk, he raises his eyebrows like he approves. And that’s when I know time must have stood still, because there’s no way Eden and Tek would have stayed quiet this long.
“This has nothing to do with you.”
Carey’s head whips away from me and back to the commotion. “You’re the one fighting my brother. Or have you forgotten that this affects me just as much as it affects you.”
“That’s it! I’ve had enough,” I yell, stepping into the fray. “This isn’t about either of you. It’s my life, and it’s Eden’s. And if this is what we want, the pair of you are gonna need to calm the fuck down about it, or this is the end.”
With a bloody nose and an already swelling cheek bone, Tek orders me to, "Get your shit, and get in the truck,” like he didn’t hear a damn thing I just said.
“Hell no! I mean, I knew you’d be mad, but you’ve said some of the most hurtful things and… I really don’t know if I wanna be around you anymore.”
“I’ll kill you, you bastard,” Tek screams as he writhes in Eden’s grip, all his anger still directed at him. “You brainwashed him. You turned him against us, you evil son of a bitch.”
In another futile attempt, Tek forgets the six inches Eden has on him, and swings again.
I throw up my hands. “ You’ve done this—no one but you. We wanted to talk. You could have yelled all you wanted. Punched a hole in the wall for all we’d care. But this… This isn’t how the Tek I know would ever treat me.”
Still blind to reason, Tek swings again, but this time when he misses, he kicks. I know its intention. I practiced the move myself so many times I know he’ll crack ribs. So with my upper arm tight against my side and my fist up by my shoulder, I tense all my muscles and dive between them.
The top of Tek’s foot smashes against my arm, and no matter how hard I try to grit through the pain, the strength of his kick sends me crashing to my knees.
The most gut wrenching groan comes from my brother, and I’m too afraid to open my eyes and see what Eden’s done to him.
So with my head down—my right hand supporting my left arm against my chest—I listen to the grunts of frustration, the sounds of bodies shuffling and feet scuffing, then the smack of my brother's head against the cabin wall.
Ready to jump to his defense—even after everything he just said—I’m shocked silent when I see it’s not Eden, but Carey gripping him by the collar.
“Calm the fuck down!” Carey yells, again.
Yes, they are the same height. Yes, Carey’s voice is so much deeper than I expected it to be.
And in spite of all that, Tek still has at least thirty pounds of muscle on him.
One push and he could have him flat out on the floor.
But he just stands there, seething, tortured, torn between lashing out and something I can’t put my finger on.
“You’re the one who needs to get their ass in the truck.”
“Not without Jin.”
“You fucked up any chance of that happening when you barged in here.”
Tek slams his fists back against the wall. “What the hell did you expect me to do?”
“Use your damn brain.” Like Tek’s ears are open for the first time, his eyes clear and pan to me before quickly focusing back on Carey. “You’re allowed to be pissed. And right now you probably do wanna kill him, but you need to think for a second. Is this really what you want?”
“He’s nineteen.”
“Yes. He is nineteen.” Carey nods like he’s speaking to a child. “And you’re thirty-five.”
Tek bares his teeth and growls. Then he grips Carey’s wrists and tries to pull them away.
Carey lets his head fall back.