Chapter 12 Diem #2
“Sure.” Breakfast would be over, and she would likely be in the common area again, enjoying a cold coffee.
Echo finished doing her business, and without thinking or taking note of my surroundings, without an ounce of caution or concern, I followed Tallus toward the main doors of the building.
He was still engrossed in his phone—probably a text conversation with Memphis.
Those two were attached at the hip in a virtual sense.
A towel fiber in his hair caught my attention, distracting me.
I plucked it free and showed him. He guffawed at the offense and wrinkled his nose, brushing it away like it was a bug.
His hazel eyes gleamed behind his come-fuck-me frames as he pocketed his phone. “I told you the new towels were shedding.”
I mirrored his smile, unable to help myself because he was adorable and mine.
“We’ll wash them again.”
Too much in love to think straight, I wrapped an arm around my boyfriend and drew him against my side, pecking a kiss on the top of his head.
I didn’t fully release him as Evergreen’s main doors slid open, admitting us into the vestibule, the same vestibule where Marcy and our unknown kid had exchanged cigarettes back in December.
Not looking where I was going, with my arm over Tallus’s shoulder and a contented grin plastered to my face, I nearly collided with my father as he headed out and we entered.
The world stopped.
Dad froze and stared from me to Tallus and back.
A lifetime of reactive behavior kicked in, and I reflexively removed my arm from around Tallus with a jolt but stopped short of shoving him out of my personal space. It was far too late for that. Every muscle in my body tightened, and a rush of adrenaline hit my bloodstream like a dam breaking.
The fight or flight sensation was familiar and toxic.
As a child, I never ran. I knew better.
As an adult, I never fought.
The conflicting pull filled my cells with cement.
Leroy Krause could have been the poster boy for those government ads warning people not to drink and smoke. Years of alcohol abuse had taken its toll. If I ever needed a reason to quit, seeing the effect writ over the old man’s face was incentive enough.
My father was in his early sixties but looked old enough to book a suite at Chez Evergreen. He carried at least forty extra pounds around his midsection. The infamous beer belly effect had gotten him good around his fiftieth birthday, expanding with each passing year.
His jaundiced cheeks were permanently etched with a spider-webbing of veins.
An ugly lesion grew on his neck. It had been there for years and never seemed to heal.
On occasion, it flared with infection. Dad’s thinning hair was fully gray, never combed, and always greasy.
The reek of stale beer wafted off his work clothes.
They probably hadn’t seen a washing machine since the early 2000s.
Leroy rubbed a grease-stained hand over his unshaven jaw, a look of disgust curling his lips. His fingernails were stained yellow from his pack-a-day habit that spanned decades. He had a permanent smoker’s cough and spoke like his vocal cords had been shredded by a cheese grater.
I avoided my father like the plague. Every confrontation turned hostile.
He didn’t dare raise a hand to me anymore; I was much larger and stronger.
But I feared the violence that lived inside me still.
The one that awoke in his presence, thirsty for blood.
The one that wouldn’t flinch at killing this man, even if it meant a lifetime behind bars.
At night, in my dreams, his voice still haunted me.
Catching me with my arm around Tallus, my lover, my boyfriend, would somehow be seen as a direct slight against him, even though our crossing paths had been entirely accidental. I hadn’t meant to react like I was ashamed, but years of instinct were hard to fight when caught unaware.
Before Dad snapped—he was a volcano about to erupt—before I could summon a single word in my defense, Tallus, my charming and fearless knight who refused to let me go into battle alone, hooked his arm with mine, yanked me against his side, and thrust his hand out to Leroy.
“Hi!” The bubbly tone was entirely out of place.
“I’m Tallus. Diem’s boyfriend. Well, common law husband, really.
He gave me a ring. It was practically a proposal.
It’s great to meet you. You must be Leroy.
I can’t believe we haven’t met before now.
He’s told me all about you.” His sing-song tone oozed pride, confidence, and a hint of I-Fucking-Dare-You, Asshole.
To ice the Don’t-Fuck-With-Me cake, Tallus glanced meaningfully around my father and shouted at the receptionist. “Oh, hey, Alice. Could you let Ruby know we’re here? We’ll just be a minute. I’m saying hello to my father-in-law. We just met. First time.”
The receptionist’s name wasn’t Alice, nor did we need to chat with Evergreen’s director, but that wasn’t the point. Tallus’s charade was strictly to ensure Leroy knew he had an audience.
My wily boyfriend turned back to Leroy, hand still extended, waiting for a handshake that would never arrive.
“Are you coming to Nana’s birthday party?
” Tallus asked, and I wanted to slap a hand over his mouth to shut him up.
“There’ll be cake and dancing and male strippers if I can convince this one. ” He elbowed me in the ribs, chuckling.
“I think Channing has aged out of the industry, but there are plenty of other hot young boys willing to audition for the part.” Tallus finally lowered his extended hand.
“Anyhoo. It’s at the end of the month. My dear friend Ruby-Loo can give you the details if you’re interested, but we’ve gotta go.
Nice to meet you, Leroy, or can I call you Dad? We really should do lunch.”
My father’s face turned puce as he stammered and coughed and sputtered without finding a response.
Figurative smoke billowed from his ears.
Never in my life had I seen the old man so completely undone.
Dad was always itching for a fight, but with Tallus implying we had a close connection with Evergreen’s director, he wouldn’t dare risk a confrontation lest he wind up banned from seeing his mother.
So, although my father likely had a lot to say, he shoved around us and stormed off without a word.
I didn’t move, feet stuck to the floor.
A moment later, tires squealed from the parking lot as Leroy Krause drove off, leaving what sounded like an angry rubber burn on the pavement.
The lockjaw of shock finally released its hold, and I slowly turned to face my smug boyfriend, who still clung to my arm, patiently waiting for me to recover. “You’re fucking insane.”
Tallus lifted to his toes and pecked a kiss on my parted lips. “Just head over heels in love. I may be half your size, Guns, but no one fucks with my Diem, especially that piece of shit.”
I wanted to pick him up and carry him home. Hold him and never let go. Breathe him into my lungs, absorb him into my pores. He was the cure for all the pain I’d spent a lifetime accumulating.
Words would never be enough. Words didn’t do justice to what Tallus meant.
No one had ever gone to war for Diem Krause. Nana had protected me. Boone had made excuses. My mother couldn’t save herself, let alone anyone else.
But Tallus didn’t flinch. He’d once thrown his body in front of a bullet for me. Today, he stood up to my father.
“I love you,” I choked. “I’m so sorry I reacted the way I did.”
“Instinct, Guns. I get it.”
“That’s not an excuse.”
“It’s fine.” Tallus kissed me again. “Let it go, D. No harm done. Let’s find Marcy.”