Chapter 3
Chapter Three
“My long-lost son! Where have you been?” my mom cries when I walk through the door of her small house in Mistgrove.
It’s a cute little town in the Pacific Northwest that boasts a coffee festival each year and one of the oldest willow trees in the United States.
It’s far enough away from New Falls that I can’t commute daily, but it is close enough that I can go home when I want to.
My sisters, Maya and Desiree, still live here with her.
Even though she’s in her mid-twenties, Maya has decided that the best way to be able to afford a house in this economic climate is to live with Mom for a while and save.
Meanwhile, my youngest sister, Desiree, is a senior in high school.
My twin sister, Hailey, lives with some friends nearby and is attending a community college, which means she’s usually only home for the weekends.
“And Paulie!” my mom coos. “So good to see you. When I heard you were coming, I made you that flatbread pizza you like so much.”
“Fuck yes,” he murmurs as my mom pulls him in for a hug.
She always embraces him before she hugs me, which makes me roll my eyes. She adores my best friend, and I think she secretly hopes he’ll marry Hailey one day so he’ll be part of our family. Actually, it’s not a secret at all. She came out and told him this one day.
Just flat-out told him.
“You need to marry Hailey so you can be my son.”
He teared up and everything. I think he wants it as badly as she does.
“Thanks for letting me hang out with you guys today,” Paulie replies.
“Oh, anytime. You know this,” my mom says, patting him on the cheek and then pointing to me. “Myles, while you’re here, I have a few projects for you before you leave.”
I knew it. She always saves these up for me. Little repairs she can’t quite manage or ever get to with her work schedule. Honestly, I don’t mind. She’s done so much for me as a single mom. I’m here to help her in any way I can.
“You have a list for me?”
She pulls one from her pocket and hands it to me. “Thanks, love.”
“Anytime, Mom.”
“I can help too,” Paulie says, but my mom tuts loudly.
“You will absolutely not. You’ll sit down and tell me everything that’s been going on in your life since I last saw you, and eat some food. You’re far too thin.”
That’s not true. He’s shorter than me but just as muscular. But if we aren’t actively eating when we walk through the door, my mom thinks we’re starving.
She leads him to the kitchen where the flatbreads are baking, and I sigh when I see her hand him a slice. I’ll get some after I’ve done the list of chores she needs me to do.
“You’ve been replaced, little bro,” Maya says, throwing her arms around my middle and squeezing.
She looks a lot like our dad. I don’t remember much about him other than that he had dark hair and strong arms. But the pictures Mom has hanging around the house have made him a memory, one she won’t let us forget.
“Seems so.”
She laughs and then punches me in the stomach. Hard. I even wheeze a little.
“Come on. I’ll help your lame ass. Plus, I have questions.”
“I don’t have answers.”
“You sure do,” she says. “You’ve been awfully quiet, which means you have a secret. And I’m a PI now, so I can find shit out. Don’t think you’ll sneak past this.”
I don’t respond, knowing she’ll see right through any lie I try to tell. We make our way outside as I open up the list Mom gave me.
The note simply reads: Kill that goddamn vine, son of mine!
“Shit, not the damn vines again. I thought I pulled those all out last time. Are they seriously back?”
“Yep. They refused to die and have come back full force. They’re vengeful, it seems.”
I turn the corner and sure enough, there they are.
“It’s been two weeks. How have they grown this much? This has to be a freak of nature!”
Maya cackles as she hands me some clippers and then grabs a garbage bag. “This is our life, bro. We need to accept it. For the rest of our lives, we’ll be here trimming these back. Whatever critter planted these needs to die.”
I huff a laugh and get to work. Maybe snipping these infernal vines will help take my mind off Colton and his hands. And his damn mouth.
And everything about him.
But that only works for a few minutes because Maya is asking questions like some kind of FBI agent.
“So,” she begins. “What’s new with you?”
“Nothing.”
She snorts so loud the birds twitter at her and a rodent scurries around the bushes.
“Liar. Something’s going on. You have that look about you.”
“You know, my twin should be the one who can read me best. How is it you?”
“Because I’m cool like that.”
She grins at me, and I toss a clipped vine at her. It lands on her head, and she bats it away, stuffing it in the garbage bag.
“Are you still seeing Xochitl?”
“No,” I sigh. I’ve completely forgotten about her. Annoyingly. She has been replaced.
“So, who is it, then?”
“You won’t leave it alone, will you?”
She waggles her eyebrows at me, and I snip another vine aggressively.
“I don’t want to tell you.”
“Well, sorry, but you have to. Keeping this a secret isn’t an option. If you wanted to keep secrets, you should have been born into another family.”
That makes me snort, and I toss another leafy vine at her. This time, she catches it and stuffs it in the garbage bag.
“Fine, there is someone. But I don’t like them.”
She cocks her head. “Why not?”
“They’re cocky and annoying. And won’t leave me alone.”
“What makes them cocky and annoying?”
“Their entire personality,” I huff.
That makes her laugh, and then she takes the clippers from me. “You look like you’re going to stab something, and I don’t want it to be your leg again.”
“That was one time.”
“One time too many. So, who is it? And don’t think I missed the pronouns you used.”
I groan and peer over at her. I know she won’t care. None of my family will. The problem is they’re nosy as fuck and will have a million questions I can’t answer. I don’t even know what’s going on myself.
“Fine. It’s a guy.”
She gasps and then does a small jig where she’s standing. “I knew it.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“No, I didn’t, but I had a feeling. And my feelings are always right.”
“They’re really not.”
She tosses a branch at me, and it nicks my arm.
“Ouch! I’m bleeding.”
She rolls her eyes. “Big baby. So, what position do you play? Probably not the bottom, since you can’t handle pain.”
“Fuck off. I’m a rugby player. I take hits daily.”
“Whatever. You’re a wimpy one.”
I laugh at that and then sigh. “I don’t know what I am. I know I’m not gay. I just…” I scrub a hand over my face. “I just like him touching me, but I hate who he is.”
“Will you tell me his name?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Maya. Seriously? You have to ask me that?”
She grins and then points to the vine. “All right, fair. I can just find out by snooping. I’m very good at it. Come on, let’s get this done. Plus, I bet by the time you leave, you’ll have told me his name anyway. It’ll save me time and energy.”
“Yeah fucking right.”
She smirks at me as we get back to work, the vine fully ripped from the ground by the time my twin pulls up and bounds out of her car. She looks a lot like me. Strawberry-blonde hair and blue eyes, same nose and eyebrows. But that’s where the similarities end.
“Butthole!” she cries and throws herself into my arms.
I swing her around, clocking Paulie standing on the porch, watching us. I flip him off, and he sends one right back to me. Asshole is probably jealous she isn’t touching him like this. Bet she’ll just give him a high five like she usually does. Or bump his fist.
“Mom said you were coming by,” Hailey says, swatting me on the arm. “I should have a sixth sense about this, but we both know I’m shit at that.”
“Yeah, well, it was a last-minute decision. Mom had chores for me to do. It’s the only reason she wants me around.”
“That’s not true!” my mom shouts and then huffs in annoyance. “You are useful, though.”
I grin at her, and she whispers something to Paulie, making him laugh. Listen, I’m just joking around. My mom is a hard worker, and while I give her shit about this kind of thing, I honestly don’t mind. For everything she’s done and continues to do for me, I give what I can back.
“Listen, I have an early job tomorrow, so if we’re going to start drinking, we should do it now,” my mom explains.
Paulie lets out a snort and follows her inside to help get everything ready.
My mom’s a caterer. She started her own business five years ago after losing her job at the bank, and honestly, it was rough going at first, but she’s done really well for herself.
I’m so fucking proud. But it’s also the reason I can’t fuck around like Colton does.
We just don’t have it in us to survive any kind of financial calamity. It could ruin her.
Maya and I ditch the garden shears and wash our hands inside, then Mom loads us up with food to bring outside. Everything looks so good. Charcuterie, flatbreads, and some kind of salad.
We set everything on the table on the porch, and my mom and Hailey appear with a few bottles of wine.
“Who wants to do the honors?” Mom asks, looking around the table at the five of us, but finally, I raise my hand.
“I will.”
“How about you do it, Maya?”
I give my mom a look, and she chuckles. “Just kidding. I shouldn’t joke around like that. You can do the honors. You are my only son.”
She hands me the chilled bottle of wine, and I uncork it, pouring everyone a glass. I’m not a big wine drinker, but I can appreciate this with my family. It’s a bit of a tradition. I started drinking wine with my mom when I was fourteen.
“So, tell me everything that’s happened since I last saw you,” my mom says, popping a grape into her mouth.
I grab a cracker and some cheese and lean back. “Nothing much. Same old, same old.”
“Well, you know we’ll be at your next practice.”