6. Chapter Six ~ Mia
Chapter Six ~ Mia
I got the feeling that there was something Brayden wasn’t telling me about the night of the accident. I was so angry with him this morning, I didn’t even think to ask. He had already been a jerk to the nurses who’d come to help him get better and that was a complete turn off to me. So, after our angry exchange in the kitchen, I got dressed and went out for some air.
The thought of leaving and finding a room somewhere weighed heavily on my mind, but it was like Uncle Joe’s cabin had already had its effect on me and I wanted to stay. It was my first summer back in Big Bear in years; I wanted the experience to be grand and new. Too bad there were people who seemingly wanted to ruin it for me the minute I arrived.
You know what, Mia, just relax. I told myself. Go into town, grab some food, and enjoy the day.
As a romance writer, I was all about finding solutions to problems. Sure, the occasional drama spiced things up a bit but at the end of the day, I wanted a happy ending. Food was my happy ending, and Big Bear had some of the best street food I had ever tasted. Outside of the foreign countries I'd traveled to.
While I was out this afternoon, I tried so many new food trucks and pop-up shops I couldn’t keep count. I even revisited the amusement park I used to go to when I was younger. Of course, I never had any money to actually go inside and ride the rides, but it was fun to watch.
I thought about the times when Brayden and I would sneak in just to walk around and I got angry again. We did so many fun things together; made so many memories. I hated him more when I thought about the life we could have made. All he had to do was grow up, get a job, and stop hanging out every night.
What was supposed to be a fun afternoon for me turned into a long trip down memory lane. My overwhelming thoughts of Brayden consumed so much of my time; I didn’t realize I was sitting in my car with no real destination at one point.
I thought about going over to the lake and seeing what kind of tailgating parties were going on since I'd been gone, but I spotted a familiar face just as I got ready to pull up. Nick. He was with a crew of guys who looked like they were up to no good. It made me furious. After the hell our family went through when Trent was taken away, there was my younger brother trailing the same path.
That uncomfortable feeling of being a parent washed over me. I took care of him when he was a baby, I took care of Brayden, and even though Nick had turned eighteen and he wasn't my responsibility, I felt the need to take care of him again.
“Aw shit, who is this fine thing?”
One of the guys he hung around cat-called me as I approached their crew. Of course, Nick rolled his eyes and huffed and puffed. I thought it was funny to see him so embarrassed by his older sister checking in on him.
“She's my sister, man,” Nick said. “Keep your eyes off her.”
“Sister?” the guy laughed. “Your sister is a sexy Mamita.”
I fake smiled and flirted with my eyes, embarrassing Nick enough for him to grab me by the hand and quickly whisk me away. He didn’t want to look like a softie in front of his friends, and I didn’t want him hanging out with them to begin with.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he grumbled.
“What? I can’t kick it with you and your friends?” I joked. “You didn’t have to be rude; you could have introduced me.”
Nick rolled his eyes again and shifted his weight to one foot, the same way I would do when I knew my mother was going to lecture me. He reminded me so much of myself when I was his age. I guess he would, I practically raised him as my own.
“You don’t need to be hanging out with those guys, Nick,” I said. “There’s nothing but trouble up the road you’re walking.”
“How do you know what road I'm walking, sis? You haven’t been here to see it in years.”
His reminder made me hurt inside. I felt terrible for abandoning him at a time he needed someone the most. A day never passed when I didn’t think of all the ways I could have done things differently. Though Nick wasn’t my child , he still needed me.
“That’s not fair, Nick,” I said. “Look, I’m not trying to tell you what to do with your life, I just want you to make smarter choices and stay out of trouble. Alright?”
He ignored me for a moment, staring off into the distance as if he didn’t want what I said to register. I know he is a smart kid and could make better choices than a lot of people. But I also knew that if he kept hanging around the guys he did, those choices would become influenced in ways that were unimaginable.
“I hear you,” he finally answered. “Those guys aren’t all that bad. Some of them are stupid, but they’re cool and give me someone to hang out with when I'm alone.”
He looked back at the guys who were all piled up in one booth in a nearby pizza parlor. They were rowdy, loud, and all over the place, but they did look like a little family. I couldn’t deny that.
“Well, I’ll be here all summer. Maybe we can hang out some time and rebuild our bond.”
“We were just about to grab a pizza,” he said with a hopeful look in his eyes. “You want a slice? We can sit at a different booth, so the guys won’t bother you.”
I didn’t want to sit anywhere near Nick’s group of rowdy friends, but for the sake of spending time with my little brother, I agreed. The minute we walked into the parlor, the guys started hollering and whistling, complimenting my looks and the way I walked. Nick fought hard to keep his composure, but I could tell the attention I got from his friend annoyed him.
“Do any of you have girlfriends?” I asked, as Nick and I took a booth in the back of the parlor.
“Some of us,” he said.
“Us?” I side-eyed. “What do you mean, us?”
Nick laughed bashfully as he looked over the menu like he wasn’t already sure he’d order a large pepperoni with a two liter coke.
“You have a girlfriend, Nick?”
“Yeah! Sheesh!” he laughed. “We’ve been dating for a few months now. And yes, I'm treating her right. Trying to find a job so I can take her places, you know?”
A proud smile crossed my face as I listened to my little brother talk about all the things he wanted to do for his girlfriend. Whoever she was sounded like a nice girl. I just hoped they were being responsible and not planning on bringing any babies into the world before they were ready.
“Does mom know you have a girlfriend?” I asked.
“Mom doesn't know shit,” he spat. “She’s never around. It got even worse after you left.”
When Trent was sentenced, mom lost what little was left of her ambition. She became a recluse, started skipping out on work to stay in bed or hang out all night. She started drinking heavily and eventually, the nightlife consumed her.
“Anyway,” Nick said, changing the subject. “What’s up with you? Why'd you come back after all this time? I thought you were staying away forever.”
“I don’t know,” I sighed. “I felt like I needed to come back to tie up loose ends. I want to find out where Trent is too. They keep moving him around and I want to know why.”
“Why? So that you can write a book about it?” he asked.
“I’m a romance writer,” I chuckled. “I don’t write prison stories.”
Nick made an interesting point after my comment. He said just because someone was in prison, didn’t mean they couldn’t fall in love. He was right. I had been in a mental prison for years, yet and still, I fell in love. I fell in love with a man. I fell in love with writing, and I fell in love with the idea of wanting a better life.
The more I talked to my little brother about what it meant to love and be loved, the more I thought about Brayden. I was blinded by his sexiness and the things he was capable of in the bedroom. So much so, it made me overlook all of the things we needed to work on.
After pizza with Nick, I went back to the cabin. It was after six that evening and the sun had just started to set on the horizon. Outside of my overwhelming thoughts of Brayden and all the ways he made me feel good sexually, I wanted to relax with a glass of wine and watch the night sky set in.
Unfortunately, Brayden was drunk off his beers and blasting his TV at max volume, making the sound unbearable to me and everything else around.
“Will you turn that down, please!”
I stood at his bedroom door shouting out over the sports commentator yelping about some stupid field goal. Brayden ignored me, of course, pretending as if I weren’t even there.
“Brayden!” I shouted out again. “Will you turn that down, please! You're not the only one here.”
When he continued to ignore me, I invited myself into his room, grabbed the remote from his hands and turned the TV off. The room went silent, and Brayden continued to stare at the screen like he couldn't believe I turned it off in the middle of his game.
“You’re not the only one here,” I said. “It’s rude as hell for you to have your TV blaring so loud like you’re here alone.”
“You’ve been gone all day,” he said. “How the hell was I supposed to know you were back?”
I hated it when he acted clueless. He was very aware that I was home and even more aware that I stood in his doorway asking him to turn the noise down. He wanted to get a rise out of me, but the only thing he did was make me angry.
“Cut the crap, Brayden,” I scoffed. “And keep the noise down.”
“Keep the noise down,” he mocked. “I could say the same thing for you. The way you came at me earlier for no reason was uncalled for.”
I wanted to argue with him so badly that evening. I wanted to say all the things that I had bottled up inside. I wanted to lash out and tell him exactly how I felt about him, but I didn’t. I kept it brief.
“I have a lot of reasons to come at you,” I shot back. “Be lucky that was the only one you got earlier. I'm not here to argue with you. Be respectful, and so will I. It's simple.”
I walked away to end the discussion before it became an argument. If I had to be completely honest, I walked away because Brayden made me hot. He was shirtless and his muscles were bulging, and his chest and arms looked so good I wanted to lick them. I wanted him to wrap them around my waist while I rode him and made us both climax. But there was no way in hell I would let him see me sweat. So, I went out to the pool and sweated in private.