Chapter 56 #2
“Victor,” she looks down at me, running her thumb across my cheek.
“You took a life using your bare hands because it was him or you. Then you came home less than a month later, without any time to process, and then we had that night. We weren’t exactly sharing as much then as we do now.
That was also the event that made you start going to therapy. ”
My blood is finally pumping at its regular pace, and my breathing has evened out, but my heart hurts. I had no idea she knew what I had done. “How long have you known? How do you know?” I’m not mad. It actually feels like a huge weight has been removed from my shoulders, but I still want to know.
Gabbi slightly shrugs her shoulders and tells me, “Cookie.” She pauses for my reaction, but I don’t give one.
“Cookie called me about a week after that night. He said you seemed off the last time he talked to you, and he was worried about you. I told him a G-rated version of what happened, and he told me about your situation. He told me to give you time and that everything you did, you did it to come home to us.”
Fucking Cookie. A sigh comes out as I shake my head, but a smile appears, “He’s always had my back. Remind me to thank that joker next time we see him.”
Gabbi smiles back down at me and nods, a look of relief ghosting across her face.
“So, what do we do now, Rockstar?” I ask.
“Now, you take me up to bed and make love to me, if you’re up to it.
We’ll work through this issue over time.
” She lifts a shoulder and tilts her head a bit, “Unless you don’t want to, then you can just hold me.
” She looks down at my body and sees that certain muscles are telling her option one, please.
Gabbi’s smile starts to spread wider, a glint of mischief appearing back in her eyes.
“Lead the way, my Queen!”
A few hours later, I make my way downstairs to the kitchen. It’s 1:00 in the morning, and the only people still not home are Kerri and Trip. Kerri’s jeep is here, so I know she must be out with him. Still not sure how I’m feeling about that whole thing, whatever it is.
I open the fridge door and start to lean down to grab something to drink when I hear the engine of a motorcycle. I grab a water and close the fridge, walking over to sit at the kitchen island. I’m not sure I want to witness the front door action at this point.
I crack the seal on the water and take a sip when the front door swings open, and what sounds like a fuming Kerri bursts through.
“Fuck you, Trip!” Kerri’s voice is loud and unforgiving.
“K, keep your voice down. Your parents and my parents are both sleeping!” Trip whispers.
I hear Kerri stop walking, “Fine. Fuck you, Trip!” Now she’s whisper-yelling. Oh, smart-ass Kerri is gonna eat him alive. I smile to myself. Should I make myself known? …Nah.
“K. Come on, Shortcake.” My eyebrows shoot up, Shortcake?
“Shortcake? No, Trip, you lost the privilege of nicknames when you decided to sign up for the goddamn Army without telling me…” What? “Then you wait until the day before I leave for the summer to tell me? Are you fucking serious!?!” Her voice is getting louder with each breath.
“Kerri, please lower your voice. I haven’t told my parents yet. You’re the first I’ve told.” Oh, for fuck’s sake. My hand goes to my face. “I didn’t know how to tell you. I just wanted you to have a good graduation. I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry? Trip tonight we…I mean, fuck…we just…” Okay, I’ve heard enough. I get up, sliding the stool, making as much noise as possible to stop whatever words were going to tumble out of my daughter’s mouth.
“Shhh.” Trip notices. I come around the corner and see Kerri standing there, her eyes puffy and red, shit.
“Hey, sweetheart, what’s going on?” Pretending like I didn’t just hear everything.
Kerri wipes her eyes and huffs, “I’m going to bed.
Trip can explain himself since he’s so fond of doing things solo.
” Then she walks past me and up the stairs, disappearing into her room.
My hand flies to the back of my neck, and I look over at Trip, who’s mirroring my actions, with his lips pinched together. Well, aren’t we a pair.
“You wanna talk about it, Wildman?”
Trip, looking utterly defeated, looks up at me from under his furrowed brow and shrugs. He follows me into the kitchen and I snag a water for him, both of us grabbing a seat at the kitchen island. We sit there in silence, Trip methodically ripping off the label of his water bottle. “So, the Army?”
His eyes spring to mine, and his hand stills, “You heard that, huh?” I nod, and his gaze drops back down to the bottle.
“Yeah, I’ve been working with a recruiter for the past couple of months.
I was going to tell you all, but with my record and everything, I wasn’t sure if I could get a waiver.
Plus, I had to get all the weed out of my system before they would sign me. ”
“So, you signed your contract already?”
“Yeah, I signed it a week ago. I wasn’t supposed to leave until the end of the summer, but turns out, I can go earlier.
So, I leave next Sunday.” He takes another swig of his water.
“I just wanted to wait until after graduation so there wasn’t anything that dampened the day.
Vic, I’m so used to fucking things up and ruining shit for everyone, I just didn’t want to ruin that day. Now, look what happened.”
A small laugh huffs from my lips, and Trip cocks an eyebrow at my reaction.
“I can’t say I’m surprised, buddy. Your dad and I were exactly like you when we were kids.
We thought we were on top of it all, but we were really just lost boys searching for structure and a place to belong.
I’m proud of you, son.” The smile he revealed when hearing of me and his dad wavers a bit at my praise.
“I mean it. Your dad’s going to be really proud, too.
Your mom will be sad because she’ll miss you and she’ll be terrified if you ever deploy anywhere, but we’ll all still be proud and support you in your choice. ”
“And Kerri?” A look of pain flashes in his eyes.
“Kerri…hmm…Kerri will get past it.” I pause a moment, debating whether to ask my next question. “Do you care for her?”
Trip’s eyes go wide, like a cartoon character, “Umm…I…uh.”
“Trip, I’m not upset. I just want to know.”
“What if…” he looks down, messing with his bottle again, “what if…” Jesus, come on, kid.
“What if?” I encourage rotating my hand in a circular motion, lifting the water to my mouth for another sip.
“What if I love her?” Water comes spraying out of my mouth, all over the countertop.
“I’m sorry?” I say, sputtering and coughing.
“Fuck, I knew I should have kept my mouth shut.” Trip stands to leave, but I reach for his arm.
“No, wait. Trip, I’m sorry, you caught me off guard. I just…I just thought you all hated each other. I mean, you all had more beef than 90’s rappers when you first got here.”
“Huh?” He looks confused, but before I can elaborate, he continues, “I don’t know how it happened.” He lets out a deep sigh, “It just did. Now she hates me.” I laugh a little at his comment.
“What’s so funny?”
Shaking my head, I smile, “Kerri doesn’t get that upset over someone she hates. She’s scared.” I wait a few seconds for that to sink in. “You know her and Abby are leaving tomorrow to spend the summer with Gabbi’s mom in Greece, right?”
“Yeah, she told me a while back.”
“You also know that she’s supposed to start at Boston University in the fall?” Trip pinches his mouth together, and his eyes widen. Oh, Jesus, what now? “What do you know, Trip?”
“Vic, I can’t say. She’ll hate me for taking that away from her.”
“Okay, I can respect that…but I won’t. Tell me, kid!” My voice is stern and unmoving.
“Fuck.” Trip curses under his breath. “Okay. Look, don’t tell her I told you, okay?” I nod once. “Kerri is taking a year off and traveling through Europe. She said she wants to start college next fall, when she gets back.” He flinches his shoulders like he’s waiting for an explosion.
What in the actual fuck?!? I’m speechless…How in the hell? Who in the… “Wait, how is she financing this trip?”
Trip shrugs again, “She said her grandmother was paying for it.” Un-fucking-believable…
“Fucking Lola…”
“Who’s Lola?” Trip chuckles at the name.
“Gabriella’s mom. And a giant pain in my ass.”