Chapter 34 #2
“You’re... being a dick about me not letting you open my door?”
I don’t know why I’m clinging to the idea of being a gentleman so much. Probably because a gentleman is the exact opposite of what my Pops is.
“Yeah, what about it?”
“You’re funny,” she says, grinning up at me.
I walk over the yellow, dead grass of the front lawn with Andi following behind me.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been back here.
Years, really. Even longer since I’ve spent the night.
And here I am, ringing the doorbell and waiting for the door to open like the people inside are complete strangers.
“Eli!” my momma says with a tired smile.
“Hey, Momma,” I say, leaning forward and kissing her cheeks.
Her gaze instantly drops to Andi, who offers a little wave. I try to see her through my mom’s eyes. Does Andi look like the kind of girl I’d bring home? Because that’s what’s happening here, technically.
The realization strikes me. Andi is the first girl I’ve ever brought home.
“And this is?”
“Hi there, Mrs. Castillo. My name is Andi. I’m—”
I reach down and tug her hand into mine. The touch makes her words falter, and she stares down at it and then up at my eyes like I’ve grown a third head.
“Oh! I see,” Momma says, her eyes darting between Andi, me, and our joined hands. “Well, welcome to our home, Andi. It’s lovely to meet you.”
“Eli!” I only manage to catch a blur of dark hair before my baby sister pushes past my mom and launches herself into my arms. “You actually came!”
“You’d been annoying me about it enough, I had to get you to shut up somehow,” I snark, catching her with one arm and giving her a little shake.
“Eli!” Andi hisses, her tone far different from Lucy’s excitement a moment before. “Are you a dick to everyone?”
I flash her a toothy grin and shrug, setting Lucy down.
She turns her attention immediately to Andi, a product of the boundless energy teenagers seem to have, I’m sure.
“Oh, hi! You’re Beck’s girl—” Her gaze immediately drops down to our joined hands and she freezes.
Is it really shocking that I’m holding her hand?
“Lucy! Don’t accost your brother when he’s just come home. At least let them come inside first.”
“Sorry, Momma,” Lucy answers automatically, an excited glimmer appearing in her eyes.
“Can I offer you anything to drink, Andi?” Momma offers as the two of us step inside.
“No thanks, I’m alright,” Andi answers, the picture-perfect omega.
“Please, I insist. At least let me get you a glass of water,” Momma says.
When you take away the whole her picking her husband over her son thing, she’s also a pretty good omega. Warm, hospitable, selfless.
The last adjective grates against my nerves.
Her selflessness is only a positive attribute if you’re my pops.
Andi gives my hand a little squeeze before slipping out of my hold.
“Be right back,” she says, her eyes drifting to Lucy, who’s practically vibrating with the questions I know she’s going to pepper me with.
Right on cue, Lucy starts bouncing on her toes the moment Andi and my momma turn the corner towards the kitchen of the small home.
“What are you doing with Beck’s girlfriend?” Lucy whispers. “I mean, you guys were holding hands, so I think I can connect the dots, but—”
“You’re old enough to know about packs, Luce.” My shoulders shrug as I shove my hands in my pockets. They feel empty and listless without Andi’s small, warm hand in mine.
“So that’s your omega too?” Lucy hisses, her eyes wide.
“I mean, nothin’ is really official yet,” I grunt. “It’s all pretty new.”
“Still, she’s sooo out of your league.”
“You can go ahead and shut up,” I say, shoving my hand in her face as I make my way into the house. “How’ve you been doing?”
“Pretty good, school’s been going well and I’ve been loving cheer!”
“Those gymnastics classes are being put to good use, then?”
“Yeah! Thank you for paying for those, by the way.”
“Course, it’s the least I can do.” I nod, my steps slowing when I turn into the dining room.
From here, I can see into the kitchen, where Andi is smiling politely at my mother, who’s speaking to her in hushed whispers. I can also see into the living room, where my dad is lying in a recliner, watching a football game.
It’s a re-run, too. Which means a re-run of a football game is more important than greeting his son he hasn’t seen in years.
Makes sense.
But you’d think with how insistent Lucy and my momma have been about me coming home that he’d at least pretend to show interest.
“Dad! Get off the TV and come say hi to Eli! He’s home, and he’s brought his girlfriend!”
Two sets of eyes fly towards me.
Andi’s, probably because Lucy just referred to her as my girlfriend.
And my dad’s. But only after Lucy mentioned that I brought a girl home.
I can feel the stupid words that are about to come out of his mouth before he says them.
“Girlfriend? ‘Bout fuckin’ time he brought home a girl instead of being a fucking fa—”
“You say that word and I’m walking right out the door,” I bite out, my voice a low growl.
Andi appears silently at my side, her knuckles white around a glass of water my momma must have offered her.
Some of the tension leaves my shoulders when I finally reach out and clasp her free hand in mine. She’s like an anchor, tethering me to reality.
My reality. The life I’ve built in LA with Beck, Leo, Everett, and now her. The life I’ll go back to when we’re done with Beck’s thing.
I remember Andi’s words from earlier in the car.
You’re not stuck there.
She’s right.
“You really gonna talk to me like that, boy?” My pops huffs, shoving himself up to his feet.
I can’t hide the look of surprise that crosses my expression.
He looks... like shit.
He must’ve lost seventy or eighty pounds. The old jersey that would stretch across his beer belly hangs off his frame. His skin, nails, even the whites of his eyes all carry a yellowish tinge to them that must come from the liver failure.
“Julio!” Momma says, her voice taking on that same pleading tone it’s taken on ever since I was a kid.
It never did anything. Never stopped him from doing whatever he wanted to do. Now, hearing it just makes me sad for her. She shouldn’t have to reduce herself to that pointlessly.
“It’s fine, Momma,” I grunt, my eyes never once leaving my Pops. I hold my free hand out at my side, raising my brows at him. “The hell are you gonna do about it, huh? Hit me? I promise you won’t win that fight.”
His face changes color a bit. It doesn’t get red, like it used to when I was a kid. It can’t, not with how advanced his condition is. But he still trembles with rage.
Rage that he always channels into his fists.
But deep down, I think both of us realize he knows better now.
That thought makes something settle in my chest.
“I can’t fuckin’ believe you show up and disrespect your dying father like this,” he hisses through his teeth.
“Look, Pops,” I sigh, scrubbing a tired hand down my face. “I’m only here because Luce and Momma wanted me to be. If you’re gonna act like this, then I don’t see a point in me being here. I can always fly them out to LA like I normally do.”
“Eli,” Momma says, wringing her hands in front of her. “There was a reason we asked you here.”
Something about the way she says it has a bone-deep exhaustion settling into me.
“You’re gonna go and get tested to see if you’re a match,” Pops says, resting his hands on his hips in a way I’m sure would’ve been intimidating fifteen years ago.
His words wash over me. My gaze cuts to my momma, taking in her guilt-ridden expression.
But before I have a chance to say anything, Andi lets out a soft scoff by my side.
“You’re joking,” she says, her brows drawn up in surprise.
All of us turn to her, myself included, in absolute shock.
“This is a fuckin’ family matter,” Pops spits, taking a frustrated step forward.
“You watch your tone when you talk to her,” I snarl, matching his step with one of my own.
“Andi, dear,” Momma starts, reaching out to Andi. “This really is important—”
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Castillo, you seem like a... nice woman, but my priority here is Eli and you guys are asking him to give that—” she points to Pops, and I can tell she’s biting back a whole bunch of creative curses, “man... part of his liver? Eli hasn’t seen the guy in years!”
Pops lets out a guttural sound of frustration. “You have a responsibility to me as your father—”
“You had a responsibility to me as your son,” I snarl back. “Last time I checked, you were chasing me out of the house saying I wasn’t a son of yours, so which is it?”
“I—”
“I’ll make the choice for you,” I bite out. “I’ll continue sending money for your treatments ‘cause the last thing I want is for Momma to have to stress herself out finding work, but the only thing you’re getting from me on top of that is me paying for your fuckin’ funeral.”
“Eli!” Momma chides, her voice trembling. “You can’t—you can’t mean that!”
My heart pounds in my chest. My resolve wavers for a split second under the face of my Momma’s obvious despair, but Andi offers my hand a little squeeze. God, I’m so glad I brought her.
Imagine I hadn’t, would I have agreed? Probably not, but it would’ve been a lot harder of a decision.
“I’ve made up my mind, Momma. And really, my mind was made up for me years ago.” I glance between them and shake my head. “I should go.”
The one person I feel bad for in this equation is Luce, who follows Andi and I to the front door like a lost puppy.
“Sorry,” I mumble, patting the top of her head awkwardly.
“It’s okay,” she says, sending me a wry smile. “I get it. You might not have been a match for him, anyway. Momma and I weren’t.”
“Thanks, Luce.”
She throws her arms around my waist, squeezing hard before flashing a bright smile at Andi.
“Sorry we couldn’t talk more, you seem really cool,” Lucy says.
“Damn, really? Thanks!” Andi says, seeming to take Lucy’s compliment to heart.
“Let’s get out of here.”
“Yeah,” Andi nods. “Let’s.”