Chapter Seventeen – Rebel #2
“Heart?” She wrinkled her nose. “That’s corny.”
He repeated the motions with the second pint of ice cream. “The sweet to his heart?”
“Sweetheart? Basic. And still corny.”
He stuck his face into the pint. When he lifted his head, ice cream covered his nose and mouth. “The flo to his wer?”
“Yuck. Gross. Aunt Flo.”
“What’s that?”
“Never mind,” she mumbled, her cheeks flaming.
“Blos to som?”
“Ridiculous.”
“Jas to mine?”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“And chi to huahua does? Oh brother.” Axel dipped into the container again and lifted his head a moment later, his mouth filled with ice cream. He thought for a moment and said, “Valen to tine?”
“Uncle Val? Hello?”
Glaring at her, he slammed the ice cream back onto the tray. “I got two good ones. Stu to pid or fo to ol. Choose, ‘cause they both fit.”
Rebel flipped him off. “Kaia’s is better and more romantic.”
“Kaia’s is neither and if you think it is, then you don’t got the brain to love Diesel or him.”
“Fuck you!” she screeched. “Take that back.”
Axel poked his tongue out at her. “Make me.”
Anger surging into her, Rebel got to her feet and started for the door, but Axel ran ahead and blocked her way.
“I’m not finished talking to you, Reb. And you were going to fix me a banana split.”
“I’m done talking to you,” she sniped. “And I’ve changed my mind, so move.”
“No,” he said stubbornly. “I’m your brother and you got to listen to me, especially since you made me cry.”
“I did not! Your miserable little eyes are dry.”
“Not now, stupid. When Mom got you out of the water.” He squirmed and met her gaze, his eyes as green as hers were blue. “You wasn’t moving or nothing. I was so scared, Reb.”
The words burst Rebel’s anger and her sad restlessness returned.
“Were you?” he whispered, tears suddenly lurking in his eyes.
She pulled him into her arms and kneeled, so she could hug him tighter. Feeling his little arms around her neck and hearing his sniffles tore her up. She wanted to cry, but she was afraid she’d fall apart. And she especially didn’t want to trouble Axel with the sobs bottled inside her.
The day Diesel told her about Torie, she’d sobbed, then told herself she didn’t care and she’d never forgive him. But she did want to talk to him. So badly.
“Were you scared too, Reb?” Axel asked again, leaning out of her embrace and swiping his hand across his nose.
“I didn’t have a chance to be,” she said softly. “Not when he pulled me under the water.” But during their fight, when she thought he’d hurt her, she’d been terrified. Then he’d become her Rule again, the twin she adored, and she’d believed him. “My back was to him and he hit me in the head.”
Axel began to sob again.
“No, Ax,” Reb whispered, hugging him. “It’s okay. I’m fine.”
“You aren’t,” he cried, his voice muffled against her pajama top. “You’re not the Blonde Viper anymore. You’re just so sad and quiet. If Winnie had blonde hair, I’d let her borrow the name.”
“Does she want a nickname?” Rebel asked, hoping the question diverted Axel’s attention.
“Yeah, but I can’t tell you why. I promised I wouldn’t.”
Standing, she straightened her little brother’s Spider-Man top. The pajamas were a size too small, but he’d begged Momma to buy them. “C’mon, the ice cream is probably melting.”
“Not as cold as it is in here,” Axel said, grabbing her hand and pulling her back to the bed.
“True. The thermostat must be ridiculously low.”
Axel walked to the nightstand on the other side of the twin bed, opened the drawer and pulled out his phone. “Let’s play eenie, meenie, minie, mo. My hand is for Diesel. Yours is for Kaia. Wherever it lands, that’s who we call.”
“Who do you want to talk to?”
“Definitely not fucking Kaia,” Axel grouched, fully recovered. “Oh, yeah. Would it be pervy if I said you smelled good?”
“Brothers and sisters compliment each other.”
“Cool. Another context clue that Diesel isn’t your brother.”
“Well, he is.”
“Stop confusing the man. You’re fucking him up.”
“I am not. He’s already fucked up anyway.”
“No, he’s sad about those motherfuckers. His mom and dad. He doesn’t mean to be fucked up.”
“It’s a choice. He blames Momma and me for what his mom did.”
“Her name’s Theresa and he don’t only blame you and Mom. And his dad did it to him, too.”
“You should tell him that.”
Axel looked her up and down. “I stand on business, Reb. If a motherfucker got to be told something, I tell them. He knows, but he’s still sad. And he doesn’t believe we won’t leave him.”
“We’re here and he’s there. We’ve left him.”
“That’s that motherfucker’s fault. He didn’t protect Mom. We’re going back anyway, so we didn’t leave him. We took a break from Dad.”
“True.”
“Now, back to what I was saying.”
“Which was? You’ve said a lot.”
“The age thing. And the death thing. You’re not eighteen and Dad will kill him. If Diesel wants ten girlfriends, that’s his business. You can only get mad at him if you’re his girlfriend at the same time and since you aren’t–and can’t be right now–you need to talk to him.”
“You really want to talk to him again, don’t you?”
“Did I say that?”
“Call him,” Rebel ordered.
“Yay!” Snatching his phone from the bed, he pressed a number and the speakerphone icon.
“What, Ax?”
Diesel’s voice floated through the line, washing over Rebel’s senses in a smooth, deep melody that tightened the pit of her belly.
“I thought I told you to go to fucking sleep.”
“I’m not calling for me, Diesel,” Axel lied. He grinned at her. “Say hi.”
Rebel couldn’t find her voice. Her pulse pounded in her ears and she stared at the phone.
“I’m hanging up, Ax. Don’t call me before 8AM.”
“No, wait! Say something, Reb.”
“Rebel’s with you?” Diesel croaked.
“I am,” Rebel said quietly.
“I miss you so fucking much, sweetheart.”
Rebel bit down on her lip and opened her mouth to respond, tell him how much she missed him, but then the memory of Torie rose in her head. Not a particular moment, just her. Smirking. Insulting Rebel. Flirting with Daddy. Hurting Momma.
She tried not to think of the nurse with Diesel, but those images rose in her head, too. More prevalent now that she knew about Gypsy.
“Are you sure about that?” she almost snarled. “How can you miss me?”
“Time out!” Axel cried. “I didn’t call him for no argument, Reb. Be nice.”
“I’m done talking to him. He fucked Torie! And I’ll never forgive him.”
“Jo’s nurse?” Axel asked as Diesel sighed.
“Momma’s tormentor!”
“Why’d she want Dad if she had Diesel?” Axel sounded truly confused. “Dad’s ten times Diesel’s age. I mean, there’s old and then there’s really fucking old.”
Rebel giggled and almost swooned at the sound of Diesel’s husky laughter.
“I’m going to fix your banana split, Ax,” Rebel said. “Meet me in the bunk room and bring your phone. You shouldn’t be in here alone. If you don’t mind sleeping in a roomful of girls, I mean.”
“That tray was really heavy, Reb. Can you give me a massage while I eat my banana split?”
“Do you want me to wake up Momma?”
“You better not! Let that woman rest. But my back hurts sooooo bad. A beautiful girl rubbing it will help it a lot.”
Diesel laughed again but didn’t speak.
“I was just about to tell you that Harley might be in the room and you’d have to bunk with me, you little freak.”
Axel grinned. “I called you beautiful. That was a compliment.”
“Is your fucking back hurting?”
“That’s not the point. I’m the man of the house and I deserve a massage.”
“It’s either the massage and you sleeping in here or the banana split and you sleeping in the bunk room with us.”
“Back to being the Blonde Viper, I see.”
“Shut up, Diesel!” Rebel ordered, sick of his guffaws.
The jackass enabled Axel’s behavior. She’d ask about Gypsy another time. Diesel was beautiful. Gypsy was Gypsy, just an old woman way past the dating age. How could Diesel even look at her?
Axel tugged Rebel’s hair. “I can’t have the massage and the banana split when I’ve been so helpful? Both of my shoulders and my neck hurt.”
“You said your back.”
“The shoulders are part of the back.”
“Two minutes. No more.”
“Do you think Mattie and Harley would do two minutes, too?”
“What about Winnie?”
“She’s already obsessed with me. I can’t have her touching me and getting hypnotized, too.”
“Excuse me?” Rebel held up her arms as Diesel roared with laughter. “Never mind. Just meet me in the bunk room.”
“Reb?” Diesel called.
Although she refused to respond, she halted.
“Don’t be angry. I’m…I wish it could be different, but it can’t.”
She glanced at her toes, on the verge of breaking down. “I know,” she whispered, not caring if he heard, and limped out of the room as fast as she could.