Chapter Seventeen
Seventeen
Forge
I’d gotten up early and hit the gym before breakfast. We’d get news about the success of Mom’s treatment today, and the caged feeling was back.
The text from Dad, saying they were heading to the hospital this morning, had been all it took to mess with my head.
An hour into the punching bag, I was covered in sweat, overdoing it, and it wasn’t helping.
Last night, I had gone to bed in a fucking good mood too.
First time in a while that I wasn’t tormented with thoughts of losing Mom, but rather of silver eyes that seemed to sparkle, a man-slayer smile, and that laugh.
When she really laughed, I couldn’t get enough of it.
Yeah, she was what I thought about as I closed my eyes last night.
So, reading Dad’s text this morning brought me back to reality, and with that came the guilt.
Guilt that I’d been happy last night. I’d enjoyed myself.
I had briefly forgotten about Mom’s illness.
“You did good. I’ve never had the books this cleaned up and thoroughly kept. And I can’t believe I’m saying this. To you,” Oz said from behind me.
I hadn’t even heard him come in the room. But then I’d been slamming my fists into this bag.
I paused and realized I was almost panting. “Elsie,” I admitted.
He had to have already figured out that wasn’t my handiwork he saw.
“What about her?”
I turned, still breathing hard, and looked at him. “She’s the reason they’re like that. She helped me last night.”
His brows snapped together. “She did this?”
I nodded. “Yeah. She’s a finance major. I needed help. Four games at a goddamn time was a lot on me. I’m not you.”
He looked back down at the iPad he was holding to study it closer.
“She’s who caught the red bet,” I told him.
His eyes shot back up to me. “He won’t be placing any more.”
I hadn’t thought he would.
“I was coming to ask if you wanted the games or the fight on Saturday, but if she’s up for doing this again, we might be able to watch the fight. It’ll be a quick one anyway. How much does she know about basketball?”
I shook my head. “No. There is no fucking way we are making her cover the games alone.”
He studied me for a minute, and I didn’t like the way he was looking at me, so I turned back to the punching bag.
“I’ll do the games.”
“Does she not know basketball well enough?” he asked me.
Yeah, she knew the game as well as any of us. But I decided to lie. He was reading shit into this that wasn’t there to read. I mean, sure, I wanted to fuck her. Especially after her comment about my dick last night. I’d like to show her just how good it would feel.
“No, she’d need help,” I told him.
“All right then, is she up for doing it again?”
I hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah. She enjoyed it. She likes numbers.”
“If she keeps the spread this fucking organized, then she’s got the job. I’ll get her a cut from last night’s profits.”
Sighing, I stopped hitting the bag and glanced back at him. “She won’t take it. Refused when I said the same thing. She liked feeling as if she was doing something to help us since we are keeping her alive.”
He shrugged. “Okay, works for me. Free labor.”
Why it annoyed me that he didn’t disagree, I wasn’t sure. He was the one who had agreed to help Calvin and take her in. Did he think she owed us something? She didn’t. None of this was her fucking fault.
Oz was headed back out of the room, and I opened my mouth to tell him just that, but snapped it closed before I did. Again, he’d read into it. Start watching me around her. He’d get on my damn nerves and probably make her nervous.
I wasn’t going to let him upset her. She was going through enough dark shit. And, yes, I cared. I understood why Calvin kept her around.
The door opened again, and Oz was back. What the hell did he want now?
“The funeral was yesterday. I received the video this morning. You’ve been around her more than me or Kash. Is that something she will want to see? I don’t fucking know how to ask her. If she bursts into tears, I won’t know what to do.”
Fuck.
She’d want to see it. At least, I thought she would. And it was going to upset her. Jesus. I didn’t want to see her watch that, but I knew I wasn’t going to be able to let her watch it alone. No one needed to face that alone.
“Yeah, I’ll tell her.”
He let out a sigh of what I assumed was relief. “Thanks.”
“Where can I access it?”
“The main server. Connect your phone to it, and you should be able to play it on any television or computer in the house.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
He started to turn and stopped. “Are you, uh … gonna watch it with her?”
I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to see any goddamn funerals. “Yeah, I am.”
He frowned. “You sure?”
I knew what he wasn’t saying. What we were both thinking, but couldn’t voice.
“I wouldn’t be alone if it was me. I can’t imagine what that would feel like,” I replied.
He inhaled deeply, then blew it out. “Yeah. Me neither.”