TROUBLE, A New Adult Romance Novel (The Rebel Series) (11 page)

I glance up to find Teagan shaking her head.
 
“I don’t think you know everything that’s going on here,
 
Quin. Don’t be mad at me for being honest.
 
You’re the one who said friends should be honest, right?”

Quin stands in the middle of the living room with her hands on her hips.
 
“What the hell, Mick?
 
What’s going on?”

No one answers her.
 
Everyone is just gazing around the circle of faces.
 
No one looks sorry or guilty.
 
I’m too intrigued to pay attention to my own pain now.
 
There are family secrets here and they’re much more interesting than my stupid problems.

“Maybe you guys should have a little family therapy session,” I say, trying to ease the tension in the room with a joke.

“Great idea,” says Quin, plopping down in the spot next to me.
 
“You can be our therapist.
 
Start asking questions.”
 
She folds her arms across her chest.

“I have to go to work,” Mick says.

“Uh, I don’t think so,” Quin replies.
 
“Sit.”

“I’m not a dog,” he says.

“No, but you’re my boyfriend and if you want me to move into this place with you, then you have to be willing to work family shit out.
 
Trust me, I just had the scare of a lifetime with almost losing Jersey and my mom … you don’t want that crap on your conscience.
 
Just work it out.”

“Yes, I agree,” says Teagan, sitting on the couch too.
 
“I wish I’d had something like this with my dad before it was too late.
 
You guys deserve to be happy and honest with each other.
 
Let’s fix this once and for all.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

TO MY AMAZEMENT, EVERYONE SITS down.
 
Rebel looks at his brothers and they all exchange silent nods.
 
Suddenly, I’m in the awkward position of being a completely unqualified therapist for a very strange family.
 
Who does weird stuff like this?
 
No one in my family, that’s for sure. We’re all about not talking things through and keeping our thoughts and emotions to ourselves.

“You guys can’t be serious … I hardly know any of you.”
 
My pain is receding quickly, so I put my legs back down.

“That’s perfect. Therapists aren’t supposed to have any preconceived notions about their patients,” Teagan says.

Quin snorts.
 
“I’m pretty sure she has some preconceived notions.”

“And I’m not qualified,” I add.

“So what?
 
Just ask some questions and get the ball rolling.
 
We can take it from there.”
 
Teagan nods at me and then the others. “Right?
 
We just need to talk it out.”

Colin shakes his head slowly.
 
“That’s a chick thing.
 
That’s not how we do it.”

“Rebel doesn’t even really talk,” I say.
 
When Teagan glares at me, I add, “Does he?
 
I mean, I never hear him talk much.”

“He talks when it’s important,” Teagan says.
 
“Just ask a question.
 
It doesn’t hurt to try.”

“Okaaaaay,” I say, warming up to the idea.
 
“Just promise me one thing before I start. No … two things.”

Everyone waits for my conditions.
 
When I’m sure I have all their attention, I say, “No fighting and no cussing.”

Mick rolls his eyes.
 
“Jesus Christ.”

I grit my teeth to keep from telling him what I think about that comment.

Colin steps in.
 
“Dude, get a fu … godda … uh … grip.
 
Get a grip.
 
You can hold off on the language for ten minutes.”

“Fifty bucks says you swear before I do,” Mick says, holding out his hand towards his brother.

Colin gets up enough to grab it and shake it.
 
It looks like they’re having a quick arm-wrestling competition.
 
“Deal,” he says. “Give it your best shot.
 
I need that fifty bucks for art supplies.”

“What about you?” I ask Rebel.
 
“Are you okay with these conditions?”

He shrugs ever so slightly.
 
“I don’t swear. I don’t fight my brothers.”

“Oh.”
 
I’m kind of taken aback by that.
 
I guess I just assumed he swore, but it’s possible he doesn’t. He doesn’t talk enough for me to know any different. “Okay then.
 
Ummm …” I search their faces, looking for direction.

Quin points at Colin.
 
“Why don’t you ask him why he’s always picking fights with Mick?”

“Hey, that’s not allowed,” protests Teagan.
 
“You’re not the fuggin’ therapist.”

I nod, knowing that to ask that question right off the bat would cause a war amongst all of them.
 
I speak quickly before the flames get any higher.
 
“Okay, how about this one … Rebel, if there was anything you could change about your brothers, what would it be?”

Rebel’s nostrils flare as he stares at me, making me wish I could shrink myself down into the size of an ant and scurry off.
 
I’ve only asked one question and I’ve already blown it.

“Excellent. Jump right into the heart of things,” says Quin, a huge smile on her face.
 
“I like it.”
 
She leans over and pats me on the leg, making me feel just a tiny bit better.

“You have to answer,” says Teagan, rubbing Rebel’s arm gently.
 
“Come on, you can do it.”

“It’s not going to change anything,” Rebel finally says, barely sparing her a glance.

“So? It’s just an exercise,” Quin says.
 
“Answer the question.”

Rebel looks at Mick and stares at him for a while.
 
Everyone starts to get antsy.
 
I can literally see them squirming in their seats.

“If I could change something about Mick, it would be to have him reach higher.
 
Own up to the mistakes he’s made and be a better man about it.”

Mick stands up.
 
“What the fuck, man?!”

“Fifty bucks!
 
Pay up, asshole!”
 
Colin’s standing now too, a big grin splitting his face.

“Both of you can pay me fifty bucks!” I say, trying to stand but failing.
 
I give up and fall back into the cushions.
 
I sigh loudly.
 
“This won’t work if you act like fighting cocks.
 
I mean game hens.
 
Or whatever.”
 
My face goes pink; I can feel the heat in my cheeks.

The both look at me.

“What?” Mick asks.
 
He looks at Quin.
 
“Did she just swear?
 
She said cock, right?”

“Just sit down,” I say, gesturing towards his seat. “You’re giving me a neck ache
and
round ligament pain.”

He slowly lowers himself into his chair again.
 
Colin does the same.
 
A slight smile plays on his lips as he looks at me.
 
I try very hard to ignore him.

Quin puts her arm around Mick’s shoulders and kisses him on the temple.
 
“Come on, babe.
 
Let’s do this thing.”

He frowns at her.
 
“We’ll see if you’re so happy about sharing when it’s your turn.”

“Hey, I’m an open book.
 
Ask me anything. Let’s just talk it out.”
 
Quin’s eyes are sparkling.
 
I’m pretty sure she thinks she’s being given a sneak look into Mick’s secret life.
 
I kind of feel like I am too.

“Fine.
 
You want to know how I feel about that?”
 
He looks right at Rebel.
 
“I feel like shit hearing that.
 
I work my ass off for you, covering for all of Colin’s shit when he’s too busy being in jail to do his work.
 
So what if I blow off a little steam at the club?
 
Who does that hurt?”

“You don’t cover my ass at work.
 
I do all my work myself,” Colin says.

“Bullshit.”
 
Mick glares at him.

“You’re at a hundred and fifty bucks, man,” Colin says, holding out his hand.

“Shut up.”
 
Mick gestures at his brother and looks around the room at all of us.
 
“You see?
 
It’s not me.
 
He’s always picking fights.
 
This is on him, not me.”

“You want to know who it hurts?” Rebel asks.
 
He seems completely unaffected by his brothers’ bickering.

“Yeah,” Mick says. “Tell me one person.”

“Sheila. She was a good girl.”

Mick doesn’t respond except to twist up his mouth.

“Yeah.
 
Sheila,” Colin says.
 
“You screwed up with her, man.
 
From day one.”

“That’s past history,” Mick says.
 
He’s practically growling.

“So what’s the deal with her?” asks Quin.
 
“What’s she got to do with anything?
 
They broke up, right?”
 
She looks first at Rebel and then Colin for an answer.

“I’ll tell you what the big deal is,” says Colin, sounding only too happy to share.
 
“For a year he messed around on her.
 
Even got her pregnant.
 
You don’t do that shit to girls, I don’t care who you are or who she is.”

“That’s not how it happened!” Mick yells, sitting forward in his seat.
 
“And if you were around
ever
and bothered to talk to me
ever
, you’d know that!”

Quin looks stricken.
 
“Mick … you never told me…”

“No!”
 
Mick turns to face her and grabs her arm.
 
“Do
not
listen to this shit.
 
Give me a second to explain.”

“Oh, you have a second, alright.
 
You have a whole minute if that’s what it’s going to take to keep me from slapping your entire face off.”
 
Quin jerks her arms out of his grasp and leans far away from him into the couch.

Mick seems to forget the rest of us are in the room.
 
“Sheila was a nice girl, yes.
 
But not just with me, okay?
 
She had lots of boyfriends when we were together.
 
We had an understanding.
 
There was no exclusiveness between us.
 
None.”

Colin lets out some annoyed air, but Mick ignores him and continues with his explanation. “You can ask anyone you want at the club.
 
Ask Olga.
 
Shit, you can see it on the video tapes she has of the entire place.
 
Sheila was always getting with other guys.
 
It was no big deal. And when she got pregnant, it was her choice to get an abortion.
 
She didn’t even know who the father was.
 
It could have been at least three different guys.
 
And yes, I was one of them, but I left it up to her what to do.
 
She decided.
 
I just helped her by driving her to her appointment.
 
Does that make me a bad guy?
 
I don’t think so.”

“That’s bullshit,” Colin says.

Mick spins around.
 
“What do you know about my life, asshole?!
 
You’re never around long enough to know anything about anybody here.
 
And have you ever gone over to help Olga out?
 
Hell, no.
 
You help no one but
yourself
.
 
And don’t act like you’re some kind of prince among men over there, dick.
 
You go through chicks like you do underwear.”

“I don’t wear underwear.”

“Exactly.
 
Use ‘em and lose ‘em.
 
That’s your motto.”
 
Mick turns back to Quin.
 
“Babe, trust me.
 
I didn’t do anything wrong.
 
I was just …”

“…Being a guy,” she finishes for him.
 
Her expression is guarded.

“Maybe.
 
But not a bad guy.
 
If she had wanted to be solo with me, I would have done that.
 
Or maybe I would have just broken up with her.
 
The relationship worked for a while, just the way it was.
 
I know it’s not how you and I are.
 
I wouldn’t do that stuff with you, and I wouldn’t have done it with her if it wasn’t okay with her.”

Quin looks over at Colin.
 
“Why are you being so harsh with him about all this?”

Colin shrugs.
 
“He’s my brother.
 
I don’t like it when he does shit that’s bad for him.
 
You want me to just keep my mouth shut and let him ruin his life?”

Mick shakes his head.
 
“I’m not ruining my life.”

“You aren’t doing your best.”
 
The fact that it’s Rebel talking now gets everyone listening very closely. “You’re capable of so much more.
 
You’ve got a good girl now.
 
Time to move it to the next level.”

“I thought I was,” says Mick, looking down at the ground.
 
“Moving in here was part of that.”