Tug (30 page)

I nod a silent apology to Mr. Torrente. I know he hoped for more.

We shake hands, and he says, “You’re a good man, Mr. Hunter. It took balls to come see me. I owe you a great deal.”

“You’ve already repaid me, Mr. Torrente.”

“You may have your five minutes with Montez now.”

As much as I want to, I refuse. “I don’t think that’s what she needs right now.”

“You’re a better man than I am. Be good to my little girl,” he says with a warning in his tone.

“I will, sir.”

D
riving away from her father’s house, Maria’s hand trembles in mine.

“Are you going to be okay?”

A small sob escapes her lips. “I think I preferred not knowing who my father was.”

“He’s just a man.”

She snaps her head around to me. “And a psycho drug-pushing killer.”

I smile. “Well, there’s that, too.”

She tries to hold back a laugh but it bursts through her pursed lips. “This is crazy.”

I can’t disagree with her, but I want to comfort her. “I don’t know if what we ever think of our parents is right. I thought my mom was Betty fuckin’ Crocker, and she turned out to be a psycho killer herself. At least your father was honest with you.”

“I just want to go home and hug my little boy.”

I smile, wanting to hug her little boy, also.

W
e pull into the driveway at my brother’s house. The hairs on my neck rise and my blood runs ablaze when I spot Harrison’s car. Maria’s fingers brush softly over my knuckles in an attempt to ease my anger, but it doesn’t work. I throw the car in park and leap from the car. Maria’s footsteps are right behind me as I burst through the door. She’s shouting at me to calm down.

Tori comes into the room and skids to a stop.

“What the fuck is he doing here?” I yell.

Tori holds her hands out in front of her. “Calm down. They’re out back, talking.”

I run a hand through my hair, gritting my teeth.

Tori looks at Maria. “Javier’s upstairs with Drew. I can handle this if you want to go up. I’m sure you missed him.”

Maria lifts on her tiptoes and kisses my cheek. “Please stay calm.”

I nod once but refuse to look at her, knowing there’s no way that’s going to happen. I have a ton of stored rage I never got to take out on Eduardo and Harrison is about to get the brunt of it.

Maria leaves, and Tori puts a hand on my arm. “Don’t go out there.”

“He shouldn’t be here.”

“He made a mistake, and he feels awful about it. They’re trying to figure it out, and it’s honestly not right for us to get involved.”

“Figure it out, Tor? He cheated on her — with a prostitute, no less.”

I don’t like the look on her face, because I know what’s coming.

“We made a mistake once, and they forgave us.”

“What happened with us is nothing like what Harrison did. You and Brady weren’t together. We had actual feelings for each other.”

I storm toward the back door, my fists twitching and my vision blurring with rage.

“Tug, it’s none of our business,” Tori shouts from behind me.

Harrison’s eyes flash with fear as I rip him from the chair by his shirt. Liv screams at me to let him go, but the anger shooting through me blocks her out. I shove him toward the door. “Get out of here, and stay the fuck away from Liv.”

“I want him here!” Liv protests, her voice small.

Harrison holds his hands up. “I love her, man. I’ve been miserable without her.”

“Do you think I give a shit what you’ve been through? What about her? Do you know how much she cried and how she blames herself?” I spin around and face Liv. “Don’t believe him. He’ll do it again.”

“Go away, Tug. I don’t need you to protect me.”

Her words slice through me, making me angrier. This asshole breaks her heart and now she’s turning on her family. “You damn sure do!”

I watch her face twist, and suddenly I’m the dick in this situation. Fucking Harrison — a flash of his dimples, and Liv falls apart.

“Harrison, would you go up to my room and wait for me?” Liv says so sweetly that I want to shake her and make her realize what a mistake she’s making.

He bows his head and leaves.

My entire body vibrates as anger floods my veins. “How can you take him back?”

Tears spill from her eyes. “I love him.”

I run both my hands over the top of my head and squeeze the back of my neck. Her words are painful to hear, but I know what it’s like to feel so strongly for someone you’d forgive any wrongdoing.

“I’ll never be able to trust him,” I say, knowing it isn’t what she wants to hear.

“I know. It’s going to take me a long time as well, and he knows that.”

“So, what, is he moving back in here?” Her gaze shifts to the floor. “What?”

“No, he’s not. Tori doesn’t think it’s a good idea for Drew to get attached to him again until he’s proven himself.”

“She’s right,” I say, still bitter.

Liv nods with a nervous smile. “She is. That’s why I’m moving in with him. He has an apartment in Pacific Beach.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Her arms wrap around my waist, and she squeezes me tightly enough to knock the breath out of me. She lets go, and the smile on her face is the brightest I’ve seen in months.

“I love you so much, Tuggy. You’re an amazing brother, and I love that you look out for me, but I think it’s the best idea I’ve had in a long while. My friends are all there. It’s time I get back to having a life. After Mom, I shut myself off from everyone, grew up too fast, and turned into a robot. Harrison made a horrible mistake, but I can’t deny I’d been pushing him that direction for a while.”

“What if he hurts you again?”

“What if he does? It’s a risk I want to take. How many twenty-somethings get their hearts broken, and yet they all survive.”

“I still want to pound him,” I admit, my anger softening slightly.

“I know you do, but don’t — for me, please.”

I pull her into my arms. I don’t want to let her go, because I know when I do I’m giving her permission to leave and be with a guy who will eventually break her heart again. I’ll never convince her to move on and find someone new to love. People have to find their way on their own as I did, and as my family allowed me to do. But it hurts so goddamn much.

I
t’s been two weeks since Maria discovered who her father was. Day by day, she grows closer to wanting to learn more about him and meet her brother and sister.

Liv moved out of the house and into Harrison’s apartment. Maria, Javier, and I have been staying in the house with Tori, although I still have my place in San Diego. Maria and Tori have grown incredibly close. Six months ago, I never would have thought I would be happy without Tori and able to love another woman, let alone that those two women would be friends.

In my mind, Javier is my son. He’ll never know the ugliness that was his father, or the painful road Maria traveled to bring him into this world. With time, my hope is the struggles of his childhood will fade away for both him and Maria. I love them in a way I never imagined possible.

Maria reluctantly quit her job at the restaurant. I pressed her so she could be home for Javier and spend more time with him, maybe even finish her schooling, but she felt uncomfortable depending on me. After many arguments, she finally gave up, but only because she realized leaving the restaurant opened up time to help at the Center while Javier is at school. It’s been heartwarming to see the Center bring Maria the same peace it brought all of us.

Brady came home late last night. He and the band are home for a week, and we’re having a party for them. It will be the first time I’ve seen Harrison since Liv moved out, and I hope I can keep my anger restrained. I get up from the bed, unsure if I should go downstairs. I don’t want to hurt my sister, but every time I see Harrison, I remember him with Del and my temper flares.

My door opens, and Javier comes into my room, his smile short the two front teeth he’s lost over the last week.

“Are you coming down, Daddy?” he says, and I nearly cry.

“Did you call me Daddy?”

His smiles slips off his face, and he looks away. “I’m sorry,” he says, his voice so sad and timid that I realize I hurt his feelings. “I thought it was okay.”

I reach down and pick him up. I look right into his big brown eyes. “No, I’m sorry, buddy. You didn’t do anything wrong. You can call me anything you want.”

He giggles. “What if I want to call you Poop-face?”

I laugh and tickle him. “Okay, you can’t call me Poop-face.”

“Good, then I’ll call you Daddy.” He hugs me tight and I set him down, my heart full and tears burning behind my eyes. “Are you coming down?”

I nod, and follow him out of the room and down the stairs.

The kitchen is crowded with guests, most of whom I don’t know. I see Maria outside at the table next to Tori, laughing. Her gorgeous smile is contagious and my lips curve watching her. A hand grips my shoulder, and I turn my head.

“That’s a special girl you got there, little brother.”

Brady and I shake hands in front of our chests with our elbows bent.

“Yeah, she is, bro.”

Brady chuckles, and I’m confused as to what is funny, until he says, “See, Mom didn’t fuck us up too bad after all.”

“Yeah, it’s Liv I’m worried about.”

Brady cocks his head. “Something happen?” The battle begins in my thoughts as to whether I should tell him or not. “No more fucking secrets, man. This family’s had enough.”

“Let’s go out front,” I suggest, to escape the crowd inside. He follows me outside, and we sit on the steps.

“So, what’s going on with Liv?”

I sigh, knowing he’s going to lose his shit. Harrison’s met Brady’s fist on several occasions. “A couple of months ago, I went to pick up Javier from the sitter, some girl Maria worked with at the club. When I got there, I busted the girl doing the nasty with Harrison.”

Brady shoots up from the stairs and straight to the door. “That motherfucker. He’s dead!”

“Wait, sit down.”

“No. Fuck that.” His eyebrows shoot up as he shakes his head, anger rolling off of him in waves. “I asked him no less than fifteen minutes ago if he was treating her right, and he looked me in the eye and lied.”