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“It’s Walker, but that’s okay, dear. The boys’ friends always call me Joyce.” Mom giggled.
Killian Hampton was at my house? I scrambled out of my bed, tripped over my shoes, and nearly landed flat on my face.
“Give me a second.” I stank from lack of bathing, my room was an absolute mess, and I really didn’t want him in here.
“You okay, dude? Should I send for help?” Killian chuckled.
I pushed the shoes and clothes out of my way before I unlocked the door. “Uh, hi.” I dragged a hand through my messy hair. “I wasn’t expecting anyone.”
“That’s the point.” Killian pushed his way in. “Dear fucking Christ, when was the last time you left this room? It stinks like my high school bedroom in here. Have you bathed today?” He turned around to stare at me. “Put on a shirt. I didn’t come to see your nipples.” He jutted a chin at me.
“Sorry.” I grabbed for the closest one to me and instantly regretted it. It smelled like Holt. “I’ll just... let me... Shit.”
I rushed to the bathroom to brush my teeth and tame my hair, which was in desperate need of a cut. I stared at myself in the mirror. I looked as shitty as I felt. Red-rimmed eyes from the crying and drinking, exhaustion, yeah, I looked horrible. I walked back out to find Killian tossing my empty bottles of booze into the garage.
“You don’t need to do that.”
“I do, Watts.” He grunted. “I’m sober. It bothers the fuck out of me. This shit stops now.”
I folded my arms over my chest. “Thanks, Dad.”
He whirled around to stare at me. “This is funny to you?” He narrowed his eyes. “I hope you don’t think this is funny. Do you want to ruin your life, lose Holt? Your career? Because acting like this is a surefire way to do that.”
“If you came here to lecture me, Killian, you can find your way out. I don’t want to hear it.” I popped my jaw.
He dropped the garbage can. “I came here as your friend, man. I’ve been where you are. I didn’t lose my memory in a horrible accident, but I was dicking around, drinking, doing drugs, cutting myself, and thinking I was on top of the damn world until it all came crashing down on me. I nearly lost the only person who mattered to me, Matthias. Someone helped me get my act together, and that’s what I’m here to do for you. You can thank me later.” His blue eyes flashed with anger.
“What if I don’t want your help?” I did. I needed someone to smack me around.
“Then you lose him. Can you live with that?”
My chin trembled. “He lied to me.”
“He loves you. He did it because he thought it was the right thing. Looking back, it probably wasn’t, but what else was he supposed to do?” Killian moved to sit on the bed.
I leaned against the wall. “Why you? Why not Mason or Shepard. No offense, but I’m not that close to you. I don’t even know where you live.”
“I’m the one who volunteered to come talk to you for that exact reason. You might hit your friends, but would you dare hit Killian Hampton?” He grinned before his face fell. “Holt’s a mess. He was staying with Shepard until Matthias texted him. I told him he needed to come to our place. Did you really take back the ring you gave him?” Killian asked.
I lost it then. A sob escaped my throat, and I couldn’t stop the tears even if I wanted to. I pushed Killian away when he tried to comfort me. It didn’t feel right. He wasn’t someone I trusted yet, but when I heard my mother talking softly, her voice soft and sweet, I let her hold me, her warmth just what I needed.
“I know, sweetie, I know,” she assured me. She let me cry, she let me scream, she let me get it all out until there was nothing left inside of me. “You feel better now?” She pushed the hair back from my face. “You and your friend want to eat dinner?”
I glanced over to find Killian watching me. He was still here? He gave me a sympathetic smile. “You’re kidding.”
He smirked. “Dude, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before. You should have seen me at my lowest. Train-fucking-wreck. I’m surprised I’m still breathing. Remember who you’re talking to, Watts. I’ll have to tell you about it sometime when your mom’s not around. I wouldn’t want to scare her.”
Mom shook her head. “Like I wasn’t wild in my day.” She pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Come on, boys, I made plenty for both of you.” She linked her arm through mine. “Then you’re going to shower because you, Watson James, smell like absolute shit.”
***
“So, Maverick decided he wanted to read the entire Twilight series for whatever reason, but Dean’s not having it.” Killian shook his head. “He doesn’t understand why, for one, Mav doesn’t have them on a Kindle so the entire world doesn’t have to see him reading those books, and two, why read books when they’re movies.”
I snickered. “Aren’t they brothers?” I asked.
“Yeah, but Mav’s, I don’t know... He’s like allergic to fun or something.” Killian’s face grew dark for a second. “Maybe it’s the age difference, Mav’s two years older than we are, or maybe he’s just a dick, but he just pushes Dean’s buttons. Mine, too, but I’ve gotten better about letting him get to me. He wasn’t always this way, but something changed in him a while back.”
I nodded. “Like Shepard.”
