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Killian gritted his teeth. “I want to talk to you. Alone. Without anyone to interfere.”
“Jesus, why are you so fired up about this?” Dean scoffed. “You jerked poor Matty around for years until you finally got your shit together. At least Beau isn’t flaunting women in front of me.”
Ouch.
“This isn’t about Matthias. This is about you. My best friend since we were kids. Please, Dean. Just hear me out.” Killian looked close to tears.
He shook his head. “No, Beau wants to give us a shot. We’re going to try to be a couple.”
“I saw him with someone else!” Killian exclaimed, and the whole room went quiet. “Last night, when I went out to get firewood. I saw him. With a woman. Look, I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t know that he was going to just show up here today. I had no idea you were in love with him. He’s bad for you. You look like shit. You’re thinner than I’ve ever seen you, you’re not sleeping, you—” He stopped when Dean ran from the room.
Helena slapped her brother’s arm. “Nice job, asshole.”
“What? I’m just saying what everyone else won’t. Like I always do.” Killian looked around the room. “Why do you all look like I just said we should join a cult?”
Matthias sighed. “You just told Beau how Dean feels about him.”
“Oh.” Killian grimaced. “Shit.”
Beau took a step forward. “For what it’s worth, that was my sister, Sam. You’ll meet her at the wedding. She’s friends with Maverick.”
Then he stepped out the door Dean had just vacated, and we heard him calling after our guitar player.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Tommy
Five Years Ago
Blake and I spent the afternoon bowling at the Canfield Bowling Alley. It wasn’t very busy, filled with the usual older crowd that hung out drinking and playing classic rock tunes on the old jukebox, but we had fun. Neither one of us was very good at the game, but at least he didn’t worry about his mother for a couple of hours, which was what I was going for. I just wanted to make him happy and get his mind off everything that had happened.
“See.” I winked as he sat down next to me. “I told you that you’d have fun.”
He looked around the empty building before he pressed his mouth to mine. Blake hummed happily. “You did.” He threaded our fingers together as I leaned into him. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Bug, but you don’t have to thank me. I’d do anything for you.” I squeezed his hand tightly.
Blake nodded. “I meant for earlier. With my mom. I don’t... I don’t like talking about her or her addiction.”
“I’m here for you if you ever need someone to listen,” I murmured and twisted my body to face him as my phone buzzed in my pocket. Ignoring it, I released Blake’s hand so I could tip his face up. “We could try again to get her some help.”
He shook his head. “She’s tired. AA doesn’t work because she doesn’t like that religious aspect of it. Trust me, Mav and Dean’s parents have dropped off more than enough pamphlets to last a lifetime.”
“What about rehab?”
“We can’t afford that. She can’t keep a job long enough to get insurance.”
I pulled my lip between my teeth. “What if—”
“It’s fine, Tommy, she’ll be okay. I’ve been taking care of her for the past four years.” He grunted and climbed to his feet. I heard his phone start ringing as he dragged his hands through his hair. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you.”
I watched Blake for a moment. “This is a lot for you to handle on your own.” When he didn’t say anything, I stood up. “Bug, what’s going to happen when you leave?”
“I don’t know. I try not to think about it.”
“She can’t keep drinking like this.”
Blake spun around to stare up at me. “You think I don’t know that? You think I haven’t tried for years to get her to stop? Dumped out the bottles of booze only for her to buy more? She hides it from me. Locks her bedroom door. Sometimes she doesn’t even come home because she’s so drunk. Or her friends call me because she’s so wasted, she can’t drive or because she’s fallen or passed out somewhere. Why do you think I never invite you to my house?”
