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“She’s told you repeatedly that she’s tired and that there’s nothing you can do for her, and yet you aren’t hearing what she’s saying. She doesn’t want you here.”
The vein in Hampton’s forehead began to bulge as he pushed out of the squat he was in and took one stride to where his older brother stood. Lawson’s face was a scary combination of anger and frustration, and I knew things were about to get intense between them.
It had been a long time since I’d seen the two of them go toe-to-toe, but things hadn’t been pretty then and that was when they were nothing more than a couple of kids. Now, these two grown men were liable to destroy everything in the house while they beat the shit out of each other.
“What the fuck, Lawson? Since when did you start making decisions for Piper?” Hampton barked, shoving Lawson’s shoulder.
Lawson pushed him back. “The day you came over here and begged me to take her was the day you gave up the right to steamroll over her the way you always have.”
I glanced over at where Smith stood by the front door, his mouth hanging open.
“Enough!” I shouted, pushing my way in between where they stood. “Hampton, I’ll call you tomorrow.” I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away from the brawl that was about to happen, and when we were within arm’s length, Smith took over, grabbing his arm and ushering him through the door. I mouthed a silent ‘thank you’ and he gave me a wink before I slammed the door behind them.
Spinning, I rounded on where Lawson still stood, chest heaving. “What the hell was that?” I
yelled.
He shook his head. “Not now.”
A bitter laugh escaped my lips. “Oh, no. You don’t get to act like that and then try to tell me not now.” I marched across the room until I was the one standing in Lawson’s personal space. “What did you mean when you said he didn’t get to steamroll me anymore?”
His eyes finally focused on my face and when they did they were blazing. “You let him walk all over you. And you always have. I mean, Christ, Piper! You told him three times you didn’t want company and then he gives you a smile and you just let him have his way. And it’s always been that way. When you were kids, he always picked the games you played, no matter how many times you told him you hated what he chose. In high school he constantly blew you off for girls and parties and later on Jack and yet, you always covered for him. Then one night he announces over dinner that he married some jack off and you have to move out and after a few minutes’ protest you convince yourself he was only doing what was best for you. Jesus Christ! You’ve made yourself nothing more than his lap dog and you don’t even see it!”
My mouth was hanging open. The words that were spilling out of Lawson’s mouth were so true I couldn’t even say anything in protest. But that didn’t stop them from burning so badly I was nearly on fire.
“You’re an asshole,” I murmured, taking a step away from him. I needed distance between us, afraid of what I might do if my hand was within arm’s reach of him.
He smiled bitterly. “No, Hampton is an asshole.”
I shook my head. “He’s always had my best interests at heart. Everything he’s ever done was because he loved me. You don’t know what you’re talking about. Because you’ve always been jealous of our relationship.”
He blinked, the look on his face incredulous. “Jealous? Of you being in love with my gay brother?”
My head snapped back. “I’m not in love with Hampton!”
He scoffed, “Sure, you’re not. That’s why you’ve been following him around for years.”
My cheeks heated. “I haven’t been in love with Hampton since I was nineteen. I saw him making out with some dude at a frat party and realized he’d never feel the same about me.”
He threw his hands in the air. “Then why did you stay with him instead of going somewhere else for medical school?”
“Where was I going to go, Lawson? Las Vegas? There a good medical school there on the Strip? Maybe I could have stayed with you, since you’d given me an open invitation. Oh, wait, that’s right. You left and never looked back.”
His chin jerked up, his mouth a thin line. I’d made a point and he knew it, even if he didn’t want to admit it. “What about the school you were planning to go to before Jack died?”
I whirled and stalked into the kitchen, pulling a bottle of water from the fridge as I shouted over my shoulder, “I wanted to make sure Hampton was okay. Because, he’s my best friend. That I love. As a friend. Besides, what was the point?”
“The point was to do what you wanted to do for once in your life, instead of what Hampton wanted.”
I let out a strangled scream. “I was doing what I wanted to do! God, are you even listening to me?” I shook my head. “No, you’re not. You’re too busy being a jerk.”
“Oh, so now I’m the jerk?”
“You’ve always been a jerk!”
“And you’ve always been a pushover.”
His phone rang, stopping him from saying anything more. I watched as he snatched it from the table and put it to his ear. “Reed,” he snapped at whoever was on the other end. “Now’s not a good time.” Pause. “I’m in the middle of something.” Pause. “Fine. Give me fifteen.”
