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“I don’t know. I went into it thinking that I had to help pick up the pieces after Tommy died. Dad didn’t help matters,” I say, and note that Rob doesn’t flinch or react to me referring to his brother as my dad. He never has. Like it was something he had to learn to accept a long time ago, no matter how true it was.
“Didn’t help, how?” he asks, brows drawn together in concern.
“You really want me to narrow it down to just one thing?” I joke and he chuckles.
“He definitely isn’t always the easiest person to be around,” he admits.
“Why is that? Mom always said that was just how he was, but it has to have started somewhere. You aren’t just born an asshole,” I say.
What do I know, though? Maybe he did.
“Thompson was always afraid of being left out when we were growing up. You’d think that he’d have taken that into consideration when you and Tommy were younger, but clearly the grudge he held against me, he took out on you,” he says, his eyes apologetic.
“We both would have been racers for Grandpa Robert had your dad not been terrified to get behind the wheel of one of the cars,” he says, the corner of his lips lifting into a rueful grin.
“No way,” I exclaim, never having heard this before.
“Yes way. He was afraid of crashing. Saw it happen to a few guys during races and decided he’d rather sit behind a desk and run numbers. Eventually he took over the business side of things, and I continued racing.”
I always knew that Rob and I shared a love of racing, and I loved how close that made us. But now knowing what I do about him, it’s even better.
“Okay, so why would that make him bitter? Seems he got a pretty good deal out of it, running a business and all.”
He shifts his head from side to side as if in thought.
“I think it was jealousy over me getting to follow in our dad's footsteps and him not. Even though technically he is, just in a different way. He wasn’t always this bad,” Rob sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. A gesture I find myself doing often.
“But he is now…” I trail off, hoping for more of an explanation.
“How would you feel after finding out your wife and brother had an affair behind your back, and not only that, but that your youngest child is a result of said affair?” Rob asks, and I put myself in my dad’s shoes for once.
Tommy might not still be here, but had he and Keaton done something similar, I can’t say that I would have reacted any differently than my dad did.
“I’d be pretty pissed, too,” I admit, watching Rob’s expression closely.
“He had every right to be. Two of the people he trusted most in the world betrayed him.”
“Why did you?” I ask, wondering what would drive a man to do something like that to his own brother.
Rob sighs loudly.
“That, I’m afraid, is a story for another time. You still haven’t answered my initial question,” he says.
There are so many things I could tell him, but I don’t want to be here all night. I’m ready to get back to my princess and call it a night.
“He essentially guilt tripped be into it, saying that it was the only thing bring in money and how I wouldn’t want to be the cause of mom going without or some shit,” I tell his and watch his eyes take on a dark quality.
“He used your mom to threaten you?”
“Pretty much. Also said he would stop paying to support her parents if I didn’t cooperate,” I admit.
Rob clinched his teeth, glowering as the rage burned in his eyes.
“He said that?”
“Yeah.”
He nods his head as if to say that it was on. What was it? I don’t know, but I’m sure I’ll be hearing about it soon.
