Page 70 of I'm Your Guy
“Oh, for sure. He called me a bastard, and he meant it literally. See also, 'useless fuck’ and ‘waste of space.’ I heard it all. And when I got older, it only got worse.” Pussy and faggot were particular favorites of his. But Carter doesn’t need to hear that.
“And does your mother know this?”
“Well…” I try to think how to explain it. “She doesn’t know the details. She knows that Vin can be a dick, because he’s not that good an actor. And she knows Marco is prone to occasional violence.”
Confusion stirs in Carter’s eyes. “And that’s okay with her?”
“It’s complicated. When I was three years old, my father kicked me down a staircase…”
“Jesus. Were you hurt?”
“Not badly.” I shrug. “Gia says I blacked out. She was four at the time. But I didn’t break any bones. Little kids bounce back pretty easily. And I don’t remember the incident. My mother came home to that—and Gia wailing her head off—and packed us up and left him that day.”
“God, I’d hope so.”
“Well, yeah. Some women have no place to go, though, right? But when all this went down, Vin was getting paid seven figures. So he bought a little house in their old neighborhood and moved my mother in.”
“And you,” Carter says slowly. “And your sister.”
“Right. It’s where I grew up. My mother still lives there, and Uncle Vin still owns the house.”
“I see. So you’re supposed to be the grateful nephew for the rest of your life?”
“Pretty much,” I agree. “I grew up knowing that it was my job to take all the crap that Vin and Marco dished out. That it was my cross to bear, if I wanted to keep the peace. And especially if I wanted to play hockey.”
“While he verbally abused you for funzies?” Carter asks.
I shrug. “That’s just the way it was. And then I started outperforming Marco at the rink, and that made him even nastier. But at least on the ice, I understood why he hated me. It made sense.”
Carter stabs angrily at his last bite of waffle. “I guess? It’s still awful.”
“We were both picked by Trenton in the draft. I was picked in the first round, but Marco didn’t go till later. Vin almost lost his mind.” The memory actually makes me smile. “The hockey draft doesn’t mean you go right to the majors. Marco went to the minors first, and I tried college. It got me out of their orbit for a little while.”
“And then you got married,” Carter says casually. But I can tell he’s curious.
“That’s right. To a woman.”
He keeps his eyes on his plate. “And how’d that go?”
“Not great,” I say quietly. “Whatever you’re imagining, it’s probably correct.”
He glances up quickly, but there’s no vindication in his sad eyes. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“So was she,” I say, trying for a joke.
“And since then, you…?” He leaves the question open.
“I’ve been single.”
“I see. Because…?”
“Because my life is complicated. That’s, uh, more than I’ve ever told anyone else, by the way.”
He goes still on his side of the table. “Thank you for telling me.”
“Figure I owe you at least a partial explanation.”
He shakes his head. “You don’t, though. It’s nobody’s business but yours.”
