Page 74 of Take Two

He lets out a humorless laugh. “Oh, okay. You didnotjust say that to me,” he says, clearly outraged.

“Yeah, I did.”

“Yourbusinesshas run this family for almost a decade and a half. Now you get a girlfriend and suddenly you’re fine. What if she breaks up with you? How are you going to cope? I’m scared out of my mind you’ll start drinkin’ again.”

“You don’t know him at all,” Violet says.

“Excuse me,” Colt responds. “But I know him a heck of a lot better than you. I’ve known him my whole life, not a few weeks.”

“Yeah?” Violet says, getting in his face. Well as much as possible because he’s over a foot taller than she is. “And yet I still know him better than you.”

“Why?” he snorts. “Because you’ve seen him naked? Well, so have I!”

“Are you always this dismissive, you insufferable jerk?” she asks.

“No, jackass,” I say interrupting them. I step in front of Violet to separate them. “I’m not fine because I suddenly have a girlfriend. But way to go. You have a real talent for condescension. I’mfinebecause I’ve worked my butt off. I’ve made my sobriety my priority. I go to meetings. I talk to my sponsor almost daily. I changed myself before I ever became involved with Violet, but unlike you, she doesn’t judge me. She’s not sitting around waiting for me to mess up. She doesn’t spend her days thinking of the drunk version of me. She’s not wringing her hands at the thought of my inevitable failure.”

“I don’t do that,” he says, sounding hurt.

“That’s literally what you just did,” Violet throws in.

“I thought your heavy-handed ways were because you cared. You had me so fooled, but I get it now. For the record, I don’t buy your concern. You need me to be a complete fuck up so you can walk around like the goddamn hero in our family. You’re the one with the money, the family, and the fame, and I’m foreverUncle Fester. Heaven forbid I should find a bit of happiness for myself, and you feel threatened. If Charlie’s not a screw-up, how will everyone else see how amazin’ Colt is?”

He lets out a bark of fake laughter and stops abruptly. “Really? That’s how you see me? As an egotistical jerk who wants to keep you down so I can shine?”

“That’s what it looks like from here,” Violet says.

“Well, that’s not how it is. Tell her, Charlie,” he says, pointing at Violet. “Tell her how your addiction has had this family in a chokehold since you fell off that tree and broke your leg. You think only you suffered? Tell me you’re not that clueless. You took me and Mama with you for the ride. And you’re right. You’ve been good for the past three years, but there werethirteenyears where you were a mess. The thought of this relationship not working out scares me because I know how you deal with disappointment. That’s what that conversation with Mama was about. That was me voicing my fears out loud to the only other person on earth who’s been through this with you and me.”

“Why have you made me the villain in this story you’ve created in your head, Colt? Have you ever considered that Charlie might dump me?” Violet asks.

“No, I didn’t, but let’s say he did,” Colt says. “Your life wouldn’t spiral out of control. You’re not an addict. You’d hurt then you’d move on.”

“Thank you for telling me how I would feel and what I would do. Not only are you an excellent basketball player, you’re also psychic. Let me also congratulate you on your very firm grasp on female emotions,” Violet says before she huffs and looks away from him in disgust.

“Answer me this, Violet. Do you have a substance abuse problem?” Colt asks.

“I don’t,” she answers. “Now answermethis, oh wise one. Do you understand that stress is a trigger?”

“More than you know,” he says.

“And do you realize that you’re the one stressing him out?” she adds. Colt takes a step back as if she just hit him. “Yeah, genius. You. Not me. You.” She points at his now ashen face. “You might have known him longer, but I know him better. Unlike you, I know what he needs. Right now, you’re his trigger, and if anything happens it will be on your head.”

“Me?” Colt asks, clearly outraged by the idea. “You’re nuts,” he says. “You’re the one who—”

“I’m the one who what?” Violet interrupts him to ask. “What have I done?”

“It’s not what you’ve done. As it stands, you’ve done nothing, but it’s what you’re capable of doing to him that scares the crap outta me.”

“Shut your mouth,” I say to him. “For the record, the only one of us who has ever been dumped is you,” I toss back at Colt. “Remember when Vickie dropped you?”

“Hmm,” Violet says as she looks at him up and down. “Unsurprising.”

“She never dumped me,” he says.

“He’s not only an ass, he’s also delusional,” says Violet.

“Not only did she dump you, but she left the country to get away from you. You had everything. The career, a bunch of championships under your belt, a woman who loved you and your son, but that wasn’t enough. You lose one game, and you push her away so you could lick your wounds in private, you dumb whiney-ass baby.”

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