Page 22 of Born Into Trouble (Occupy Yourself)
“Hey.” He still wasn’t sure how he felt about her leaving everything in the dust like she did. He’d been angry at first, then when he heard about her and Danny, Ben wondered about all the times he’d left them alone in hotel rooms. That pissed him off even more, feeling the fool because he knew they’d hooked up at least once. But, hearing her voice now, he thought back to everything she’d put up with from him and guilt settled in his chest. “How’s Wyoming?”
“You ruined absolutely everything, you know?” That beginning let him know she wasn’t calling for an update, but to make sure her message was heard loud and clear. “All our plans. Ruined my life.” Gaze to the toes of his shoes, he listened, offering no argument. “Ruined everything. And now I feel like people are watchingmeto see when I’ll mess up.Me!”
There was a long pause, one he felt compelled to fill even as the need welled up inside him. “I’m sorry.”
“Well, sorry doesn’t go far anymore.” She huffed, and he imagined her raking her hair back, frowning as she said, “Daddy told me you shouldn’t bother coming back to Enoch because no one there will hire you. Cheyenne, either.”
His gut cramped. “I don’t know what else I can say. I am sorry. Truly and deeply sorry.” He should have called her earlier. Should have reached out while still in Phoenix. Should have done things differently. “I just—”
The phone was pulled from his hand, and Ruby scowled up at him, green eyes glaring out from under her tousled mop of hair, daring him to try to retrieve it. “Who is this?” A pause. “No, I asked who you are. I didn’t stutter.” Another pause, this one accompanied by a roll of her eyes. “Whatever, honey. Listen, you don’t get to talk to Benny like you were.” She straightened, and he watched her eyes narrow. “No,youlisten tome. You don’t call him. You don’t talk to him at all. Ever. As inev-er. If he wants you, he’ll reach out. Until then—and if he takes my advice, it’ll be a cold day in hell before that happens—you don’t call. You don’t exist for him. Stopped existing when you hightailed it out of town.”
Hand to her hip, she turned away, and he could see her chin jutting out in profile. “Ruby,” he called softly, reaching out only to have her swat at his hand.
“Listen, bitch. You think you’re all hot shit, I can tell. But from what I heard, you ain’t all that. He can do better. Will do better, he finally gets rid of you.” A pause, her head tilted to one side as she listened. “Well, if you ever make it back to the Fort, you’ll deal with me.” She twisted, glaring at him again, hissing, “God, Benny, could you have picked a bigger bitch?”
Her attention returned to the phone. “Shut up. Just shut up. He’s my family, and you don’t want to fuck with him. Because if you fuck with him, it means you’re fucking with me, and I won’t put up with your shit, honey. Not a bit of it. And I have a hundred brothers who can back me up on that.”
She snorted indelicately, tossing her hair. “Well, I thinkyouare trash. Doesn’t matter what your daddy owns. Trash is as trash does, and you faded. Left our sweet Benny high and dry when he needed you the most. That’s not how a friend acts. Especially not agirlfriend. That kind of fade in the clinch? Tells the tale of the person, and that tale shouts trash about you. That’s on you, and that means you’re not anything we want in our family. You can shut up, and go fuck yourself. Fuck off.”
Disconnecting, she tossed him the phone, and he roared with laughter when she said, “Man!Thatfeltgood!” With a grin, she asked him, “She’s a piece of work, Benny. What did you ever see in her, anyway?”
***
Benny sat, fingers nervously plucking at the seam of his jeans, listening to some old school rock coming through the speakers in Andy’s truck. They were headed over to one of the places Vic and Dmitri had been staying for the past three months, a span of time Benny found impossible to wrap his head around. He knew how long he’d been in rehab, but to have his brother’s friends put two strangers up in an apartment for that long smacked of crazy. A good kind of crazy, but still crazy.
“Don’t worry about it, shrimp.” Andy downshifted as he steered around a corner. Not taking his eyes off the road, he said, “Bear’s cool. You’re totally going to love this dude. He’s all about the music.” They were rolling through a comfortable complex, large apartments on either side of the street and Benny was surprised when Andy slowed, turning into a driveway and pulling up behind a small car. “Bear’s old lady is cool, too. This is her house. They’ve been splitting time between apartments, getting ready to move into a bigger home. You’ll like Eddie. She’s rocking right alongside him most days.” Truck in park, Andy looked at him. “His kids are cool. Bear adopted them. We had a brother who didn’t clean up his shit, died from it.” Shaking his head, Andy popped the driver’s door open as Benny stepped out on his side of the truck. “Bear adopted his kids.”
The casual way Andy talked about the death of his friend shook Benny.Would he have been so cavalier if I’d gone toes-up in the end?His thoughts were derailed by Andy’s next words. “Kids’ dad was the dude who took Ruby.” The chill in his voice froze him in place as Andy’s eyes stayed fixed on him, conveying the weight of what he was about to say. “I didn’t kill him, but would have if given the chance.” Standing beside the truck, he slammed the door with more force than was necessary. “I’d have done it. No qualms, no hesitation. Shot him dead, Ben. He took her, nearly killed my Ruby. I’ll do anything for the people I love. Anything.”
On that declaration, Benny watched him stride up the sidewalk and open the door to the apartment, walking in without knocking or announcing himself.Shit.
Inside there was a kind of controlled chaos that seemed comfortable and energizing all at the same time. Two Hispanic kids were running around, and a dark-haired woman stood with her arms wrapped around Andy, grinning up at him. Without looking away, she yelled, “Bear, baby? Slate’s here.” Ben still couldn’t get used to people calling Andy that name. In his opinion, it didn’t fit. A rumbling response came from deeper in the apartment, and she tipped her head, looking at Benny. “You’re Ben, Slate’s brother, right?”
He nodded, walking forward and extending his hand. “Yeah, I’m Benny.”
She met his palm with her own, before adjusting the grip so she managed to cradle his hand in hers. Squeezing and tugging, she pulled him a step closer and then, lifting to her toes, she pressed her lips to his cheek, fingers of her other hand cupping his jaw. Grinning up at him, she said, “I’m Eddie. Want you to know, Slate’s brother is always welcome in this house.”
Footsteps in the hallway heralded the entrance of Bear, and Benny watched as the big man scooped an arm around Eddie’s middle, tucking her to his side, holding out one hand for a wrist-clasp with Andy. The two men didn’t speak, but a bond deeper than friendship was written on their faces. His gaze cut to Benny and he lifted his chin, then said, “Bear.”
With a nod, he introduced himself. “Benny.”
“Boys, cool it.” That was to the small boys running through the room, the older of the two hitting the couch cushions at a run, planting a foot and vaulting over the back. “Come on, Miguel, can we not try to kill ourselves today?” Then, on a shout, Bear called over his shoulder, “Vic, Mitty—Benny’s here.” Lifting a hand to Eddie’s face, he tipped her chin up and leaned down to brush his lips across hers. “My heart, I need to talk to Slate outside for a few. Can you help the guys get set up?” Gaze back to Benny, he said, “Club business, I’ll come jam after we settle shit, yeah?”
Hand nervously fiddling with the case strap over his shoulder, Benny nodded, relieved he’d get a chance to talk to Vic and Dmitri without much of an audience. Moving his gaze to Eddie, he saw her watching him and wondered if she’d seen his relief. “No worries, me and the guys can catch up while you talk to Andy.”
Snorting a laugh, Bear echoed him softly, reaching out to slap Andy’s shoulder. “Andy. Hilarious, brother. Buy him a clue.” With nothing more than that, he and Andy turned and exited through a door leading to the parking lot, neither man looking back as the two band members strolled down the hallway and into the room, skirting the boys now energetically wrestling on the floor.
“Hey, man,” Vic greeted him, hands stuck in his pockets, looking unsure of himself. Dmitri circled close, silently thumping him on the back as he swung to face Eddie. “How…you doin’ okay?”
“Sober ninety-eight days.” The doc said it was okay to count the hospital stay before he was shipped off like a misbehaving dog to corrective school. “I’m cool.” Hand to the strap over his shoulder, he jostled the guitar case. “You guys ready to play a little?” Vic nodded enthusiastically while Dmitri gave a shrug. “I’m a lil’ rusty. You’ll have to cut me some slack.”
Dmitri’s neck twisted, head turning to face him and Benny braced when he saw the anger burning in his eyes. “Thinkin’ you got all the breaks you’re getting for a while, man.”
“Fair,” he returned instantly. “More than fair.” Holding out his hand, he showed the tips of his fingers. “I’ll play until I can’t, then I’ll play some more. I want OY back, man.”
Eddie spoke up, her voice casual, even with the emotions swirling between the men. “Slate know you want that?”
Arms out to either side, he bumped into Dmitri, who stepped sideways. “He brought me here, didn’t he?” Not really an answer, but then again, he didn’t want to lie to her, and he hadn’t talked directly about the band. Andy had to know he wanted it back, though. Gaze to the closed door separating his brother from him, he considered. “Gotta count for something.”
