Page 21 of Rattler's Revelation
“Well, no one told me,” Randy growls.
“Then maybe you should contact Rafe and ask him,” I suggest.
Randy glares at me for several more minutes before striding to his car. Bianca and I follow behind. I’m considering calling the clubhouse to get a prospect to come pick us up when Randy opens the back door for Bianca. Bianca looks at me, jumping when Randy barks for her to get in. She slides in quickly. When Randy slams the door shut, I push him against the car.
“Don’t take your shit out on her. If Rafe didn’t tell you everything, then that’s between you two.” Randy tries to pushme away, but I’m stronger. “Apologize to her. She’s been through enough and doesn’t need your self-pitying crap.”
He glares at me for another moment before sagging in defeat. I release him and step back. Before I turn to the passenger seat, Randy grips my shoulder. I bunch my fists in anticipation of a fight, but he squeezes my shoulder and offers a wan smile. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I’ll apologize to Bianca. I wasn’t mad at her or you. I’ll explain in the car.”
Once we’re inside, Randy turns to face Bianca. “I’m sorry for yelling at you. I didn’t mean it.”
“You were upset,” Bianca says, patting his shoulder.
“I was upset, but that was no reason to take it out on you. On either of you.”
“Tell us why you got so upset,” I prod him.
Randy sighs. “Why don’t we grab some lunch and find a park to eat in? I need the open air to get through what I have to tell you. I won’t be able to breathe if we stay in the car.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Bianca says. “There’s a Subway down the street, and there’s a small park across the road.”
Randy drives us to the restaurant where we order our food. All three of us are quiet. What Randy is about to tell us is bad. The few times we’ve met, Randy has been steady and in control of himself and the situation. His hand shakes as he pays for our food, and twice Bianca and I had to prod him to respond to the person making our sandwiches. With food in hand, we jog across the street to the small neighborhood park. We follow Randy to a picnic table and benches set away from the playground and walking path. Once we’re seated, we lay out the food and wait for Randy to talk.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: RANDY
I take a deep breath and study the faces of the two people I don’t want to know my deepest and darkest secret. Considering my reaction, I can’t avoid it. There’s nothing left to do but dive in and get it over with.
“In my senior year of high school, I was dating this girl. Her name was Hannah Dandridge. We were chemistry lab partners. When we started dating, she had just broken up with her boyfriend, who was a member of the football team. I thought she was over him, but I discovered she started seeing him again behind my back. She dumped me to get back with him. I was hurt and angry.”
“She sounds like a bitch,” Bianca says, making me smile.
“No, she was young. So was I. I should have realized she still had feelings for him, but I ignored the signs. The truth is, they belonged together. They’re still together. They both went to college, where he was drafted into the NFL. They’ve been married for five years and have two kids. I’m happy for them. Now. Then. Not so much. Back then, I was happy to keep hating them both. That’s when I met a guy named Tommy. He was happy to fuel my anger.”
“Why?” Rattler asks.
“Because he was a bigot who hated black people, especially black men who got the pretty white girls,” I say flatly as I stareacross the park. “I never considered myself a racist, but I let Tommy influence me into believing that I lost Hannah because she preferred black men to white men. My pain turned to hatred for her and him.”
Bianca sucks in a breath, but says nothing. I’m afraid to look at her. I slide a glance at Rattler, who watches Bianca for several seconds before turning his attention back to me. “Is that it?”
I run my hand down my face in disgust. “Not even close. I wish I had stopped there, but no. You see, there’s something you both need to know about me. I’m bisexual. I fell for Tommy. I fell for him hard. He didn’t know, or at least I don’t think he did. He never acted like he felt the same, but he made sure we became close friends. Looking back, I think he chose me because of Rafe. I think he hoped to turn Rafe to their cause.”
“Their cause?” Bianca asks.
I flick my eyes to hers to see her watching me with sad eyes. At least she’s not looking at me with disgust. That’s probably coming, though, I can’t fool myself.
“I didn’t know Tommy was a member of the Keepers of the Third Reich. I didn’t find out until much later when I was hanging with him and a few of his friends. They were racists and bigots. I knew it, but that didn’t stop me from hanging around with them. I wish I could say I distanced myself from them as their rhetoric grew, but by then, I was too angry and bitter to see how fucked up they were.”
“You obviously figured it out,” Rattler says. “How?”
“Give me a minute,” I say as the pressure grows until I can no longer breathe. This is the worst part of my story, and I know once I admit everything, I’ll likely lose everything, too. I let myself take in Rattler and Bianca’s features before they fill with the disgust that I know will come when I finish my story. The bands around my chest loosen when Bianca takes my hand.
“I get the feeling that what you’re about to tell us is bad,” Bianca says. “You think we’re going to look at you differently for it, right?”
I stare into her exotic gold eyes and nod.
“We all have things that we’ve done that we aren’t proud of,” Bianca continues. “I know I do. I imagine Rattler does, too?” We both look at Rattler, who jerks his head down in a nod. Bianca reaches for Rattler’s hand so that the three of us join together through her. “Before you tell us your secret, why don’t I share mine?”
I consider stopping her, but the truth is, I could use some time to steady myself before I dive into the rest of my story. I nod for Bianca to go ahead and share her story.
