Page 105 of When the Stars Fall
“I’m going with you.”
“I need to do this alone.”
Good luck to him if he thought he could get me to leave. I settled in, preparing to be here for the long haul. “No, you fucking don’t. I’ve got your back. I’m not letting you do this alone.” I knew he didn’t want me to get out of his truck. Otherwise, he would have put up a fight. He hit the gas and we rode in silence. While he drove, I texted Lila to let her know I was going on an impromptu camping trip with Brody to celebrate our high school graduation.
“You wanna talk about it?”
“Nope. Wish I’d never told you.”
When he told me, he was drunk and stoned, and barely coherent but it was obvious he needed to tell someone. He’d been keeping it to himself for too long. Now he was out for revenge and I wasn’t about to let him do this his way. He’d end up in prison. No way could I let that happen. I had a few hours to help him come up with a better plan. One that didn’t involve putting a bullet in his abuser’s head.
“Uncle Jude!” Noah grinned at me and waved as I walked into the barn. Brody scowled at me but I ignored it and him.
“Hey Noah.” He ran toward me then stopped short and held out his fist. I bumped my scarred knuckles against his small fist. Just a light tap so I didn’t hurt him. His grin grew wider, like bumping fists had already become our thing.
“How’s Hayley?” I asked.
“Good. She got a new dog. She drawed a picture for me. I drawed one for Grandpa. He said it makes him feel all better.”
“You have a lot of talents. You’re an artist too?”
He nodded seriously. “Yep. I’m really good.” I suppressed my laughter. “Are you gonna punch Daddy?”
Tempting. “No. I just came to talk.”
Noah looked at me for a minute then nodded and darted away in pursuit of a black and white border collie. “Buster. Get back here.”
“If you’re looking for a fight, it’ll have to wait,” Brody said as we walked out of the barn, our eyes on Noah as he chased the dog across the field.
“I’m not looking for a fight.”
“Sure you are,” he said. “You think I stole something that was yours.”
“Because you did. Lila was always mine.”
“If you loved her so much, you should have stuck around instead of fucking off and leaving her. Second thought, nah. She was better off without you.”
My jaw clenched and I could feel my teeth grinding together. Brody had always been an asshole but he’d taken it to a whole different level when he went for Lila. I blamed him for all of it.
“When I asked you to take care of her, sleeping with her was not what I meant.” Even now, after all these years, it still cut me to the core that he would do that. “You were like a brother to me. Itrustedyou. How could you do that?”
“You. Fucked. Up.” He pointed his finger at me. “And you have nobody to blame except yourself.”
“Why Lila? Of all the girls you could have gone for, why her?” I gritted out.
“You destroyed her and I was there to pick up the pieces. Not you. Me. I loved Lila as much as you did. Before everything, she was our best friend. And when you see a person you love suffering you want to make it better for them. That’s something you should understand. Since you’ve always had a hero complex.”
“Fuck you. Have you forgotten all the times I had your back? Have you forgotten Odessa?”
“I never asked you to come to Odessa with me. I could have handled that on my own. I had it all under control.”
I laughed. “You stupid fuck. You hadnothingunder control. You would have ended up in prison. Just like your old man.” It was a low blow, and I knew it, but that didn’t make it less true.
“I tried to repay my debt to you. I tried to save you from yourself,” he said. “When you came back, you were so fucked up. I was dragging you home from bars when you were too drunk to even stand up. You tried to commit suicide. She was out of her fucking mind with worry. Scared to leave your side.”
I was having trouble breathing. I wanted him to shut up but he kept talking.
“We were all worried about you. But we were worried about Lila too. You think I don’t recognize abuse when I see it?”
