Page 6 of Remember When We
Yes. It was a joke, but the joke was on me.
It was the reason for my state of flux, and my surprise decision on this job.
Two things had happened last night. One was an ultimatum, the other an eye opener. A serious fucking eye opener that made me check myself.
Lyssa had given me the ultimatum.
She gave me a choice. She said if I loved her to come to the old house tonight at eight. If I didn’t, I should stay away from her forever.
The ultimatum came as a result of the eye opener. Lyssa was Marshall’s little sister.
His little sister I’d been seeing in secret until yesterday when her father found out about us, kicked my ass, and told me to stay away from his daughter.
The ass kicking I had allowed, because, one, the man was fragile looking and no way was I about to beat up on Lyssa and Marshall’s old man. And two, I deserved it. I deserved it for not being able to lie to save my ass when he asked me how long I’d been seeing her. I was nine years older than her and should have fucking known better.
He lost it when I gave my answer and told him we’d been together for a few years.
It was actually just over two years, but that didn’t change anything. I was twenty-six at the time we got together and she was barely legal.
Paul was enraged. So, he gave me the eye opener and told me it was my fault Marshall was the way he was.
A junkie who’d been in and out of juvie when we were kids and even in prison for a year for carjacking and robbery. Marshall was a no good junkie who was always shooting up and looking for his next fix. A lost cause who’d dropped out of school, didn’t have a chance in hell of going to college even if he went to night school, and practically dropped out of life.
We met when we were twelve and he was a good kid then. A kid who skipped two grades, won various state competitions, and fuck he even received a scholarship to a prestigious private elementary school. Marshall was well on track to doing all manner of amazing things, because of his love for science and technology.
Then he fucking met me.
Paul was right.
I could see that more and more as I looked at Marshall.
And, what did he just do?
Pull out another roll up of whatever shit was mixed up in it and lit up. It actually smelled like a combo of weed and shit.
“So, that’s it? That’s it?” Marshal balked pulling me out of my thoughts.
When I just stared at him, he started pacing around the room.
Knowing I wasn’t going, I was hoping he’d just go home and cool off. Instead he looked like he was either going to blow up or hit me.
He stopped and continued his glare. “Gio, what happened? Why the change in plans? What the hell is with you? You came up with this idea and you know I’m going to have a hard time on my own.”
“That’s why I’m telling you not to go.” I straightened up and squared off with him. “I just have a bad feeling about it.”
“That’s seriously it? You not going?”
Truthfully, I hadn’t decided what I was doing, because eight o’clock was only twenty minutes away. If that clock struck eight I knew I’d lose Lyssa forever.
I just wasn’t sure if that was what I should do.
Lose her.
Lose her forever. The thought made me sick and if I was just screwing around with her I wouldn’t have cared.
Paul ended his rant by telling me his daughter didn’t need me messing with her life. Lyssa had a bright future. She was in her sophomore year of college and she wanted to be a teacher. He looked at me with pleading eyes and told me to stay away.
He didn’t want me to ruin her life.
