Page 45 of Galen's Redemption
Chapter Twelve
GALEN TOSSEDand turned most of the night because the conversation with Robert kept pinging through his mind. Why did he have to be so goddamn nice? Why couldn’t he just accept Galen wasn’t ever going to be more than he appeared?
He got up and went into the kitchen, grabbed himself a mug of coffee, and sat down to drink it. A few moments later, Andy came strolling in, wearinghis bright yellow pajama bottoms with some kind of rodent on them.
“Can’t you dress like an adult?”
Andy ignored the comment and went to get his own cup of coffee. As he doctored it with cream and sugar, he hummed. “Let’s see. Grumpier than usual. Doesn’t look like you slept. And now you have the nerve to disrespect Pikachu. Okay, who peed in your cornflakes?”
“Drop it, Andy. Just leave itbe.”
Of course Andy wouldn’t listen. He never did. He sat down at the table and said, “Come on, tell Dr. Andy all about it.”
“I said, drop it!” Galen regretted the harsh tone immediately. “I’m sorry.”
“Oh, were you talking to me? Sorry, I don’t usually pay attention when you get in one of your grumps.” Andy smiled as his spoon clanked in the cup. “I’ve known you for the better part of a decade.Do you honestly think I haven’t seen every one of your moods? Remember when we had to pull all-nighters to study? How you’d get when you were terrified of not getting that A-plus? Or how about when you thought Kelly McGraw did better on a paper, and you went into a meltdown, certain you were stupid, and refused to listen when the professor explained to you that your paper was every bit as goodand he made a mistake in grading. He adjusted your grade, but you spent the next week in the library, cramming so it wouldn’t happen again. And then we have the day you found out you were top of your class, and how excited you were. You called home to tell your father, and I took you out that night and we got hammered, because he said it might have meant something if you had gone to Harvard, buta degree from the University of Chicago amounted to less than nothing.”
Even back then, Galen relied on Andy. Despite Andy being aware of the dynamic at play, he kept trying to tell Galen not to stress, that he was awesome. And when that didn’t work, it was Ben & Jerry’s or booze.
Galen sighed. “You know, you deserve to find someone who loves you with his whole heart. You’re far too good forone-night stands.”
Andy shrugged. “Had a boyfriend. That didn’t work out so well.”
“Not every guy cheats.” Except his father. But then again, Mother did her fair share too.
“Why do you always do that?”
Galen busied himself with his coffee, doing his best to ignore Andy.
“And there’s another thing you do. When we’re talking about you, there’s always this not-so-subtle shift in the conversationwhere suddenly we’re talking about something else. If that doesn’t work, you’ll do your best to ignore me. Why is it so hard for you to let people in?”
Oh, that question Galen knew the answer to. If he’d learned anything, it was people never failed to disappoint. They were like sharks, looking for any sign that it was feeding time. It was like they were programmed to seek out your weak spots,then exploit them until you were left a quivering mass in the corner of your room, crying your eyes out and repeating how you’d get better. It was like being an abused spouse, even if you were just friends. Far better to befriend them, exploit them, use them, and then discard them. At least that was Father’s creed.
That wasn’t Andy, though. He’d been there for Galen through thick and thin. Henever wanted expensive gifts, vacations, or to “borrow” money. Andy was the one fly in his father’s assessment oil. He was a genuinely nice guy. It was the reason Andy never got to come to Galen’s house. He didn’t want Father to spoil anything.
“I’m waiting for an answer, Gale.”
When Galen looked up, he found Andy leaning against the sink, peering intently at him. “What do you want me to say?”
“Why don’t you like to talk about yourself?”
He had last night with Robert, and how did that work out? Now that he’d seen how spastic Galen was, he’d probably seen the last of Robert.
“People leave.”
“What?” Andy took his chair again. “What do you mean, people leave?”
“How many friends do I have, besides you?” He held up a hand and ticked each one off. “There’s you…. And then we have you….Oh, and let’s not forget you.”
Andy’s forehead puckered. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Let me spell it out for you. Every person I ever thought was my friend? When they got what they wanted from me, they vanished from my life. Quinn Westman got my cherry, then found a girl, and I never heard from him again. When I did see him, he wouldn’t look at me. Every guy I’ve ever been with got some ass,then said they’d call. How many do you think did? Lincoln told me not to come around anymore. Father said he wanted Lincoln back so he could get rid of me.”
“And what about Robert?”
Galen’s hackles went up. “What about him?”
“Do you think he’s going to disappear? It seemed to me he was into you.”
