Page 73 of Unbearable
He shrugs and nods to the kitchen. “Want some apple pie?”
I stand immediately. “Fuck yes, I want apple pie.”
Nova jumps down off the couch. “I want some too!”
We move into the kitchen, and Lenny eventually joins us, flushed cheeks and all. I smile, she glares, and Nova quirks an eyebrow at her. “Are you sick?”
Lenny’s a little flustered and shrugs, her anxious eyes darting to me, Nova, and then Red. “No, I’m okay. I was just making the spare bed for Auntie.”
What a liar. They don’t even have a spare bed but luckily for her, Nova is focused on the pie and not the made-up bed.
Nova shrugs and grabs a spoon. “I want a huge piece, Daddy.”
He does as she asks and then gets out three more plates.
Sitting next to me, Lenny looks relieved for the subject change.
“Where’s Rawley?” I ask after a mouthful of pie, curious if Red actually knows. I haven’t seen him since last night at Uncle Hendrix’s annual Christmas Eve party and thought for sure he’d show up for Christmas dinner. But he didn’t.
Red makes a face, then corrects it and hands Lenny pie as well. “Haven’t seen him since he destroyed a customer’s car.” Red didn’t go to the Christmas Eve party so it explains why Rawley showed up there, and not to Mom’s house today.
Lenny had told me about what happened in the shop that day with Tyler and then Rawley quitting, but every time I try to talk to Rawley about it, he tells me to ask Tyler. And the fact that he missed Christmas and Dad’s grave today is just a slap in the face. Stupid jerk.
“He better have a good fucking excuse for letting Ma down,” Red says, taking a seat next to Nova at the table.
“What did he say when he left that day at work?”
Red takes a slow bite of is pie and then shrugs. “He said some words, made some hands gestures and then quit.”
My eyes widen and I stop before taking a bite of my own pie. “Oh, wow.” I still can’t believe Rawley did that, but then again, I can. It’s just like him to throw tantrums. Once when we were kids, I think in the second grade, he was told he couldn’t go out for recess because he put gum in some girl’s hair. When we came back, the teacher had a surprise when he’d turned over every desk in the class room and ripped down all the posters on the wall.
He didn’t like to be told no, or singled out by anyone. Or be made aware of his issues.
It’s funny. For being twins, we’re complete opposites. One extreme to the other.
A knock at the door brings me out of my thoughts. Nova jumps up to look out the window to see who it is and starts to squeal and runs to the door. “It’s Uncle Ty!”
Shit. Tyler.As much as I want to see him, there’s a part of me that isn’t ready to see him.
“Uncle Ty! Happy Christmas!” Nova yells as she jumps into Tyler’s arms.
He catches her and lifts her up to give her a kiss on the cheek, and then picks her up higher to blow a raspberry on her stomach. She giggles uncontrollably to the point he nearly drops her on the floor.
“Merry Christmas, little lady. Have you had a good day?” Tyler walks by the kitchen on his way to the living room and turns to quickly glance in my direction.
There’s sadness in his stare and it makes my heart sink to my knees.
Oh, just fuck him in the bathroom so you don’t have to see him sad. Make it his Christmas present. Or yours.
The sad part for me is I actually consider it. Mostly because I’ve never seen him like this.
His eyes are bloodshot and he has bags under them like he hasn’t slept. His beard is longer now and his hair looks like he only took enough time to run his hands through it before leaving the house. Actually, that part’s sexy, but the rest just screams depressed.
Is it wrong he makes depressed looks sexy?
When he gets to the couch, he plops down with Nova on his lap and hands her a present. Lenny, Red and I move from the kitchen to where they’re seated, and I notice the only seat available is next to Tyler on the couch. Fucking figures.
“Auntie, come sit and see what Uncle Ty got me.” Nova is so excited I can’t tell her no so I walk over and sit down next to Tyler, trying to keep a distance but not be obvious to Nova.
