Chapter Thirteen
The three of us quickly settled into a comfortable routine. Jay’s friends from Lambert, Nathan and Randy, were hanging around more. But Nathan still acted like he was terrified every time I was in the same room as him. He listened during the lessons I gave at the center and was turning into quite the prodigy, but I really wanted the damn kid to talk to me and stop flinching when I came anywhere near him. I could tell he was into my brother and I knew Jay felt the same way because I kept catching both of them staring at each other when the other one wasn’t looking. For that reason alone, I needed to find a way to break the ice so the kid would see I wasn’t the bad guy.
Around lunchtime one day about a month into us living in the house, Easton and I were downstairs, finishing up our daily workout session when the three of them came barreling down the stairs.
“Whoa, you sound like a herd of elephants,” I said with a chuckle, at least I thought I’d laughed. Jay knew I was joking, but the other two froze. “Seriously you guys, I don’t bite. Well, unless you’re Easton, that is.” Easton just stepped off the treadmill when I said that. He buried his face in his hands, shook his head, and headed upstairs.
“So not cool bro,” Jay half-ass protested. I snapped him in the ass with my towel, and he squealed like a pig.
“Rack ‘em,” I instructed him, grabbing a cue off the wall mount while he rubbed the welt I’d left with my towel. “Game on, now leave your ass alone.”
One way or another, I was going to prove to his friends that I wasn’t the asshole they for some odd reason thought I was. Jay and I had spent many late nights down here playing one game or another. He’d never played pool before, and I was pretty decent at it, so I was excited to be the one to teach him. It was great getting to know my brother again, but I knew I still had to hand him his ass at a game of pool right now. Then I’d challenge the other guys while getting acquainted with them.
While we were playing, Slipknot’sLeft Behindripped through the surround sound. As usual, my hands had a mind of their own as I started drumming my fingers on the bar top beside us. Glancing to the side, I noticed Nathan doing the same thing but using the drumsticks I’d given them in class against the top of the leather ottoman.
“Not too bad,” I said to him, and he froze. “You’ve come a long way.” Jay cursed, so I returned my attention to our game in time to see him scratch. “Eightball, corner pocket,” I winked as I called out and made my shot. Pointing the cue at Nathan, I announced, “Your turn little drummer boy.” His face paled, and I started to second guess my decision to call him up next, but Jay came to the rescue.
“You’re up, buddy,” he told Nathan as he plopped down on the couch. Nathan got up, wiped his hands on his pants, and refused to make eye contact with me.
“Stripes or solids?” I asked as he chose his cue. He really took his time surveying them before making his selection. “You some sort of shark?” I teased. But the severe look on his face said it all.
“Something like that. Solids please.”
Whoa, that was the most this kid had said to me, and the confidence he exuded when doing so led me to believe that I may have actually met my match. With the game of pool that is, but it had been some time since I’d played a formidable opponent on the felt top.
We stayed neck in neck until the end, he barely spoke as we played, only muttering one-word answers to any question I asked him. When he called his last shot, I had to say something, “Why do I feel like I was just hustled?”
“Eightball, you pick the corner,” he offered.
“Wait, what?”
“Lived on the streets from thirteen until about a year ago when Randy’s parents took me in. Had to do some less than desirable things to eat and survive, but the lesser of all those evils was hustling. Which pocket do you want it in?”
I stood there, stock still. My jaw must’ve been laying on the tile floor. I’d just been taken by this kid who had a dark side. My mind was racing a mile a minute, the questions were piling up to the point of explosion. Jay and Randy were rolling on the couch laughing their asses off, so the jackasses must’ve known this before I challenged Nathan. “Um, you pick.” I wasn’t a sore loser by any means, but still…
“Awe, what’s the matter, big bro? Sore loser?” Jay teased.
“No, I’m a confused loser,” I honestly admitted as Nathan moved, ready to bolt. I grabbed his wrist when he tried to pass me. “Hey man, cool your jets. I’m not mad, it’s all good, I swear.” He was sweating bullets. Jay and Randy were standing beside us, closely watching our interaction. “Nate, dude, calm down.” Tears welled up in his eyes, I couldn’t help my reaction if I wanted to as I pulled him into my arms, repeating the words I’d already said, “I’m not mad. Hey man, no one here willeverhurt you.” Clearly, this kid had been through more shit than Jay and I, and for that, I felt horrible. I was lucky, I had my friends to turn to when I left home. This kid literally broke down in my arms.
“Why are you being so nice to me? I just hustled you?” he asked, wiping at his eyes as he pulled back.
“One, I challenged you, so I deserved to be hustled. Two, we didn’t bet anything, so you took nothing from me. But even if you had, it would’ve been my loss for betting in the first place. Three, that’s not how we roll here. We’re a family. I’m sure Jay and well, the media have shared enough of our shitty childhood for you and the world to know that we more than understand where you’re coming from.”
“Is everything okay?” Easton asked. I wasn’t sure when he’d come down, but hopefully, he got the gist of what was going on.
“Is it?” I asked Nathan, needing to make sure he was alright before I let him go. Damn man, that big brother side of me was surfacing again. I wanted to protect this kid from the world like he was my own.
“I didn’t touch him, I swear. I know he’s yours!” he started rambling at Easton with his hands up in surrender as he backed away.
“Hey,” Easton walked up, placing a hand on his forearm to calm him down, “I’m not worried about Diamond straying. He’s very caring, and if he hugged you, I’m sure it was warranted. The questionis, are you all right?” Fuck I loved that man, he had a heart just like my band brothers, and I could see this kid was getting to him just as much as he was to me.
“Come, take a seat. Deep breaths Nathan, you’re in a safe place,” Easton tried to reassure him.
“Hey, Jay, why don’t you and Randy see what you can find in the kitchen for lunch for all of us. We’ll meet you up there in a few minutes,” I told him, he looked at Nathan, waiting for his signal saying it was okay. When Nathan nodded, he and Randy headed upstairs.
“So,” I began, sitting on the ottoman across from him. It was clear he was still freaked out by me, and I didn’t want to crowd him and send him into fight or flight mode again. “Want to tell me what triggered all of that?” I was going with the better to ask too much than too little approach, hoping the kid would throw me a bone.
Easton handed him a water bottle before sitting on the couch, closest to me. “I’m sorry. You’ve been really nice to me, and I’ve been a dick.”
