Chapter 17
Water is Wet
? Over my head - The Fray
Liam
Dinner is surprisingly uneventful. Then again, I should’ve expected that Aiden would steal most of the attention. He spends the evening talking Connor’s ear off about school, the science fair, and everything he’s missed in the last six months. Muffins with Mom day gets a particularly enthusiastic reenactment.
Aiden yawns and rests his head in his hand at the far end of the island, where he claimed his seat beside Ruby.
“Come on, little man. I’ll tuck you in.” Ruby holds out her hand for Aiden.
“I can do it,” I say.
She shakes her head. “Why don’t you boys have a drink, and I’ll take care of the cleanup?”
“You sure?” Connor asks. “I can help.”
“I’ve got it. You two need to talk.” She squeezes my forearm and leads Aiden away from the kitchen.
“Night, Uncle Connor,” he says.
“Night, buddy.”
Turning my attention to my brother, I ask, “Beer or something stronger?”
“Beer’s good.”
I snag a cold one from the fridge and pour myself two fingers of whiskey neat. Connor settles himself on the oversized sectional, and I take the armchair across from him, one leg draped over my knee.
“You’ve done well for yourself,” he says. “Proud of you.”
I stare into my drink like it holds all of the answers to life’s problems. “Worked my ass off to get here.”
“I know. I remember.”
“Do you?”
He scoffs. “Of course, I do. Just because I left doesn’t mean I didn’t appreciate everything you did for me.”
I take a long, burning pull of the amber liquid. “What really happened all those years ago?” I ask, ripping off the band-aid.
“You really want to do this now?”
“It’s been a long time coming.”
“Yeah. I guess you’re right about that. I um… I’m not really sure where to start.”
My eyes instinctively trail to Ruby. She’s standing behind the kitchen sink now, elbow deep in dishwater as she hums an unfamiliar tune. She does that a lot, and I don’t think she realizes it.
“Why?” I ask. “You had everything. Why did you hurt her?”
He releases a ragged sigh and sips his beer. “Honestly? I don’t know. I didn’t sit down and hatch some grand plan to break Ruby’s heart. It just… happened.”
“That’s a cop-out, and you know it. You threw away the best thing you ever had. For what?”
“It’s complicated. I was a dumbass kid… way too fucked up for her. You know that better than anyone. I was working through my own shit back then.”
