Feuds and Reckless Fury by K. Webster

 

Alister

He’s losing it.

I’d seen it happening all day, little by little. Bit by bit. He finally blew the lid off his anger, going off on Gage in the hallway at school.

I wanted to go to him.

Fuck, how I did.

Luckily, Leon and Naomi were there to pull him back. Besides, I was needed to deal with Carrie. She was pissed and humiliated at what went down. Her brother nearly fought his friends, defending her honor like he was some sort of medieval prince.

When I finally got her alone, she burst into tears and sobbed against my shirt. What Gage said was true. She slept with Damon. They’d kissed and flirted for weeks in secret, but after seeing her mom this weekend, she stayed the night with Damon and had sex with him. Ryan thought she was spending the night with Paige to avoid the police and chaos at our house.

Now that we’re back home, she refuses to speak to her brother and has been hiding in the guest room. Ryan and Dad couldn’t even coax her out for dinner. They’d ended up letting her eat in her room, thinking she was still upset over her mother. Neither of them knows it’s because her sexual encounter was blabbed to the entire school and nearly caused a fight between her brother and his friends.

Canyon is still a wreck.

Broody and edgy and exhausted.

His lips have been perpetually downturned in a vicious pout since the encounter this afternoon. If we didn’t have our dads for an audience, I would’ve kissed away his unhappiness hours ago.

“It’s a great facility. They’re going to move her there tomorrow,” Ryan says, dragging my attention from Canyon, who’s sprawled out on the recliner, to the love seat Ryan’s sitting on with Dad.

“How long will she have to stay there?” I ask, my eyes once again drifting to Canyon.

If I didn’t think it’d get me disowned and kicked out, I’d crawl into his lap, chasing away all the tension in his body with kisses along the side of his neck.

“However long it takes,” Ryan says. “The heroin was something she’d only tried twice, according to her. But she did admit to abusing her prescription medication. The facility she’s going to focuses heavily on the counseling aspect.” He has the sense to look guilty since, technically, he sent her down this path. “She wants to get better for Canyon and Carrie.”

Canyon’s nostrils flare, and his jaw clenches. “I’m going to bed.”

I wish I could follow after him, but that’d be super fucking obvious. Instead, I bring my attention back to Dad and Ryan.

“Did she ever apologize for…” Kicking Canyon out? Treating him like shit? Breaking his heart?

Ryan nods, and he purses his lips. “She did, but Canyon isn’t easily swayed. It’ll take some time. Right now, the focus is on getting her well. Then, she can go back to being the mother they know and love. I’m confident they’ll work it out.”

They both get up, retiring to their room as well, and Ginger and Nutmeg scamper off behind them. My phone buzzes in my pocket, making me wonder if Canyon is texting me.

Unknown Number: Step out back. Alone.

My blood runs cold at the text. The guy who admitted to texting me is dead.

Me: Who the fuck is this?

Unknown Number: You know who it is. I think you’ve always known, Son.

No.

Numbing fear rolls over me like a fog, engulfing me. I gasp for breath as I try to make sense of the text. It can’t be. It’s not him. Not Colin. Not my…real father. My throat aches to yell out for Dad or Ryan or Canyon to help me. All I can do is stare at my phone as the dots begin moving again.

Unknown Number: I’m at the back door. Let me in.

At the back door.

Oh, God.

I’m once again a small boy, overwhelmed by the scent of my mother’s booze and the lingering stink of her cigarettes. The memories are so real I can hear the muted squeaks of the mice within the walls. I can feel the wetness of my piss-soaked pajama pants.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

It’s soft enough Ginger and Nutmeg don’t hear from Dad’s bedroom.

He’s here. He’s really here.

Absently, I tug at the silver chain hanging from my neck. Before Mom left me for good with “Uncle Quinn,” she’d unhooked the chain, slipped it on me, and ruffled my hair in one of the rare displays of affection from her I can remember. That was it. The only thing I had to remember her by.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Unknown Number: Let me in, or I’ll force my way in. The choice is yours. Either cause a scene or don’t.

Me: Why? Are you going to hurt me?

Unknown Number: I’ll never forgive her for making you fear me. Open the door, Alister.

“Get me my money, Tammy,” Colin says, staring at me with an angry scowl, “or I’ll take it out on the boy.” He flips out a sharp knife with his other hand, bringing it to my chest. “I could take payment by carving out his fucking heart.”

I rise on shaky legs, trying desperately to shake the memories off, shocked at the fact I’m really going to do this. I’m really going to open the door and face Colin—the man with the same eyes as me but who always scared the shit out of me. He makes it sound as though Mom always filled my head with the fear of him, but that’s not true. The man was terrifying anytime I had to encounter him. Indecision wars through me, my hand frozen on the door handle.

“Open the door.” The muffled voice through the glass has me trembling. It’s the same one as before—the same voice with the same authority I remember.

I flip the lock and twist the handle before taking a step back. Bracing myself, I do my best to prepare for the worst. Colin pushes open the door and steps inside. Looks could be deceiving because, at first glance, he looks like he could be one of Dad’s colleagues. Black slacks, shiny dress shoes, and a dark gray button-up with the top two buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He’s perfectly put together, not at all how I remembered as a child. His dark hair matches mine at my roots. It’s the sole reason I started bleaching my hair. I’d woken up one day, having hit puberty, and looked far too like my biological father than I cared to.

“Still not as tall as your old man,” he says, his lips curling into a grin.

“Y-You’re not—”

“I am,” he clips out, his tone all business. His gaze drifts over the living room before landing back on me. “I suppose he took good care of you in my stead.”

“Just go.” My voice is nothing but a whisper. “Please.”

His soulless eyes narrow on me. “Nonsense. You’re my son. I’ve come to retrieve you. Take you back home to St. Louis. Teach you the family business.”

I’m shaking my head as he speaks. “N-No. I don’t want to go with you.”

He clenches his jaw, a brief flash of annoyance flickering over his features. “Don’t act so surprised. I texted you. Tried to prepare you.”

“You were texting me this whole time?” I gape at him. “You threatened me?”

“No,” he growls. “The promises to see you on your birthday were me. The threats must have been Joseph. He was one of my men I’d recruited to find you, get your number and school schedule, and keep watch over you. But, he decided to use you against me in some effort to destroy everything I built.” His eyes narrow, darkness glimmering in his gaze. “I didn’t know he was also texting you and fucking stalking you, but he paid for crossing me.”

“I think you should go.”

He takes a step forward and cocks his head to the side, studying me. “He hurt you. Joseph hurt you to get to me. But I took care of it.”

Quickly, I scramble to piece together what he’s saying. “W-What?”

Is he saying…

The blood from that man—Joseph—feels like it’s hot and sticky on my skin again. Absently, I reach up to wipe it off, but nothing’s there but my own perspiration.

“Look,” Colin says, taking another step closer. “Before you graduated high school, I knew there wasn’t anything I could do. Your uncle has a helluva lot more money than I do. Fighting him for custody would have been a losing battle. But now—”

“No,” I bark out. “He’s my dad, not my uncle.”

“Don’t be like this. Tammy took you away from me when you were ten years old. I didn’t have a choice. She didn’t give me one. When I finally found you, she was dead, and her brother had adopted you. I wasn’t on the birth certificate.” He sighs heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes. “Things got busy with my life, so I made a decision to let you stay. I knew eventually I’d come back for you.”

“Get out.” A growl rumbles from behind me. “Now.”

My knees nearly buckle at hearing Canyon’s voice. Protectiveness ripples from him like hot waves.

Colin’s gaze meets Canyon’s. “Ahh, the future stepbrother.”

“I said get the fuck out.”

“Not until I have what I came for,” Colin snaps. “Lose the attitude, kid.”

“Dad,” Canyon barks out.

Colin cracks his neck and scowls at Canyon. “I wanted to avoid all this. Dealing with them.”

“Too fucking bad.”

Bare feet slap the hardwood floors as Ryan rushes into the room with Ginger and Nutmeg yapping at his feet.

“What is it?” Ryan starts but then curses when he sees Colin. “Who the fuck are you?”

“You know who I am, Voss. I’m sure your fiancé told you all about who I am. Where is he anyway? Uncle Quinn?”

Dad chooses that moment to also fly into the living room. His face pales, and his eyes bug out from behind his glasses.

“Colin,” Dad chokes out when he steps into the living room. “Why are you here?”

At first, I wonder how Dad even knows it’s Colin, but a quick glance at our intruder and I know how. We look exactly alike. My stomach roils in disgust.

“You know why I’m here.” Colin smirks at Dad.

The absolute terror written on Dad’s face numbs me to my bones. If not for Canyon’s warm, unyielding presence at my back, I might collapse from the weight of the fear.

I always felt like my world was temporary; I just didn’t expect it to be taken away by Colin. In all my imagining, it was always Dad disowning me or growing bored of me. Not this. Not being forced back to the life I once hated.

“I’ve come for my son,” Colin says as though it makes all the sense in the world. As though by him saying it, I’ll just pick up and leave with him.

“Get out,” Ryan growls, sounding so much like Canyon, I shiver. “Now, or we call the police.”

Colin laughs, slightly cruel and mocking. “Ahh, to be threatened by a couple of prissy, rich queers who’ve never known what dirt feels like beneath their fingernails.” He steps closer. Canyon’s hand fists the back of my shirt like he’s ready to toss me out of the way to go war with Colin. “I’ve waited long enough. I’m done waiting.”

“I…I don’t want to go with you,” I croak out.

“It’s where you belong. You can finish school in Missouri.”

Just the mention of Missouri has memories flooding through me. All bad ones. Times when Colin and Mom would argue over me. Other times when Mom’s on-again, off-again boyfriend, Tommy, would get tired of looking at me and lock me in the coat closet where I’d be forced to listen to them have sex. Or how he’d play games with me to see how long I could hold my breath with his giant hand clamped over my nose and mouth. The nights when one of her tweaked-out fuckbuddies would come into my room while she was passed out on whatever drug in her system and roughly fondle me in places no man should touch a child. Or how I’d get the shit kicked out of me by one of those men just for simply existing. All the times I’d catch a glimpse of a mouse streaking by along the wall, squeaking out in warning. Nothing but terror and pain and fear.

My entire body shudders so hard even my teeth chatter. Warm, strong hands grip both my shoulders, grounding me to the present. Despite my trembling, I lean back into the warmth and safety Canyon provides.

“In what world would you think you could waltz in here and take him away from me?” Dad bellows, his voice harsh and bitter. “Tammy left him, and I became the father he needed.”

Colin ignores Dad to step closer to me. “You have my number. Save it. We’ll talk again soon. This conversation isn’t over.”

“Don’t hold your breath,” Dad snaps. “Get the hell out of my house.”

Colin’s glare finds Dad, and he sneers. “I’m leaving. For now. But just remember who the better protector is. Who the better father is. You were in the kitchen making fucking pancakes. Where was I? That’s right, behind the scope of my AR-10. It was my .308 bullet that saved him. Not your spatula. Remember that, Sommers.” Then, to me, he smiles. “Come give your pops a hug goodbye.”

Her beer bottles make our trailer smell sweet. The mice don’t like her beer bottles, though. They always go for my food. They don’t poop on her things because they like to poop on mine.

“I said, come give your pops a hug goodbye,” Colin barks out, making me jump much like I do when I see a mouse run by. “Now, Son.”

I don’t want to hug him.

But it’ll mean he’ll leave sooner.

Quickly, I run over to him, let him hug me.

I hope he never comes back.

“You’re okay,” a deep voice croons in my ear. “I got you. He’s gone.”

I blink open my eyes, noting the wetness of my lashes and cheeks. Dad stands in front of me with Ryan to his side and Canyon at my back. For a brief moment, I allow myself to be cocooned in their safety. But, because reality is a bitch, it slips inside, eager to shred my insides with worry over what my future holds.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Dad assures me, his palms cradling my face and swiping at my cheeks with his thumbs. “Do you understand? Never.”

I don’t understand.

I never have.

How Dad could be a permanent fixture in my life. I’ve always wanted to believe it to be true.

“Keep an eye on him,” Ryan says to Canyon. “Both of you get some rest.”

As soon as we’re out of sight, halfway up the stairs, Canyon threads his fingers with mine, tethering me to him in a way only he can.

Thisis my home.