The Guy on the Right (The Underdogs 1)

Dante looks between us confused. “What did he do?”

“Nothing to worry about, little man,” Troy says, giving me a warning look. “Hey, Dante, do you mind letting me talk to Theo a minute?”

“Momma got that cereal you like,” he supplies as Troy walks him toward the door.

“Yeah, maybe I’ll have some after I do the grass. Go on inside for a second, okay?”

“If this is man talk, I’m cool. I’m the man of this house.”

Troy grimaces. “Go on,” he says, ushering him inside.

“Fine,” Dante huffs. “Later, Theo.”

When the door closes, Troy looks down at his feet and sighs. “I don’t expect you to understand.”

“Please don’t confuse me for someone who cares enough about you to want to understand. It’s them I care about.”

He shakes his head and turns to me, crossing his arms. “You think I don’t?”

“I don’t think you care about anyone above yourself.”

“Well, you’re fucking wrong. Look, you hate me, and that’s fine, but there’s something you need to know about Laney.”

“Save your breath.”

“She wasn’t lying. She never once gave me any reason to go after her. She wouldn’t even tell me her name. Every bit of that cat and mouse was me. It was all me. She’d already told me to fuck off twice before you came outside and at every turn before that. I’m the one who ran up on her. I’m the one who tried to force it. I was in a fucked-up place.”

I glare at him from where I stand.

“I just thought you should know.”

“She already told me this herself.”

“Yeah, but I’m guessing you didn’t believe her.”

“And I should believe you?”

“Yeah, you should because when she looked at me, she saw me the same way you do, and I think that’s what attracted me to her. I wanted to prove you both wrong.” He glances at Clarissa’s closed door. “But I was trying to prove myself to the wrong people.” He lifts his chin. “You assume so much about me, just like everyone else and I just never bothered to correct you.”

“Troy! Momma won’t come outside!” Dante pokes his head out of the door, and Troy winces, kneeling to whisper something to him. It’s then that I see the resemblance and it’s uncanny. I never looked for it, but now that I am, it’s blatantly obvious. Troy closes the door and turns back to face me.

“He’s yours.”

Troy nods.

“And you haven’t told him?”

He harrumphs. “This is messier than you could ever imagine and fuck the look on your face, Houseman. Do you think I answered your ad because I couldn’t find anywhere else to live closer to campus? Half my friends wouldn’t even charge me to live at their spots. Your address was my chance to be closer to him and look out for them both. She,” he wipes a hand down his face, “she doesn’t want anything to do with me.” His voice turns to ice. “You think I wanted to pay rent late every month? Contrary to what you think, I wasn’t getting my dick waxed every time I had a late night, I was working my fucking ass off to pay the rent for three. Between that and ball—” he shakes his head in aggravation, “you know what? I could fill a fucking book with what you don’t know. You got the only explanation I owe you,” he snaps before slamming the door behind him.

Stunned, I stare at the door long after it’s closed. Troy is right. I’d assumed far too much about everyone close to me and used my judgments as armor, which only ended up pushing people out of my life. People I care about, people I love.

Laney’s words come back to me. I did need another serving of humble pie.

And I just ate the whole fucking thing.

Grannism—Love ‘em enough to let them break your heart but learn enough so they don’t break your spirit.

Laney