My body was burning up, so I tossed my comforter and huffed out a breath, but it was no use. I wouldn’t be getting sleep anytime soon.
I sat up and scrubbed my hand over my face, deciding I’d go downstairs and get some water to try and get my mind off what happened tonight. The rough carpet scratched against the soles of my feet as I stood, and each step I took toward the top of the stairs felt heavier than the last.
I made it halfway down the stairs until I could see Hut sitting on the sofa, his eyes focused on the TV. He glanced over at me, a small smile lifting the corners of his lips. “Hey.” There was no one else here, just him, and I couldn’t remember the last time that had happened. There was always someone asleep on the sofa or milling around.
“Hey,” I whispered, taking the last few steps into the living room. My stomach rolled with nerves, and I shuffled on the spot.
“Come and sit,” Hut said, patting the sofa next to him.
I didn’t want to sit beside him, but a small part of me hoped he’d be the Emerson he used to be and not the Hut who he’d become. I ventured forward, curling my legs underneath me, and flicking my gaze at the TV. The original Rocky movie was playing, and I grinned. We’d spent so much time watching the series of movies over the years. It was always our go-to when something bad had happened with my dad and his mom.
“Rocky, huh?” I asked, looking over at him.
He grinned at me, his eyes clear for the first time in what felt like forever. “Never go wrong with Rocky.”
I nodded in agreement and settled back, watching it intently. I knew what was coming next, but it didn’t matter because the movie never got old.
“They’re assholes,” Hut said, his rough voice ringing out over the sound of Sylvester's, and I knew who he was talking about from his tone alone.
“I know,” I whispered. We’d had this exact talk nearly every night years ago. We’d sit on this same sofa and stare at the TV, having conversations we didn’t want to look at each other to have. It always made me feel safe—like nothing could get to me when he was sitting beside me with Rocky on the TV.
“I couldn't find them.” The sofa cushions moved and then he turned the volume down. “But I will, Lola.” I blinked, afraid to look over at him. “She won’t get away with what she did. I promise.”
I bit down on my bottom lip and pulled in a breath. “It’s not what she did,” I managed to get out, finally turning to face him. “It’s the fact that he didn’t even acknowledge me.” I clenched my hands tighter, my nails biting into the skin of my palm. “He just doesn’t give a shit.”
“He never gave a shit,” Hut spat, his light-brown eyes turning darker. “You’re better off without him.”
He wasn’t wrong, but that didn’t mean it hurt any less. He was still my dad, whether he’d been there the last seven years or not. But then, there came a time when you couldn’t keep holding out for someone to love you. At some point, you had to say enough was enough and move on with your life without that person in it.
“I know,” I replied and scanned his face for any sign of what he was feeling. “You are too.”
He frowned and stretched his legs out. “My mom was always a piece of shit, ain’t nothin' new there, Lola.” He was trying to sound like he didn’t care, but I could hear the hitch in his voice and see the purse of his lips. He did care, he just didn’t want anybody to know it.
I reached my hand out, hesitating a second. Things hadn’t been the best between us the last year, not since he got so high that he tried to take something from me he never should have. The night he came into my room hung over us like a black cloud, but maybe it was time I forgave him? He’d been high and drunk. He hadn’t known what he was doing. That was a valid enough excuse, right?
Making my decision, I placed my hand over his arm. “I know, but she’s not worth it either.”
He glanced down at my hand and up at me, a mask slipping over his face the longer he stared at me. The murmurings of the movie echoed around us as I waited for him to say or do something.
“I know,” he murmured, repeating what I’d said. We both knew that they weren’t worth thinking about, but we still did, regardless. He pulled his arm away from my hand and gripped it in his large one. “I’ll still make them regret what they did tonight, though.”
His eyes turned fierce, a muscle in his jaw ticking. And the Emerson I’d grown up with had been replaced by Hut. It had been fleeting, but he’d been there, even if it was only for a few minutes. Time was up, and I didn’t want to stick around to see what would happen next.
“I better get some sleep,” I whispered, pulling my hand from his grip and standing up. I ambled across the living room and up the stairs, feeling my heavy eyelids that promised a night of sleep.
* * *
BRODY
I leaned against the back of the sofa aware of Lola only a few feet away. She sat at the kitchen table, staring down at her old flip cell as she ate her lunch. I wasn’t sure how she managed to survive on something so old and cheap, but it seemed to work for her.
It had been two days since the cookout, and I couldn’t get Lola off my mind.
The look in her eyes as she’d stared at me, the belief she had that I’d step in and save her from the knife held against her throat. I didn’t want to admit that it sent a thrill through me at being the one person she felt safe with, but it did. And not in the normal way it should have. I couldn't deny that she was starting to chip away at something I’d never known was there.
Hut was going on and on about places that needed to be checked out and a possible meet-up with a buyer, and all the while, I thought about Lola eating her grilled cheese.
I pulled my cell out, scrolling down to her number. I’d had it since before I met her, but she wasn’t aware of that. It was time to try another tactic, at least, that was what I was telling myself it was.