Ruthless (Enemies to Lovers 4)

Finally, Jaxson calms enough to explain. “I told them I’d rather have my balls cut off than have kids.”

“Ouch,” Logan groans. “That’s a bit extreme.”

“You deal with their shit for one week, and we’ll see if you feel it’s still a bit extreme.”

Logan looks down at Rhett and me and shakes his head. “Nope, I’m not that stupid.”

“We’re not that bad,” I say as I wipe the tears from my face. I tap Rhett on the ass with my shoe. “Tell them.”

He pushes himself up to his knees while taking deep breaths. “Sorry, Dude. They’re right.” He uses his hands to brace himself off of the grass as silent laughter shakes his shoulders. “We’re fucked.”

The laughter quickly dries up as Rhett sits back and we see that it’s not silent laughter. He’s fucking crying.

“We are so fucked,” he whispers, and the look on his face matches the one I hide from everyone – fear.

“Logan,” Carter whispers. “Get rid of the people.”

“Sure.” I watch Logan walk away before I look back to Rhett.

Carter sits down on the grass in front of Rhett and placing a hand on his shoulder, he says, “Talk to us. What’s going on?”

Jaxson sits down as well, and I can feel his eyes on me, so I look away from Rhett to meet his stare.

“You guys can’t go on like this. You fuck everything in sight except for the girls you really like.” Jaxson says. “Marcus, that list you made is getting out of control. It was a joke at first, but now? Fuck, it’s a problem.”

I can’t reply to what he said. Earlier tonight, I saw it as a source of comfort.

“Stop fucking around. Stop avoiding relationships. Yeah, things don’t always work out. But you both have to face the hard fact that if you keep going down this road, you’re going to end up alone and miserable. Be resilient and go after what you really want. You can both have an incredible life if you just take a chance,” Carter says.

“That’s your pearl of wisdom?” I ask as I let out a bitter chuckle. “You’re telling us to grow a pair?”

“Yeah, that’s another way of putting it.”

“Dude, you’re one to fucking talk. Every single one of us is avoiding relationships. It’s not just Rhett and me. Look at the way you’re treating Della. She fucking apologized to you, but you still treat her like shit. You and Jaxson think every single woman will turn out like your mothers. Fuck knows why Logan is single.” I glance at Rhett. “What’s your reason?”

He looks at me and just shakes his head. “The relationship part is easy, man. It’s when they die that it sucks. The one second they’re there and the next they’re just gone.”

“And here I thought Marcus was the most fucked up out of us all,” Carter snaps. “That’s just bullshit, Rhett. Whether she lives a long life or dies tomorrow, you already fucking love her.”

Rhett doesn’t say anything. This conversation is getting way too heavy for me.

“Thanks, Rhett,” I mumble as I bump my shoulder against his.

“For what?” he asks as he glances at me sideways.

“For making me look a little normal.”

He lets out a burst of laughter. “Normal is overrated.”

“Mia wants to know if we’re coming through tomorrow,” Logan says as he comes out of the now empty house.

Rhett rubs over his face and then gets up. “I think I’ll drive through now.”

“You had too much to drink,” Carter snaps. “Logan can drive while you sleep it off in the backseat.”

“That works for me,” Rhett jokes.

“What about the two of you?” Carter looks at Jaxson and me.