Page 104 of The Golden Boys
I was right. These are questions I would never ask my brothers. Ever.
“Ok, good. I’ll walk over and get you in the morning.” Another pause. “K, be good. Love you.”
The call ends and I lower my gaze, pretending not to be fascinated by their interaction.
“Thank you,” she says, placing her cell on the adjustable table beside the bed.
“You didn’t tell her what happened,” I point out.
Southside shakes her head. “Nah, kid’s had enough to worry about for a lifetime. No sense in having her lose sleep over this, too.” She thinks for a moment, then presses a hand to her forehead. “But, of course, she’ll read Pandora’s post. She’ll worry. I should’ve—"
There it is again. That fierce protection.
“She’ll be okay,” I cut in, encouraging her to relax. “Just shoot her a text, letting her know everything’s cool.”
Southside’s at war with herself for a moment, and I guess she wants to call, but eventually settles for taking my advice and types out a quick message instead.
Seeing how tightly wound she is, I nearly ask a question about her childhood but hold it. I’m not allowed to be interested in things like that.
“Ever stayed over in a hospital?” she pipes, smiling a little when she meets my gaze.
“Once,” I share. “Had my tonsils removed when I was seven. You?”
She nods. “More times than I can count. Mostly allergy related. In case it’s still a secret, my parents aren’t the most responsible people in the world. So, until I learned how to monitor what I can and can’t eat for myself, alotof mistakes were made.”
She laughs after speaking, but nothing’s funny.
“That’s pretty fucked up.”
She nods, agreeing with me, but doesn’t speak right away.
The picture is becoming even clearer. She not only raised herself, she raised Scarlett, too. Because her parents didn’t care enough to do it.
“But you know what they say. What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger, right?” The joke is meant to remind me of my own words from a few weeks ago.
“Yeah. Guess so.”
I’m quiet again, but not because I’m thinking aboutherchildhood, but because I’m thinking about my own. The shimmer faded for me early, too, but not because I’d been abandoned like it seems Southside was. For me, it was learning that my father isn’t the god he pretends to be, discovering he’s a mere mortal with a weakness for blondes with big tits and nice asses.
Like Southside.
Usually, being reminded of her connection to my father would piss me off, but I don’t feel that now. All I feel when I think about it is pity, imagining what he must have promised her—money, admission into CPA, and who knows what else.
Of course, she’d take that deal. Hell, my own mother fell victim to Vin’s game. For her, it was never about money, but rather a means of getting out of the small town where she grew up and everyone knew her as Boone Landry’s oldest daughter. She hadn’t seen much of the world and fell for every slick lie that fell from the bastard’s lips. My grandfather—being a man who doesn’t hold back—told me the whole story. How my dad came in, played nice just long enough to swoop Mom off her feet, then brought her north, to a city where she knew no one, to the city he runs and she has no allies.
Like I said, he’s a predator. He separates his prey from the herd, then conquers.
When I glance up, Southside’s dozing. She looks so damn innocent, like the scared girl I believe she keeps hidden on the inside. I think back on what she said, about being creeped out by hospitals, and I stay in my seat despite having made up my mind to go. If I’m going to leave her, this is the time to do it. But instead, I settle in, sliding off my shoes and propping them on the edge of her bed. She stirs a little when I disturb the mattress, but doesn’t wake.
Seems she’s faced most things in life by herself. Guess I just don’t see why spending the night here should be one of them.
‘She okay?’
I smile when Dane texts out the blue, proving that despite my best efforts to bring my brothers to the dark side, they’re better than that.
‘She’s fine. Sleeping,’I shoot back.
‘Cool. Need anything?’