Dare stepped inside the house, sighing silently. This house, besides the crappy look of peeling paint outside, looked like a real home. Cozy. Lived-in. Cheery.
He stood in the foyer, glancing down the hallway that led to the kitchen, the stairs leading to the second level, and the living room off to his left.
Pink curtains covered the living room windows, little frilly stuff hanging off the walls. A chair made out of pallets with intricate designs painted on it sat in the corner. And the smell. A lavender type aroma that made his nose itch.
This house didn’t reflect his sister at all. But shit, what did he know? He hadn’t spoken to his sister in the past ten years. It was for the best. Staying with her wouldn’t make everything okay in the world. Nothing would.
“Are you hungry?”
Dare eyed his sister and shrugged. He suffered from plenty at the moment. Hunger wasn’t one of them.
“Don’t do this. Don’t shut me out like this.”
“I shouldn’t be here.”
“Fine. Get out.” She threw her hand toward the door. “Go get drunk and arrested again.”
Now, this. This was the sister he knew. The tough one. The one who didn’t take shit from anybody. Not this girly shit decorating the house.
“I didn’t drink tonight.”
Deja propped her hands to her hips. “You smell like a damn brewery.”
Dare narrowed his eyes. “That’s because the asshole who got in my face threw his beer at me.”
“Why did you go there?”
He turned away from her penetrating eyes. “Do you own this place?”
“I hate it when you ignore me like that.”
He grinned, glancing at her. “Just acting like your brother. Just like you wanted me to. That’s what I do.”
“Fine. We’ll ignore the elephant in the room. This is my friend Sophie’s house. She’s getting married soon and decided to move in with her fiancé next door. They were neighbors when they met. She said I could still stay here.”
“Free of charge?”
“God, no. I’d never let her do that. I pay rent.” She sighed. “Not as much as I would like because she’s stubborn.”
“How much?”
“Why?”
He cocked an eyebrow. “I’m having a conversation with my sister. I thought you’d appreciate that.”
“You’re such a jerk.” She turned toward the kitchen and walked away. “Three hundred.”
Nobody was that nice. Not in their world. “That’s pretty damn low. What’s the catch?” He followed her into the kitchen.
“There is none. Sophie’s the best friend I never had growing up. She gets me. I get her.” Deja stood at the counter, her eyes glued to a pie. “She gave me a new beginning when I didn’t deserve one.”
“Don’t say shit like that. I’m the only bad seed in the family.”
“Her fiancé—Austin—I broke into his house and stole money from him. A few days later, I tried to steal from her.”
Never. His sister would never do something like that. She was the only bright light in their family. “I don’t believe that for a minute.”
She turned around and rested against the counter. “Believe it. If not for Sophie, I would’ve been arrested. Because of her, Austin let me pay him back the money I stole and the cost to fix his window I broke.” She looked down at the floor. “When you left, life wasn’t easy. I had to do things I’m not proud of. I was all alone. I still feel alone.”
“Deja…” Shit. What should he say to that? Didn’t she see how bad it would be if he stuck around? “That’s why I should go.”
Her head snapped up. “So I remain alone? It was an—”
“Shut up.” He pressed his lips together to stop himself from spewing more hateful things. That asshole from the precinct was right. He needed to treat his sister better. He knew this, yet, he couldn’t stop himself. He didn’t want to keep hearing her say it was an accident. The hell it was. He killed their parents. That was no accident.
“Life wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns for us, Dare. I’m not saying I wanted them to die, but I don’t miss them as much as I miss you. We were a team. You can’t have a one-man team. I need you.”
Brows puckered, fists clenched, her stance was like beams of steel. He still saw the pain, the anguish, the strength it took to say that. Those words made it feel like he was worthy of them. He was far from that. He didn’t want to hear them.
“Don’t say that. You don’t know what you’re saying. I’m bad.”
“You’re not.”
“Deja, I was high as a kite that night. I should’ve never—” He eyed the pie behind her, anything to look at but her trusting face.
“We’ll get you some clothes tomorrow and look for a job. Both of us.”
Why did she insist on helping him? He should’ve kept those handcuffs on and let them toss him back into prison. He fit in there. Here. In her world. He felt like an interloper.
“You have a job.”
He wanted to smile. At least someone was trying to take care of his sister. Something he should’ve been doing all along. Not sitting in prison the last ten years. Didn’t mean the guy wasn’t an asshole talking to him that way. Nobody talked to him that way.
Dare didn’t think her face could get any more forlorn. It did. Without even trying, he was hurting his sister as each minute passed.
“After what happened today, I’m sure Emmett doesn’t want me coming back to work.”
“Did he say that? He whispered to you before he walked away. What the hell did he say?” He’d track him down and beat the shit out of him if he fired his sister for no damn reason.
“No. He didn’t say that. But still…”
So she wouldn’t tell him what he said. He could only imagine. He saw the look in his eyes. “He likes you.”
Deja laughed with hardly any humor behind it. “Not likely.”
He grinned, cocking a brow, probably looking like the devil himself. “I might’ve been behind bars the last ten years, sis, but I know when a man looks at a woman he likes. I’ll kill him if he hurts you.”
Her eyes went round with shock, her skin turning ashy-white in an instant. “Don’t say things like that, Dare. You’re not a killer.”
“That’s funny. That’s why I was in prison.”
He wanted to laugh. His sister liked this Emmett guy. Not that she’d admit it. His sister rarely admitted things like that to him. Because she knew he’d take care of any asshole that treated her wrong. Even the tiniest amount of disrespect warranted a punch in the face.
“We need to talk about it.”
“Nope.”
He glanced around the kitchen, noting more frivolous knickknacks hanging around. Perhaps her friend Sophie didn’t take all her crap with her when she moved. His sister’s bedroom, from what he could remember, was always clean, but sparse. She didn’t hang posters on her walls or collect anything. She didn’t buy things just to decorate a room and make it more colorful. Neither did he. They never had the money to do it. Still. This house didn’t reflect the sister he remembered.
“Dare, please, I think—”
“They say you don’t dream in cryosleep.”
“What?”
“They say you don’t—”
“I heard you the first time, idiot.”
Smirking, he propped himself against the kitchen table and crossed his arms and legs. “Then why’d you ask what for?”
“Could you try not to be a smartass all the time?”
“Just one of the many reasons you love me.”
“I do. I love you, Dare.”
He glanced down at his feet. He hated when she talked like that. Her love was precious and what he did… “I hate dreaming. You could call it nightmares.” Looking at Deja, he saw the understanding in her eyes. “I’m not ready to talk. I might never be ready.”
She smiled. The first real smile of the day. He missed that. He didn’t realize it was something he needed in his life. “I’ll wait. Forever if I have to. I’m not going to let you shove me out of your life. We’re a team again. Whether you like it or not.”
“Well, partner, just know I’ll hurt anyone who hurts you, including that asshole Emmett.”
“You have nothing to worry about. Emmett doesn’t like me like that.”
“Yeah, right. You’re delusional as shit, D.”
She smiled again. His sister was so beautiful when she smiled. Since this afternoon, all he did was make her frown. It was good to see her happy again. All he had to do was call her by her nickname.
“You need to watch your language. Sophie won’t put up with that.”
Dare laughed. A real laugh. “Whatever.”
“You’ll see. One look from her and you’ll be watching what you say.”
“I haven’t seen you watch your mouth.”
“Hmm…you bring it out of me so easily.” She grinned, the mischievous smile he missed seeing.
They could never go back to the close relationship they once had, but he could try a little harder to be nice.
“That pie any good? Maybe I am a little hungry.” He nodded his head to the pie sitting close by her.
“It’s the best. I’ll grab you a slice.” Deja turned around to grab a plate from the cupboard.
Dare took a seat at the table. A piece of pie sat on a plate, the fork dangling on the edge. It looked like someone left in a hurry.
Because of him.
This would never work. He couldn’t stay with his sister for long. He didn’t want her to get too attached.
Hell, he didn’t want to get too attached. Leaving would be better. For everyone.
♡
“Darrian! Darrian! Oh my God.”
Dare rolled his eyes as he turned up the volume on his music. His mother was in another mood for hysterics. When wasn’t she? Her emotions were like a damn ping-pong ball, hopping all over the place.
The door swung open, slamming into the wall.
“Shit, Mom, what the hell?” Dare sat up on the bed.
“Your father, Darrian. Oh, dear.” Her eyes were round with shock, tears streaming down her face.
He frowned. His mom was known for hysterics of all kinds, but rarely did tears appear. “What about him? He was hitting the bottle last I saw.”
“He’s having chest pains and looking red in the face. I think he needs to go to the hospital. I can’t lose him, Darrian. He’s all I have.”
Standing up, he grabbed a shirt from the floor without bothering to sniff it. If his dad was having a heart attack, did it matter if he grabbed a dirty shirt? Dirty and clean were mixed all over the floor. Not that his parents cared. Clearly, his mother didn’t even care about him as a person. Dad was all she had? What a crock of shit. Where was Deja when he needed her?
“Did you call for an ambulance? If he’s having a heart attack, that’s what you should be doing, Mom.” Half the time he felt like the damn parent around here.
“The phone…” She trailed off as she ran out of the room.
Great. That translated into they didn’t pay the phone bill again. Sometimes he felt like the only damn adult in the house. Working his ass off at nineteen to keep the house from falling apart was bullshit. But he did it. For one reason only. Deja. He’d do anything for his younger sister. Including staying around this hellhole. The minute she turned eighteen, they were out of here.
Grabbing a blunt lying on his desk, he lit it up and took a large puff. Swiping his keys as well, he walked out to the living room where his father sat in the faded brown recliner. He did look like shit. His dad might be the biggest loser, the biggest drunk he’d ever seen, but he’d get his ass to the hospital as fast as he could.
“Come on. I’ll drive.”
“Oh, Darrian!” The tears kept coming down in a steady stream on his mother’s face.
“Mom, calm down. I’ll drive to the hospital.” Shoving the blunt between his lips, he stooped down and looped an arm around his dad’s waist. “Come on, Dad. Let’s go.”
“Take care of your momma if I go. She needs someone to take care of her.” His dad stumbled.
Dare tightened his hold and headed for the front door. He refused to answer that comment. Because he really wanted to ask, “What about Deja?” It’s as if neither of them mattered to his parents. He knew this. He was used to it. Didn’t make it hurt any less anytime they displayed it so blatantly.
Dare got his dad situated in the front seat as quickly as possible, buckling him in when his dad’s hands kept fumbling with the clasp. Having a possible heart attack and drunk to boot. Figures.
His mother climbed into the backseat and crowded between them, sticking her head close to his dad’s head. “It’s alright, Barry baby. Darrian will get us there.”
Dare backed out of the driveway, squealing tires as he headed for the hospital. Thunder rolled in the distance, dark clouds swarming the sky, hallowing the drive in a gloomy way. He took another puff of the blunt, rolled down the window and flicked the rest outside. The last thing he needed was to get pulled over for speeding with marijuana in his possession.
“Quit smoking that nasty stuff, Darrian. It’s disgusting,” his mother scoffed, clucking her tongue in disapproval.
“Mom, buckle up. Shit. What if we get in a damn accident?”
“I’m your mother, you don’t tell me what to do. I tell you what to do.” She leaned in further toward the front, grabbing for his dad’s hand.
“Whatever.” Dare rolled his eyes, wishing he hadn’t tossed the blunt so soon.
He was feeling pretty mellow, though. He took a few pills before his mom came bursting into his room. So much for partying with Rick tonight. Maybe he could drop them off at the hospital door and then hit up Rick. Dealing with his parents this long, he needed to get even higher. He could only stand his parents in low doses. They normally left him alone. Deja was another story. His mom was always on Deja’s case for one thing or another.
The rain started to come down heavily out of nowhere. Dare hit the windshield wipers, slowing down a little.
“Darrian! Don’t slow down. You can’t slow down.” His mother grabbed his shoulder, almost shaking him in the process.
He shoved her hand off and threw a nasty glare in her direction. “Shit, Mom. Shut up and buckle up. I can barely see with the rain. What the hell do you expect?”
“Don’t take that tone with me, young man. I’ll have—”
“Donna, baby doll, sit back and leave Darrian alone. It’s raining hard.”
His mother huffed, but finally sat back. For once, his dad wasn’t a useless deadbeat asshole. Drunk as a skunk and he still recognized how bad the weather had turned. Feeling ill must be sobering him up some.
“If your father doesn’t make it to the hospital, I’ll hold you responsible.”
Dare wanted to laugh. His dad was too stubborn to kick the bucket so soon. That’s for damn sure.
Halfway there. Thank God! It put him closer to partying it up with Rick. He couldn’t wait to throw a case of beer back.
Shit. Deja.
He’d have to go home first and wait for Deja to get back. He’d have to give her hell for not telling him where she went. He always liked to know where she wandered off. Somebody needed to worry about her. Their parents didn’t give two shits about either of them. Regardless, he had to tell Deja he was dropping Dad off at the hospital.
“Shit.” Jerking the wheel and hitting the brakes hard, the car started to hydroplane as he attempted to avoid hitting the damn dog in the road.
The last thing he remembered before smacking into a tree head-on was the high pitch scream as his mother flew through the windshield.