Chapter 21 - Dominic
It’s not until the noise of Mara’s truck fades down the driveway that Aiden speaks again.
“You’re working with the McCoys?” he spits.
I sigh and turn back to the headboard. I try to hide the sour expression on my face, and the pain that I felt when I watched Mara walk out. I know I hurt her. I should have told Aiden what was going on. I shouldn’t have denied anything.
“I didn’t have any other choice.”
“Like fuck you did,” Aiden says again, taking a step towards me. Suddenly the anger starts to bloom in my chest. I look at the outrage on his face and I’m as offended as he is. I take a step towards him and square my shoulders.
“That’s pretty fucking hypocritical for you to say,” I snap. “You worked for them for years before starting your own garage.”
“That was different.”
“How?”
He says nothing, just stands in front of me with daggers in his eyes.
“Grow the fuck up, Aiden,” I growl, taking another step in his direction. He doesn’t back down. “Mara is not the reason that Dad died. She’s not the reason that her parents took his business. She’s not a bad person.”
Aiden snorts and looks at me like I have three heads. “Excuse me? If it’s not her fault that Dad died, whose is it?”
I stare at my brother, seeing the fury in his eyes. I’ve always known that he took Dad’s death the hardest, but I had no idea how strongly he still felt about it, even a decade later.
“It was an accident, Aiden,” I say a bit more softly. “If Dad had been to the hospital instead of refusing –”
“If she hadn’t fallen in the fucking river, you mean. If that hadn’t happened then he’d still be here.”
“It was an accident,” I say again. My patience is starting to wear thin. Now that I know Mara – now that I see what kind of heart she has – I feel so guilty about the past ten years. We’ve shut her out of our lives and out of the town, just because of an accident that happened when we were teens. Aiden bristles in front of me and I know that I won’t be able to convince him. “She’s not a bad person.”
“Well even if she isn’t, her parents are. Have you forgotten that they stole Dad’s business when he was on his death bed? They tricked us into signing it over! And now you’re working for them?”
I can hear the hurt in his voice and my own anger starts to fade. My shoulders slump and I shake my head. How can I make him understand? How could I possibly tell him that I’m falling for Mara McCoy, of all people?
All I do is sigh. I shake my head and shrug my shoulders. “I’m sick of this, Aiden,” I say. He stares at me with fire in his eyes and I shake my head again. “I’m sick of the fighting, and the animosity, and this whole feud! Sure, the McCoys screwed us over. They’re opportunistic and cruel, but what does hating them do for us?”
His chest is heaving up and down and he stares at me, waiting for me to continue.
I take a deep breath. “Look, you can feel however you want to. You can hate them for the rest of your life, but I’m sick of it.”
I turn back towards my workbench and pick up the nearest tool. I just want him to leave. Instead of leaving, he takes a step towards me.
“So are you fucking her now, too?”
I spin towards him and grab his collar. “Watch your fucking mouth,” I growl, my face inches from his.
“Or what?”
I’ve never come so close to hitting my own brother. The anger is boiling inside me and it feels like I’m about to explode. To hear my own brother speaking about Mara like that makes my stomach turn. We’re locked together, coiled like tight springs, staring into each other’s eyes as both of us wait to see what the other will do. I see nothing in his eyes except aggression and anger. Maybe that’s exactly what’s in my eyes, too.
I back down first. I throw him back and nod to the door.
“Get the fuck out,” I say.
“So you’re choosing them, are you? You’re choosing money and pussy over your own family?”
“Fuck you, Aiden. Get off your high horse. You’d still be working for the McCoys if you hadn’t married a rich city girl. You think you started that business by yourself, do you?”
Aiden lunges for me, and I almost stumble backwards before catching his forearm in my hand before he can hit me. We grapple with each other, straining against the workbench and pushing each other until I’m able to get him off me. I push him back and he stumbles, brushing himself off and standing up straighter. There’s fire in his eyes and the tension is thick between us. He takes another step forward, lifting his fists up.
“Aiden,” I say. I try to keep my voice calm but I see him bristle.
He lunges towards me again, and this time I’m not able to lift my arm in time to block him. I deflect his punch, but his fist connects with my lip in an explosion of pain. I grunt and stumble back, falling over against the new headboard. It cracks down the middle with a loud pop and I grunt again. Aiden stands in front of me and snarls.
“You’ve changed, Dominic,” he says. He throws me one more look of pure venom and then turns towards the door. I hear his truck rumble to live and speed down the road.
I slump down onto the floor and put my head in my hands. I touch my finger to my lip and feel it swelling up already. There’s bright red blood on my fingers when I pull them away. I sigh, closing my eyes and leaning my head against the ruined headboard.
What have I done? What am I doing?
My own brother thinks I’m a traitor. I’m trying to move on from the past, but it’s causing even more issues with my family. I’m trying to make my business work, but it’s just creating friction in the town.
What happens when everyone else finds out? What happens when people find out that I’m not only working for the McCoys, but I’m also sleeping with Mara? What happens when the McCoys find out I’m working for them! And that I’m sleeping with their daughter!
I let out a sigh and comb my hair back with my fingers. I have no idea what I’m supposed to do. It feels like the right thing to do would be to break it off with Mara and back out of the contract. But what if that’s not the right thing to do? That’s just what’s expected of me. Why are we hanging on to this anger and hatred if it’s just out of habit?
The look on Aiden’s face said more than habit though. The way he lunged at me said more than expectation. He’s never hit me like that before. I’m not sure it’s worth it. Should I destroy my relationship with my brother over this contract – over Mara?
I lean back against the new headboard and let out a sigh. Everything feels heavy. My limbs feel like they’re made of lead and my chest feels like it’s sunken in.
I need to get out of this workshop. I can’t look at any of this today.