Harry scowled at me, but then his face drooped, and his chin fell against his chest. “I’m like you, I guess. I can’t be in a…a…relationship.”
“Sure you can. You’ve got the sweet talk figured out.” I grinned and added, “You understand the rules about dressing nice.”
“But what if…” Harry’s voice lowered, strained. “What if I’m like my dad?”
A sucker punch hit me in the chest. That poor damn kid. “You’re nothing like your dad.”
“But what if I am? I couldn’t live with myself if I ever…” Harry’s head knocked back against the seat. His eyes squeezed shut. “That day up at your place, my brain got stuck. I couldn’t think about anything except…” He shook his head. “It’sinme, Aiden. I’m capable of thinking like him. I didn’t give it a second thought before I came at you.”
“With truly the worst right hook I’ve ever seen, mind you.” The joke fell flat. I sighed. “You were sticking up for someone who needed help.”
“That doesn’t make it right!”
“You wouldn’t hurt a fly, mate. You’re sure as hell nothing like your father.”
“I could be. How would I know? I’ve never been…you know…in acouple. And couples fight all the time!”
“I guess some do. Just ’cause you’re sweet on someone doesn’t mean you’ll always agree about everything. That doesn’t mean you’ll…” I refused to say the words out loud. There was no chance he was like that. “Your mum pisses you off when she goes off at you about leaving your socks around the house, and you gripe about it, but that’s where it ends.”
“I can’t risk it. Anyway… Not like it matters. Brooke deserves better than some dumb electrician.”
“Hey. First off, you’re not dumb. High school doesn’t mean shit once you head out into the real world. Second, finishing your apprenticeship took hard work. I’ll let you talk a lot of crap, but that’s something to be damn proud of.”
Harry’s mouth pressed down to a thin line. He said nothing.
“Maybe you should talk to someone about what’s going on in your head?” I suggested.
Harry folded his arms and sank lower in his seat. “Maybeyoushould talk to someone.”
“Yeah…” My empty sigh filled the truck. “You’re probably right.”
His gaze snapped up to stare at me dead on, mouth open.
“I used to, you know?”
He shook his head. Of course he didn’t know. No one did. Not even Ruth.
“I used to see a shrink every couple of weeks in the city,” I said. “I stopped a few years ago. I figured out a routine and decided I was done trying to get better. What was the point? I was doing okay.” My fingers tensed around the steering wheel. “I’ve been kidding myself for a long time. I’m not okay.”
“Do, um… You wanna talk about it?”
I shook my head. “And that’s got nothing to do with you, kid. It’s just…”
“Hard. Yeah, I know. I don’t like talking about…stuff…either.” Harry stared out the window, and his frown reflected in the glass. Finally, he asked quietly, “So, you think you will? Talk to someone, I mean?”
“Yeah, I will. I need to.” Harry was too old for it, but I stuck my hand out and ruffled his hair. He laughed. “I’ll be a better man if I start dealing with what’s going on in my head. I can’t keep letting my past rule my present.”
Or my future…
23
He Saw His True Feelings
Aiden
I wasn’t expecting thewelcome wagon when my truck pulled up outside Ruth’s place, but there she was, standing under the porch light as white specks danced around her in the glow.
After a string of ignored messages, a call she ended after snapping at me for not sticking to her schedule, and the follow-up call to Harry where she barked at him for me being late, I was fully expecting Ruth to blow a gasket. Or three.
