Page 36 of Hearts at War

“That’s a low blow.”

“That’s what happens when you dick around and fuck with me, Nevaeh. I won’t give you money, but I will never tell you no for food or a roof to sleep under.”

“How generous,” she sassed.

I growled, fisting my hands and wishing I could punch the wall.

“Watch that attitude. You’re a guest here, you got that? I don’t owe you a single damn thing.”

She scowled, making her piercings push out on her brow. “What, am I crimping your style? Am I in the way of you having all your women over?”

“What?” I squinted at her, furious and perplexed. “All my women? I don’t have any woman in my life.” And I intended to keep it that way.

“I’ve heard about how you sleep around like some player.”

I did when I moved here, but I was far from a Lothario or ladies’ man. It had been many months since I got laid.

“Like a himbo—”

I slashed my hand through the air. “That’s enough!”

She jerked back and stood, sharpening her glare on me. “Do not think you have any right to be combative with me. To come here and expect help with free rein to criticize how I live my life.”

Her lips thinned as she stared, fuming and mad again. I got it. I understood how easy it was to assume the whole world could be against you when hormones were raging and the shift from adolescence to adulthood wasn’t complete. I was there. Everyone went through this angsty, angry phase of life.

But that was no damn excuse for her to treat me like this.

“Those were rumors, Nevaeh. They still are rumors that people say just to stir shit about me because there’s nothing else to talk about. That’s how small towns like this one work.”

Her upper lip curved up on one side in a slow, twitching smirk. I wasn’t amusing her. I wasn’t trying to amuse her. She was on the verge of lashing out and bitching again but I was done with her crap.

“I am family, Nevaeh.” The last you have. The only part of your family who’s ever given you the time of the day. “And I deserve respect.” I wouldn’t ask her to show gratitude for how I tried to look out for her without enabling her.

“Got it?” I asked.

She lifted and dropped one shoulder. “Whatever.” She walked past me, dismissing me, to go to the kitchen and get a protein shake out of the fridge.

I can’t stand this.

I left to shower, both to clean up and to give myself a breather from facing her. I wasn’t equipped for this. I never wanted to be a parent or this much of a guardian to someone who was quick to remind me that they were an adult, not a child. I hadn’t counted on being thrust into this position of trying to steer her well without letting her think she could skate through life without any repercussions for her actions.

Fifteen minutes later, I felt like I had gotten my head screwed back on right. I was calmer, soothed and mellowed from the heat of my shower.

After I dressed and felt certain I’d rehearsed what I could say to her next, I returned to the living room.

The couch was empty, sans for the dumped-out protein shake she’d spilled all over the cushions.

She was gone. Again.

I couldn’t tell if it was a blessing or a curse.

If I was winning or losing.

Losing. Definitely losing.

I always did with the women in my life.

Chapter 13