Page 47 of Intolerable Bishop

“It’s your drink. Now, don’t be a picky asshole when you’re in my home.”

“Fucker, fine.” He took a sip and winced but continued to drink. He needed the water. If I had to hide it to get it into him, then that was what I’d do. “Apparently, she’s been back for over two years.” I stared at him, not sure what to say to that. “And it gets better.” He still managed to chug the rest of the drink and then grabbed his head. “Too cold.” I should’ve put more ice.

“It gets better? Did she show up at the house?”

Nash shook his head. “Nope. Her and my father are still in looove,” he said and gripped the glass to his chest dramatically. “But don’t want to live together, so they’ve been meeting up once a week to…well…fuck it.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket, opened it, and tossed it at me.

I almost threw the phone back at him as I got a glimpse of the image. “Fuck me. What the hell?”

“I walked in on that.” He nodded, and I set the phone down while I took his glass, suddenly feeling like I needed one for myself.

“You know, man, I thought that my father scared her away. All this time, deep down, I thought she saw the monster and couldn’t handle it. Fear had gotten the better of her, and she took off. As painful as that was, I could understand it. I could forgive that. He’s scary, he’s abusive, and he’s…well, you know what he is.” Nash looked at me, his eyes filled with a sadness I hadn’t seen since we were young boys. “She told me that she didn’t want to be a mother, and that’s why she left. But!” He held up his finger. “I wasn’t to worry because it wasn’t me personally. Not me, personally? How the fuck do you not take that personally? I fucking loved her! I mourned her leaving like she had died. Fuck you, world! Fuck you!”

I quickly made another drink filled with mostly water before walking over and handing it to him. He just stared at it like it was a crystal ball and held the answers he sought.

“She left me with him, knowing what he would do. She still loves him, knowing how he hurt me. All the bruises, cuts, and broken bones, the mental anguish, and him killing my unborn child, and all she has to say for it is I wasn’t cut out to be a mother.” His voice was soft and sounded lost. “No shit Sherlock.”

I’d never seen Nash cry. Never in all the time I’d known him had he ever cried in front of me. But a single tear rolled down his cheek, and I had no idea what to say or how to help.

He began to chuckle, which turned into a maniacal laugh that was wracking his whole body. I grabbed the drink from his hand before he spilled it everywhere and set it down.

“You okay, man? You look like you’ve lost it?”

The question only seemed to make whatever he found amusing worse. I would’ve laughed with him if I wasn’t so concerned he was going to pull his gun and end it all. There was a scary level of insanity in his eyes.

As Nash began to calm down, so did the tension in my body. He locked eyes with me and smiled. “My fucking father is getting more ass than I am,” he said, laying his head back on the couch and passing out. Okay, now that was funny. I grabbed my drink and took a swig as Nash’s phone began to ring in his jacket. He didn’t budge or flinch with the noise, so I reached inside and pulled it out.

It was Theo. “Hey, it’s me,” I said.

“Where’s Nash? I thought I called him.”

I looked at his lax face. “You did, but he’s…he’s indisposed at the moment. Long story, one you may not want to know about. What do you need?”

“Ren’s house was attacked. We’re on our way back, but we have to drive.”

I ran my hand through my hair. “Shit, is everyone alright?”

“Yeah, except for Ren’s aunt. She’s dead.”

“Fuck.” There was more turmoil surrounding Ren than I’d seen with any other student who had attended Wayward in my three years there. It worried me for whatever the fuck we were getting dragged into, but that was a debate for another time. “Tell me what you need, and I’ll make it happen.”

JUNE 4 – SUNDAY 4:58 AM

Theo

Hanging up with Liam, I walked into the deserted gas station and found Ren. She was no longer standing beside the bike, staring straight ahead, but was pacing from the far wall to the desk in the open office area. She was mumbling to herself, but I couldn’t make out what it was. I hadn’t wanted to leave her in here alone, but the call had to happen, and I didn’t want to do it in front of Ren.

“Hey, Ren.” Walking up to her, I stood in her way, but she started around me like I was a pylon. Grabbing her arms, I forced her to stop and look at me. “Ren?”

“She’s gone, and it’s all my fault. Just like my mum being murdered is my fault. They’re after me, and I’ve gotten them both killed. No wonder my dad won’t speak to me. I wouldn’t want to speak to me. They’re going to find me, aren’t they? They’re going to find me and kill me. I can’t hide forever. I don’t even know who I’m fighting.”

She was rambling one quick sentence after the other. I couldn’t blame her. I’d seen death and craziness since the day I could walk, but I hadn’t lost anyone close to me. I’d never had to watch someone I loved be stolen before my eyes. I’d never been in the middle of a shoot-out until this morning, but we’d been trained for it.

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. What if Blake, Myles, and Ivy aren’t okay? What if they were caught? What if they’re dead? Even if they’re not, I can’t drag you all into this. I need to end things. I need to run. Where would I go?” She looked at my arm and covered her mouth. “You’re bleeding. Oh my god, you got shot.”

I’d already looked at it. It was bleeding, but just a scrape. I needed to stop the mental spiral Ren was caught in before she passed out, or worse, had a break. We didn’t have time for it, and I wouldn’t have a clue how to handle it if it got that far. Grabbing her face, I did the only thing I could think of and kissed her. There was no sweet, tentative inspection of her lips or wondering if she would accept me kissing her. I pushed her back against the wall and let the adrenaline still racing through my body take control.

She put her hands on my chest like she might push me away, but I didn’t stop. Instead, I yanked the zipper on the front of her Kevlar jacket and slid my hands up her warm body. Teasing her while invading her personal space and her mind. Forcing her to think about something more than the chaos she’d just been through.