Page 17 of Always: A Legacy Novel

“The bike is fine. And so was I, you know, after I woke up.”

“Cross.”

“There was nothing to tell, Papa. Didn’t even have a scratch.”

Calisto’s defensive posturing softened a bit “Come sit with me for a minute. We’ll talk.”

“About how Ma wants to lock me in my room for the rest of my life?”

“Not your whole life. Just until you’re eighteen.”

Cross laughed.

Calisto didn’t.

That’s how he knew this was serious.

Standing in front of Calisto, he pulled out the phone that was tracked and handed it over. “I don’t need it anymore.”

Calisto stared at the device for a long while before he took it with tired eyes. “I thought you’d get your own faster than you did, actually.”

“I wanted a specific phone. It took him a while to get it.”

“Wolf’s boy, you mean. I know who you hang around with.”

Cross took a seat next to his step-father on the bench, and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. “Talk.”

“You know, a couple of years ago when your nonsense started—”

“It’s not nonsense. I am the way I am. I like it just fine.”

Calisto let out a slow breath and glanced up to the sky like he was sending out a silent prayer.

Maybe he was.

Cross wouldn’t be surprised.

“Can you just … pipe down for five minutes, Cross?” Calisto asked. “That’s all. Listen for five minutes, don’t speak.”

“I can try.”

He was honest.

“I learned something then, son,” Calisto said quietly, “and that was the fact I could either make these next few years really easy on us both, or very hard.”

Cross side-eyed his step-father. “How is that?”

“I figured you were going to do what you were going to do, regardless of what I did to stop you. Because the truth was, I wouldn’t be able to stop you. You made that abundantly clear, Cross.”

“The foam was a good one, though. You laughed—deny it.”

Calisto shook his head. “I laughed because I was so exasperated with you, Cross. What else could I do? Nothing worked. You literally cost me eight grand to fix the locks and rewire the entire system for the garage, and do you know what you did? You shrugged. Laughing was the only thing I could do except kill you at that point.”

“So?”

“You have to learn to tamper down the attitude. The rest, whatever. Tamper down the attitude, though.” Calisto crossed his arms over his chest, and began to move the bench swing with the tip of his shoe, rocking them back and forth. “What I am saying, is that I am trying to make these years—while you’re still home with us—easier on us all, but you’re not helping. I need you to help me out a bit here, Cross. I’m goddamn serious.”

“I listen.”