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Chapter Twenty-three
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“You okay?” Chris asks, shoving the car into park just to the right of Johnson’s gravel driveway where a line of cars are already parked.
“Yeah.” I shrug, not really wanting to be here but wanting to be home even less.
Thad officially avoided me all day today and the cold lonely feeling that’s plagued me since last night has only grown more intense as the day has gone on. It was either sit at home and obsess over how he’s acting or come out with my brothers and try to salvage the little over a week I have left before I relocate to North Carolina.
“I take it things with Thad have taken a turn since you found out you got the role?” He phrases it like a question but clearly already knows the answer. “Sometimes keeping things casual is easier said than done. Most people aren’t built that way. It’s hard not to get attached when you’re sharing yourself so intimately with another person.”
“Since when do I have a sister?” I joke, lifting a brow in his direction.
“Just because I’m a guy doesn’t mean I don’t have feelings. And believe it or not, I’ve been in a no strings situation before. It never turns out good for anyone involved.”
“Yeah well.” I shrug. “Nothing I can do about it now.”
“There is if you want there to be. You know that, right? Just because you’re moving to North Carolina doesn’t mean you have to end things with Thad. People make long distance relationships work all the time.”
“My career comes before everything and everyone. It has to. It’s the only way I’ll make it in this industry.”
“Says who?”
“It’s a known fact. Maybe if our relationship was established, sure. But it’s not and truthfully he’s made it pretty clear he doesn’t want more. So, there’s that.”
“For being so smart you sure as shit are dumb sometimes.”
“Excuse me?”
“Let me guess, he’s pushing you away. Purposely being a dick to you?”
“Something like that.”
“He’s upset that you’re leaving and this is his way of coping. If there’s one thing I know about Thad, he’s up and down. When he’s up, he’s great. When he’s down, he hits it hard. Probably one of the main reasons he struggled with addiction for so long.”
“And how is it that you seem to know all this?”
“What? You think he’s lived on the ranch nearly a year and we haven’t become friends? Even when he doesn’t tell me shit straight out I can usually tell when something is off and the last few days he’s been way off. To the point that I’ve been keeping a closer eye on him.”
“You think he might slip?”
“It’s always a possibility. But the chances definitely go up when he’s stressed or upset about something. He had a pretty intense fight with his dad about three months after he got here and I swear I’ve never seen someone tick the way he did. It was like the instant the fight was over he was trying to figure out how to get a fix.”
“What happened? How did you keep him clean?”
“He was staying in the house at the time so I pretty much camped out there and refused to let him be alone until I felt the moment had passed.”
“Sounds like he’s lucky to have you.”
“He’s lucky to have you too, ya know.”
“Yeah, well, not for long. He’s made it pretty clear he’s done.” I shake off the memories of last night and how used I felt when Thad left so abruptly.
“Well either way, that’s up to you.” He kills the engine and pulls the key out of the ignition. “So what do you say we go get drunk now? It’s not every day your sister becomes a celebrity. I think we should celebrate.”
“I’m not a celebrity... yet.” I grin. “And getting drunk sounds about perfect,” I admit, shoving open my door before exiting into the warm evening air.
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