AllFreeNovel
Share Us
* * *
49
ETHAN
I look at Jasper,who caught the worst of Andy’s wrath—after Ava— when he found out about us, and in spite of Jasper’s request to just let it lie, I really don’t feel like keeping my thoughts to myself at the moment.
“Look, I know Andy too, and the dude was completely out of line, coming down on his sister like that,” I say.
I won’t be forgetting, no matter what anyone else does. I have my mind to speak.
Jasper shrugs. “Fine. Do what you want, man. I think we should let it go. Talking won’t mean a hill of beans for him. He’s a stubborn fucker.”
Leo gazes out the diner window. He hasn’t said much since we got Ava’s letter, which I think actually says a lot. He’s hurting like we all are, maybe even more so. He’s just not the kind of guy to talk about it. I know he’s been through some shit in his past. Hell, who hasn’t? But if he wants to be closed off about it all, that’s his choice.
I call Andy from the privacy of my office. I really should be doing this at home in case I lose my cool, but part of the reason for calling him from my office is that should I lose my cool, I can’t get too crazy at work.
“Andy, it’s Ethan.”
Silence.
“Dude, I really need to talk to you,” I say, wondering if he’s going to just hang up the phone.
But Andy’s not like that. He always has to have the last word, which means he’d never hang up without blowing his usual quantity of hot air.
“What do you want, Eth? Calling to say you knocked up my sister?”
The guy’s always been a bit of a dick, but I let it slide because he and Jasper were so close. Not sure I can let that happen anymore.
I take a deep breath. He’s not going to goad me with crude remarks about Ava. “Look, man, I’m not calling you to fight. I want to make things right between us.”
“Go on,” he says.
“I’m sorry you feel betrayed by me. I know the other guys feel the same, but they can have their own conversations with you. I’m calling for myself. And I want you to know I care about Ava. There’s nothing inappropriate about my liking her. She’s a great woman and… in spite of the email she wrote, which I know you saw, I’m hoping that at some point I can talk to her and see where things go.”
Andy inhales a deep breath. “Eth, how do you expect me to feel? My little sister is doing three guys. In what world is that okay?”
“Andy, look, I know it’s not your traditional kind of relationship, but we were making it work. At least I thought so. We had a great connection. She broke it off because she was scared. That’s what I think, anyway.”
“No. She broke it off because you’re not the kind of guy she goes for. Sorry to tell you this, Eth, but she’ll never go for you. She got her rocks off, and now she’s done. She’s set her sights higher, no offense. She’s on her way up in the world and won’t let a guy like you drag her back down.”
Whoa. I had no idea this guy thought so little of me.
I clench my fists in the hope that it will keep my voice—and my words—under control. “That’s pretty… heavy, Andy. Do you feel the same way about Jasper and Leo?”
He scoffs. “Hell, even more so about them. At least you make a decent living. You have more of a chance than the other broke bastards…”
I tune him out while he monologues about how he knows none of us guys are going anywhere in life and will never amount to much of anything while he, on the other hand, has some sort of Midas touch.
Delusions are what he has. Nothing more, and certainly no Midas touch.
What a crazy fucking dirtbag. I feel sorry for Ava, that she has to call this creep family.
I decide to end the call on a cordial note, even though I’d love to tell the guy how I really feel. “Well, Andy, I want to thank you for listening, and also for sharing your thoughts. It’s good to know you think so little of us guys. Just think, if this blow-up had never happened, we’d have no idea you thought we were such losers. So, I guess, in the end, this is a win-win.”
“Now, wait a minute, Ethan—” he says.
Is he going to backpedal? Why bother?
