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“Hey, I didn’t call the cops. I was just trying to have fun, and I couldn’t let some caveman get away with the crap he was saying. Especially to Ellie.” He scowled, his eyes flashing.
I almost stopped the car right there on the bridge to chuck him into the water. Ellie was his longtime friend, and I understood the need to stick up for her, but Ellie wasn’t a pushover. She could handle herself. Ty, however, was the one who needed the help, it seemed. “You don’t get it. This is my career. It’s also your future. You need to start up classes again at the college and start getting your life on track. I hate seeing you waste your potential.”
His body stiffened. His head jerked toward me. “You don’t get to lecture me about my potential. You can’t tell me what to do, Atlas. You’re not my damn father.”
My muscles froze as my jaw ticced. Words got lost and tangled in the thoughts and frustrations buzzing around in my mind.
No, I was not his father, and I was glad for it. But who else did he have? We only had each other and that was it.
Eventually, the tension eased from my muscles, replaced by exhausted defeat. “At least...at least tell me you’re not into drugs,” I asked, almost whispering the word that still sent chills through my blood.
Ty looked away, back out the window, but the sparkling water wasn’t there anymore. It was behind us now as we made it to the other end of the bridge.
“I’m not our mama,” he breathed.
My heart clenched, but I was relieved. I didn’t want to think Ty would fall into that trap, but he liked to party and drink. It was only the logical trajectory of his actions. This was a small town, but it wasn’t spared the stain of a drug market. No town was, I supposed.
My chin dipped in acknowledgment of his words, but I didn’t say anything. We were almost home, climbing the inclined roads up to the bluff.
Ty let out a long sigh, his body sagging with it. “Look, man, I’m sorry, okay? I really didn’t go out looking for a fight. It just happened. You can’t always control things, Atty.” His gaze flicked to me. “I’ll do better. But you—you just really need to get laid or something. You’re always so tense. What happened to that chick from work I set you up with a few weeks ago? She’s hot.”
I scowled. I did not need to do anything, or anyone. Ty saw enough girls for the both of us.
“Liv?” I pursed my lips. Liv had been...nice. She was pretty and fun, and we’d had a good time the few weeks we’d gone out. But she’d seemed much more interested in me than I had been in her. She wanted to get serious, and the more she pushed, the further away I wanted to be. I hadn’t seen her in a while. “It didn’t work out.”
“Well, there’s plenty more out there, brother. Want me to set you up again?”
I cut him a glare. “No.”
Ty put his hands up in surrender as I pulled into our driveway. “Fine, fine. Just think about it. You deserve to have a good time every once in a while. I think a woman would be good for you.”
He winked as I parked, and then jumped out.
I cut off the engine, watching as Ty jogged up to the front door and let himself inside.
I shook my head. A headache had started to pound in my temples.
No, I didn’t deserve fun. I could barely keep my brother out of jail. A woman could lead to marriage, which led to families, and I could barely take care of what little family I had left.
There’d be no women in my life anytime soon. I could be the uptight big brother if it kept Ty from screwing up his life before it ever really started.
