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Remy grunted and then growled when a clump of dirt hit him square in the chest. “Just can’t help being a brat, can you?”
Memphis smiled brightly. “Nope.”
39.
***Memphis***
“Ilearnedallaboutplants and flowers from a neighbor back home. Ms. Moore. She’s gone now, but when I was young, she’d let me come over and take care of her garden. I’d make a few dollars and she’d have some company every day.” I wiped my hands on Remy’s pants, the way I’d been doing since he sat down next to me. For some reason, it made me feel special.
“What’d a silver spoon kid need with a few dollars?” Boone held a bulb up the wrong way and I flipped it in his big hand.
When I realized what he’d said, and what I’d said, a wave of panic crested over my head. I stammered as I tried to explain myself. “O-oh, my parents thought I needed to learn the value of a dollar. The hard way. They thought they were raising the next CFO of the company, I’m sure. They could spend ten thousand dollars on a dress for my first dance, but I needed to suffer before I learned to spend that way. I guess it worked.”
“There’s valuing a dollar and there’s being a miser, Memphis.” Boone leaned back on his elbows in the grass and watched me. “It’s easier to picture you playing in the garden as a kid than it is to imagine you doing all the bullshit we had to do. The cotillions. Oh, God, the cotillions. Etiquette classes for days, so many rules, and then there was school. If each grade wasn’t somehow better than the last, it was a failure.”
I curled my legs under me as I faced them, forgetting my plants. “That sounds horrible.”
Remy barked out a humorless laugh. “That’s one way to put it. Don sent us to this designer boarding school right after Mom died. She’d only been dead for a few weeks when we found ourselves the odd men out at this school full of rich assholes who’d never been taught to be human.”
“Oh, that’s awful!” I pressed myself into his knees and looked at the three of them with a gentler gaze. “What was life like before that?”
They all sat in silence, seemingly lost in thought. I waited patiently until Boone spoke up. “I was three years younger, so I didn’t get as much time with her. I remember things being easier, though. She played with us a lot. I don’t remember ever being bored.”
Remy nodded. “She didn’t want us to be like the kids at that boarding school. She made us do chores and we didn’t get everything we wanted. We had dinner together every night and talked to each other. It was almost a normal life, just spent in this massive house.”
“She spent her free time out here, planting flowers and trees.” Wells stretched his legs out in front of him and got in a more comfortable position. “I was nine when she died. Remy was ten and Boone was seven. It would’ve been world-altering enough, but Don was so angry that he wanted us to hurt like he did. He sent us away after making sure to tell us that Mom had been on her way to meet her lover when she crashed and died. He let us know that we’d been abandoned and was sure to blame us for it all.”
My body shook with anger at what they’d been put through. “What a bunch of horseshit. She tried to abandonhim, maybe, but she clearly loved you three so much more than that. It would’ve been so easy for her to give into the lifestyle of nannies and hands-off parenting, but you’re telling me she wasn’t willing to let you three become three more rich dickheads in the world. She wanted more for you and that’s enough for me to know that she was a great woman. I would’ve loved her, I’m sure.”
Boone tilted his head and looked up at the sky. “It’s complicated.”
I didn’t push the subject. “So, boarding school was bad?”
“Yeah. Wells and I were in the same class and we were together to fight for each other. Boone was alone.” Remy nodded to his brother and I thought I saw a flicker of emotion in his eyes. “He was seven, showing up with bloody noses and black eyes. The teachers wouldn’t do anything about it and the headmaster was this prick of a man in a senator’s pocket. The senator’s kid was the meanest kid of all. He’s a senator himself now.”
“Did you kick his ass?” I went up on my knees, so furious for their little selves. “I hope you stomped him into a mud hole. What a bunch of idiots. Do you know where they are now?”
Boone laughed, the sound welcome after hearing his sadness over his mom. “We’ve come across a few of them. It’s always sweet to turn them away.”
“And we did kick the shit out of that kid Taylor Clark. He was a year older than us and we caught him cornering Boone in the bathroom after lunch. Remy had him on the ground before he knew what was happening and he ended up calling for his mommy like a little bitch while we made sure he knew to leave the Hawke brothers alone.” When Wells’ smile faded, I knew I wouldn’t like what came next. “We got in trouble for that one.”
“Well, that’s bullshit!” I pressed myself into Boone’s chest, settling between his legs. “I bet you were so precious as a kid, too.”
He wrapped his arms around my waist and held me. “I had a bowl cut and two missing front teeth.”
“Even cuter than today then.” I smiled up at him and held my breath as he lowered his mouth. Just when I thought he might kiss me, he pulled away and sent me a challenging look. “Hey. What’s that for?”
He grunted. “Avoiding me.”
I looked down at the grass next to his knee and plucked at a piece. “Tell me more about the people from this boarding school. I’d love to find them and teach them a thing or two about being bullies.”
“Smooth subject change. I don’t think anyone even noticed.” Wells flashed a wide smile at me and stretched his foot forward to gently nudge mine. “Why don’t you tell us about your childhood? It has to be nicer to hear about than this shit.”
I swallowed around a lump in my throat. They were telling me their private and personal stories and I couldn’t share much of my life without being exposed. I didn’t want to lie to them. I hated it. For a moment, I thought about calling the whole thing off and exposing myself, but imagining the looks on their faces as they realized what a loser I was wouldn’t let me do it.
“Memphis?” Boone gently squeezed me to get my attention. “You okay?”
I cleared my throat and forced a smile. “Yeah, sorry. I just zoned out for a second. Um. My childhood. It was fine. Yeah, you know? Nothing to mention.”
