Can't Let You Go: A Wheeler Brothers Novel

by Allie Everhart

  I take off before she yells at me again. Then I hide in the kitchen until her burger is ready. As I'm taking it out to her, Bryce walks in, all cleaned up from work, in a pair of dark jeans, a black t-shirt, and his black leather jacket, that swirl of black ink snaking up his neck. God, he's hot. Images of him touching me last night flash in my head, but I quickly shake them away.

  "Bryce." I go up to him. "Thanks for coming."

  "No problem." He glances at my mom. "Is she ready to go?"

  "Yeah, but um..." I look down at her cheeseburger. "I guess she could take this to go." I go over to her. "Mom, I'm just going to box this up. You can eat it when you get home."

  "Better than staying in this shithole," she says as she gets up. "I don't know why anyone would eat here."

  I panic, looking around to make sure Jerry didn't hear that.

  Bryce puts his hand on my arm and leans down to talk in my ear. "I'll take her outside to my truck. I'll come back and get the food."

  I nod and race back to the kitchen to box up her order. Of course she didn't offer to pay for it. It'll have to come out of my check. When I get back to the dining room, Bryce is waiting at the counter.

  "Thank you so much for doing this." I hand him the box. "You saved my job. I'm sorry you're missing Austin's concert."

  "I might still head over there after I drop off your mom. You want me to come get you?"

  "No. Tonight has really sucked and I just want to go home."

  "Okay." He motions to the parking lot. "I better get out there before she steals my truck." He smiles, but it's not really a joke. My mom would totally steal his truck if she thought she could get away with it.

  What am I going to do with her? Just when I tell myself I'm done dealing with my mom and all her problems, she sucks me back in. And once again, Bryce is here to save the day. Like he's done for years. He's had to put up with my mom for almost as long as I have, and I'm sure he's tired of it. And yet he keeps helping me with her.

  That's another reason I should leave Chicago. So that Bryce can finally be free of her. If I leave, he won't have to deal with her anymore. He's made it clear there's no future with us, so maybe it's time to go.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Bryce

  "My knight in shining armor," Rita says, laughing as she opens the take-out container. "You're such a good boy. Your daddy taught you well." She stuffs some fries in her mouth as I pull out onto the street.

  She's not drunk. It was all an act, but I'm not sure why she did it. And asking her will just start a fight, which I don't want to do, especially since I have to survive a half hour ride in this truck with her. Why was she so far from home? She could've gone drinking at any one of the bars just down the street from her house, but she ends up in the part of town where Jen works? That seems suspicious.

  "How is Mitch, anyway?" she asks. "Haven't talked to him forever."

  "He's fine." I keep my eyes on the road as we stop at an intersection.

  "Are you and my girl going out tonight?"

  "No."

  From the side of my eye I see Rita eating her cheeseburger. She didn't even ask if she could eat in my truck. She's so damn rude. It's not that I care that she does it, but she could at least ask, especially since it's a new truck. Maybe I didn't want it stinking like burgers and fries.

  "You said she stayed with you last night," she says, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "So you'll have sex with her, but not take her on a date? Sounds like the guys I go out with. I thought you were better than that."

  "We didn't—" I stop, because it's none of her business what Jen and I do. "Let's just not talk, okay?"

  "I need a drink," she says. "Pull over somewhere and get me a Coke."

  "I'm not stopping. You can get a drink when you get home."

  "How do you expect me to eat this without a drink?"

  I take a breath. "Just put it away and eat it when you get home."

  "Then it'll be cold." She huffs as she snaps the container shut. "It was shit anyway. The burger was too greasy." She puts the container on the floor by her feet, then reaches in her coat and pulls out a pack of cigarettes.

  I snatch them from her. "You're not fucking smoking in my truck."

  "Give them back." She reaches for them.

  "I will when we get to your house." I hide the cigarettes in my pocket, then turn the radio way up to drown out any more sounds from Rita.

  "It's too loud!" she yells, turning the dial down.

  I turn the music up using the controls on the steering wheel, then glance over at her and smile.

  She crosses her arms and pouts like a spoiled kid. I swear, this is going to be the longest half hour of my life.

  When we finally reach her house, I walk her to the door, carrying her box of food.

  "Can you put it in the kitchen?" She points to the box. At least she asked, instead of ordering me to do it. I bring it in there as she takes off her coat. As I'm walking back to the door, I almost trip on a rug she has jutting out of the hallway.

  She laughs. "I did the same thing. Damn rug. I tripped on it this afternoon. Slammed right into the wall." She touches her cheek.

  "Wait." I walk up to her and get a closer look at her face. "So that bruise is because you tripped?"

  "No!" She immediately drops her hand from her cheek. "I told you, it was from a guy at a bar."

  "What guy?" I cross my arms over my chest. "What was his name?"

  "Terry—I mean Steve."

  "Which was it? Terry or Steve?"

  "Steve." She goes around me. "Now get out of here."

  I follow her to the kitchen. "You made that whole thing up. There was no guy. Nobody hit you. And you're not drunk. You weren't even at a bar, were you?"

  She ignores me and opens the fridge and takes out a can of pop.

  "Why were you way across town? Seems like an odd coincidence that you ended up so close to Jen's work."

  Rita cracks open her can of pop and sits at the kitchen table in front of her cold cheeseburger. She goes to open the container but I snatch it away.

  "Why'd you do it?"

  "Do what? I didn't do anything." She takes a swig of her pop.

  "Why'd you show up at Jen's work pretending to be drunk and making up some story about some guy hitting you?"

  "I don't know what you're talking about." She holds her hand out. "Give me my cigarettes back."

  "Not until you tell me why you did it."

  "Give them back," she orders. When I don't, she reaches for my coat but I step back before she can touch it.

  "Why did you do it?" I glare at her. "Tell me, or you're not getting your cigarettes."

  She smiles and leans back in her chair. "Jen's a sweet girl. Too sweet for her own good. I blame your parents for that. Taking her away from me for all those years."

  "They didn't take her away from you. You weren't around. Someone had to take care of her."

  "The point is, I'm not losing my sweet little Jenny. She's good to her mama, and I need her. And if she knows I need her, she won't leave."

  "Are you serious? You think showing up at her work and making a scene will make her want to stay here?"

  "You should've seen her face when she saw my bruise." She frowns. "She almost cried. She loves her mama. She won't leave me, knowing what a mess I am."

  "You ARE a mess, and a con artist, and a liar, and a thief, but that's not going to make Jen stick around. She's had it with you. She's tired of taking care of you and paying all your bills. I'm telling Jen how you faked this whole thing, and after I do, you'll be lucky if she even speaks to you."

  "She won't speak to you either after I tell her what you did."

  I can hear Nash in my head, warning me not to let Rita blackmail me again.

  "Go ahead and tell her," I say.

  "Aww." She pouts. "Do you really want to ruin her spring break with this? She's been looking forward to this for months. And now she'll have to spend all week crying over the fact that you had sex wit
h another girl after kissing her the night before."

  Would Jen really be that upset over this? It was years ago. But I'm going to have to tell her. Otherwise, this will never end. Rita will keep holding this over me, using it to make me do whatever she says. But what if I waited? I could tell Jen after this week is over. She doesn't need to know right this minute.

  "Fine," I say to Rita. "You win. I won't tell her." I take the pack of cigarettes from my pocket and slam them down in front of her. "But don't be pulling any more shit like you did tonight or I WILL tell her what you did."

  As I'm walking to the door, I hear Rita say, "When mama bear gets angry, she attacks. Remember that, Bryce."

  I go out the door and slam it shut. The woman is crazy. Deranged. Evil. I don't know how someone as sweet as Jen even came out of a woman that evil.

  As I'm driving to the bar where Austin is playing, I call Jen.

  "Hey, are you still at work?"

  "Yeah, I'm just cleaning up. Did my mom get home okay?"

  "Yeah." I'm tempted to say more but I don't.

  "Thanks again for doing that."

  "So you want to go out? I can swing by your apartment and pick you up."

  "No. I'm just going to go to bed. Are you working tomorrow?"

  "Yeah, we should be finished up around five or six. There's no Sunday dinner tomorrow. Did my dad call and tell you?"

  "He sent me a text."

  Every other Sunday, we have family dinner, and since Jen is considered part of my family, she always goes. Callie and my dad do the cooking, Ivy and Jen set everything up, and then after we eat, my brothers and I are in charge of cleanup. We were supposed to have dinner this Sunday, but my dad postponed it so we could finish the kitchen remodel.

  "Your dad said you have relatives in town," Jen says.

  "Yeah, my aunt and cousins are coming for spring break. They were supposed to get here Monday, but they're coming tomorrow because they were worried about the storm."

  "Are you going to hang out with your cousins?"

  "Three teenage girls?" I chuckle. "No, probably not. But I'm sure we'll have dinner some night."

  "I have to finish cleaning tables before Jerry yells at me. I'll talk to you later."

  "Yeah. Bye."

  I'm disappointed she's not coming tonight. I really wanted to see her.

  When I get to the bar, the band is taking a break. Austin's up on stage, surrounded by girls. Being in a band and keeping his body ripped, he gets a lot of girls. Problem is, my dad bans him from bringing his groupies back to the house, so he either has to go to the girl's apartment or tell her he's not interested. That's what he usually does. He's not really into one-night stands. He's done it a couple times and didn't feel right about it. I don't either, which is why I don't do it anymore.

  "What took you so long?" Nash says as I take a seat at their table. Callie's next to him and Jake and Ivy are across from them.

  "Take a guess." I grab a glass and pour myself some beer from the pitcher on the table.

  "Rita." Jake says, scooping up some peanuts from the bowl and popping them in his mouth. "What'd she do now?"

  "Showed up at Jen's work, drunk and claiming some guy hit her."

  "What do you mean 'claiming'?" Nash asks. "She made it up?"

  I shrug. "Who knows? It's Rita. You know how much she lies." I decide not to tell them about Rita's latest scheme. I'd trust my brothers to keep a secret, but not Callie. She'd run and tell Jen and I don't want Jen to know yet. The girl deserves a week off from her mom's drama. She deserves more than a week, but that won't happen unless she moves.

  "Why would she lie about that?" Ivy asks.

  "To make Jen feel sorry for her," Jake says, putting his arm up along the back of Ivy's chair. "Rita does shit like that all the time." He looks at me. "So what'd you have to do?"

  "Pick her up at the restaurant and take her home. Half hour there and back. That's why I'm late. What time does the band start up again?"

  "Five or ten minutes," Nash says.

  Austin makes his way over to us with two girls following behind. He gives us a look that says he wishes they'd go away, but it's clear they're not going anywhere.

  "You made it," he says to me.

  "Yeah. Sorry I was late."

  "No problem. Is Jen coming?"

  "No. She had to work."

  "You guys sounded great," Callie says to Austin.

  "Awesome job." Nash fist bumps him. "I like the new songs."

  "Oh yeah?" He smiles. "I helped write that last one."

  "Austin." Jake nods at the girls behind him. "I think they're waiting for something."

  One of the girls is holding up a marker.

  Austin turns back to them and the girl with the marker says, "Could you sign me?"

  "Sure." He takes the marker and she shoves her shirt down, exposing her bra.

  "Right there," she says, pointing to the part of her breast that's exposed.

  He signs it, and then the other girl lifts her shirt and points to her tan, flat stomach. "Me too. Right here." She points to the area next to her navel ring.

  He signs her stomach, then hands her the marker.

  "Can we get a photo?" the girl asks. He poses for a photo, then they finally leave.

  Jake chuckles. "I'm pretty sure you could've taken them both home tonight."

  "Yeah, Dad would love that." Austin flips one of the chairs around and sits down.

  Jake pours himself some more beer. "It's time for you to get your own place."

  "I'm never home. Why pay rent if I'm never there?"

  Jake, Nash, and I all give him a look.

  "Yeah. Girls. I got it." He motions to the ones who just left. "But as you can see, I can get girls without having my own apartment."

  "Maybe," Jake says, "but you're not going to get a girlfriend. No girl wants to date a guy who still lives with his dad."

  There's a noise from the mic and Austin turns back and sees his bandmates have returned from their break.

  He gets up. "I gotta go. See you guys later."

  The band starts up again, and although I'm listening to the music, my mind is also on Jen. I know she's upset right now because of what her mom did. I feel like I should go over there, but then later, after I leave the bar, I decide not to, and head home instead.

  I'm back at my apartment around midnight, but can't sleep so I watch some TV. Around one-thirty, I finally go to bed. Just as I'm drifting off to sleep, my phone rings. Nobody calls this late except Jen or my brothers, and they only call if it's an emergency. I yank my phone off the nightstand and see that it's Jen.

  "What's wrong?" I answer, my heart pounding.

  "I'm sorry to call so late but there's something wrong with the heat in my apartment. I have it turned all the way up and it's still freezing in here. There's no warm air coming out of the vents. I left a message for my landlord but he won't get it until morning."

  "I'll come get you." I flip on the light and get out of bed and go to the closet to get my jeans. "You can stay here tonight."

  "Thanks, but you don't have to pick me up. I'll just drive over there. Are you sure it's okay?"

  "Yeah, of course."

  "Then I'll see you soon." She hangs up, then calls back a few minutes later. "This night just keeps getting worse."

  "Why? What happened?"

  "My car won't start. I think I have a dead battery."

  "I'll be right over."

  "I'm really sorry about this. If it wasn't so cold I would just—"

  "Jen, don't worry about it. I'm getting dressed. I'll leave in a minute."

  "Okay, thanks."

  We hang up and I throw on a thermal shirt and a sweatshirt because it feels like the middle of winter outside. Even I was cold when I was out earlier, which means it's pretty damn cold. There's no way Jen can stay at her apartment if her heat isn't working. Before I leave, I turn the heat way up so it'll be nice and warm when she gets here.

  When I get to her apartme
nt building, it feels just as cold inside as it does outside. The heat for the whole building must be broken. I go upstairs to Jen's apartment and see a piece of paper taped to her door but the hallway's too dark to read it.

  "Jen." I knock a few times. "It's me."

  The door swings open and she's standing there, shivering, bundled up in my coat. It's so huge on her I can't even see her hands.

  She looks down at it and says, "I forget to tell you I borrowed your coat."

  "I see that." I chuckle. "It's a little big on you."

  "Yeah, but it's keeping me warm. Come in."

  I go inside and feel the frigid air. "It's so cold in here I can see my breath."

  "I know." She's moving side to side to keep warm.

  "This was on your door." I hand her the piece of paper.

  As she reads it, her shoulders sink. "It's from the building manager. The heat is out for the whole building. They don't know when it'll be fixed, but they say it could be up to a week." She sighs. "Now I'm going to have to go stay with my mom."

  I'd offer to have her stay with me if it was just for a day, but a whole week? Alone with her in my apartment? I have a feeling that would lead to us doing things that would go miles past the friendship line. The other night nearly killed me. Trying not to touch her while lying next to her in bed? And now I have to do it again. I don't have that kind of self control, at least not enough for a whole week with her.

  "Let's get out of here," I say. "Did you pack a bag?"

  "No. I thought they'd have the heat fixed by tomorrow."

  "We'll just come back later and get your stuff. I need to get you out of here and warmed up. It's really freaking cold in here."

  "I know. I was in bed with all my blankets on me and I was still freezing."

  I open the door for her.

  "Wait, let me grab a coat so you can have yours back." She goes to the closet and gets her coat, then hurries back to me. "Okay." She smiles at me, her cheeks pink from the cold, wearing my huge coat. She looks so damn sweet and cute that I just want to scoop her up in my arms and kiss her.

  "You ready?" she asks, still smiling. I don't know how it's possible she could still smile after everything she's been through tonight. But she's always been that way. Always smiling, trying to stay positive.