Chapter 20

Mike

With a gulp of some Pabst Blue, I return to the front door and see Dorian eyeing Elena in my t-shirt and sweatpants which she’s practically swimming in.

            He looks confused as his brows knit together. “Are you two back together?”

            “Yes,” I say at the same exact time that Elena says “No.” Our sights snap to each other. She gives me dagger eyes as I smile innocently at her.

            “Oh… okay.” Dylan fidgets on my front porch uncomfortably and gazes after my girl with those dark eyes. “Again, I am so sorry for what-“

            She puts her hand up. “It’s okay, Declan. You didn’t know…”

            Elena looks just as nervous as she looks between me and the intruder. “I should go,” she says as she pushes her way through the door for her car.

            I glare at my pathetic cousin as Elena escapes the driveway. This will be the last time she escapes, I promise myself. “What the hell do you want?” I annoyingly ask the fidgeter.

            A beat passes as the kid takes a breath. “I need a place to stay-“

            “No.” I kick the door with my foot to shut him out, but the door stops short. I look down and see that he stopped it with his hand.

            “Please. I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

            “What about that big ass mansion?” I turn on my heel to show him my back as I mosey into the living room. There’s a shuffling noise and a click of the door.

            He’s inside.

            Dammit. I take a seat on my sofa.

            “I can’t stay in that house knowing what my father did. He makes me sick.” The boy drops his duffle bag and plops on my leather Barcalounger.

            A sip of my beer later, I roll my eyes and ask, “How did you find out?” Curse my curious nature.

            He sighs and runs a hand through his dark as night hair. “My dad may be a psycho mob king, but he still holds Sunday dinner traditions with his family.” He winces. “I brought Elena to my house and got her set up in her own room. I was going to let her rest for a bit and make her dinner. When I had the trey in my hands and knocked on the door there was no answer. It was then that I realized she was missing. I looked everywhere for her. I called her over and over again. I even tried to call her dad… nothing.”

            The boy who somehow shares my DNA rubs his hands on his thighs. “I called Dad and he downplayed the whole thing. He didn’t seem worried at all that a girl, my friend, just disappeared. It didn’t sit well with me.” He leans back in the chair a bit. “So, I started to investigate. I’ve heard rumors around town about my dad. I’m not surprised about what he could be capable of… During those Sunday dinners, I tried to come across as if I really wanted to be a part of the family business – I think I may have finally fooled him.”

            “Ha.” I kick my feet up on the coffee table. “You didn’t fool him.”

            His brows rise. “Oh yeah? I made him think that I was going to come try and live with you so I could keep an eye on you. To make sure you do what you’re told and that you aren’t conspiring against him.” The boy folds his arms across his chest like he just checkmated me.

            I quirk a brow. “How do I know that you aren’t doing exactly that?”

            He shifts in his chair to rest an elbow on his knee. “What do you mean?”

            I lean forward as well; the whiff of his too expensive cologne burns my nose. “How do I know you aren’t working for him?”

            His head snaps back as his nose scrunches. “The man makes me sick! I can’t stand him. I’m not about to let him get away with all he’s done either. I need to trick him and staying here with you can help me do that.”

            I’ve been hearing a version of that a lot lately…

            “Yeah. I don’t think so.”

            “You’re really going to kick out your own cousin?” He seems surprised.

            “Damn right. Get out.” I point to the door.

            “I know you killed my brother.”

            Well damn. I groan and set my head against the back of the couch. “You’re really gonna play that card?”

            “Dad told me what you did. How proud he is of you. I thought he loved Isaac, but apparently, he was impressed by you. How messed up is that?”

            Lifting my head, I tell him, “Your father is a complicated man, but I have no doubt that he actually cared for your shitfaced brother.”

            He leans back in the chair. “He was all out of sorts when he was missing, but something changed in him after he found the body. Almost like he’s… I don’t know. Like the last branch of humanity in him snapped or something.”

            With a sigh I figure that maybe he can stay here. After all, I know what it’s like to live with a crazy and unstable father figure.

            Crap. I’ve gone soft. When did that happen? Before I know it, I’ll probably start picking stray dogs up from the streets.

            I look at Dylan sitting in my chair with his face in his hands looking all sad and hopeless. It could all be an act. He could really be working for Randall, but then again, so am I…to an extent.

            Maybe he really is in trouble and doesn’t want to be with his dad. This could all be legit; he could be telling me the truth.

            His hands drop from his face and he looks me in the eyes. “Please, Mike. I have nowhere else to go. There’s no one else that I trust.

            There’s a glistening of sweat on his forehead and a glimmer of hope in his dark eyes.

            s**t. He is telling the truth. But why on God’s green earth would he trust me? I killed his brother without batting an eyelash.

            “Why do you trust me? I have given you no reason to trust me.”

            He looks to the coffee table then back at me. “You and Elena are the only ones who’ve never once lied to me.”

            I scrub my face with my hands and groan. “Fine.” Doesn’t mean I have to be nice to the kid. “You can stay here. But there are some rules.”

**Whew! Got the third chapter out. Thank you so much for reading! In case, you haven't seen the posting yet, Crossroads will be taken down temporarily for a competition I'm entering on Wattpad.com. In order to enter the contest, the story has to be exclusively on their site in order to enter it Sept 30th to the end of Dec. I apologize for any inconvenience, but Road Chosen will still be updated on here. 

I hope ya'll are liking the second part in the series so far. I'm trying to bring things together and hopefully it will be just as good or even better than the first book. 

I love seeing all the comments - it helps to keep me going :) Just remember that constructive criticism is encouraged. We all want our stories to be great and I love hearing what I could do to make the story even better.

Thank you!**