Here Comes Trouble (Nothing Special #3)(17)
“No,” Green growled back defiantly.
“Go.” Ruxs finally turned to look at his partner. A single tear fell from his cheek and he was so angry it did, he could barely get the word he needed to speak out of his mouth. He swallowed hard, and it finally escaped on a groan and a whisper, “Veto.”
Green’s eye’s softened and his shoulders slumped in defeat. He knew what that word meant. He had no choice. He had to go. His decision to stay had been officially forbidden.
All He Needs Is Me
Green climbed into his truck and slammed the door so hard he hoped he hadn’t caused any damage to it. He pounded the steering wheel with his fist. “Fuck! Fuck! You fuckin’ bitch!” he roared. Thank goodness his windows were up. Otherwise Ruxs may have heard him all the way inside the house. That witch better be glad he had a concrete no woman-beating rule because otherwise he would’ve choked the fuck out of her for hurting Ruxs like that.
Green had never seen someone so damn evil in all his life. Fuck those damn drugs. He’d been around drug addicts for far too long to believe that that was the sole cause of her hatred of her only son. No matter what Ruxs did, it was never good enough. He brought her food every damn month, since she used her county food stamps to buy drugs. He often had to pick up the slack to pay some of her bills. It seemed like something got cut off every three or four months and he had to stretch himself thin to help her. Ruxs cooked and cleaned. It was never e-fuckin-nough.
What was even more frustrating was he had no clue how to fix this for his friend. He’d never seen pain that deep. Damnit. Never seen him cry. Green held his hand to his chest. Oh god, that hurt him so deep. Ruxs meant so much to him, he was an integral part of his life. It was killing him to see him like that, to watch someone break down his beautiful spirit.
Green growled. He wanted to go back in there and curse her out like the malicious bitch she was. But he couldn’t. Ruxs used his veto power. It was something that they’d stumbled upon while goofing off. They were in his house playing pool and laughing like usual at one of their stupid stunts out in the streets. Green told him he should’ve overridden Ruxs’ decision. Called a veto, and maybe they wouldn’t have got in so much trouble. They’d laughed it off that night. But two weeks later Green had actually yelled that word –veto – when Ruxs was going to kill a drug dealer for raping a twelve-year-old girl as collection for a debt. To his astonishment, Ruxs had lowered his weapon and walked away. That was four years ago. Now veto power was something they both had and could use on the other. But it was only used in complete seriousness.
Green sat up taller when he saw Ruxs open the front door and his mom standing behind him. Her mouth was twisted as she yelled at her son’s back. Ruxs stepped out onto the porch and turned like he was going to say something in response but she immediately slammed the door in his face.
Green gritted his teeth and twisted the leather of his steering wheel beneath his hands. Ruxs’ head was low as he made his way back to the truck. It was too dark to see his eyes, but he knew the usually beautiful green orbs were now a dull, dead-grass green.
Ruxs smelled like bleach. His shirt was completely ruined from the chemical’s stains. His favorite shirt. “Can you take me to my apartment please?” Ruxs’ voice was a pained drawl.
He knew it. Green got back on the interstate. “Hey. I’m making food for Curtis, remember. I know you don’t want to miss that.” Green smiled. Ruxs didn’t need him looking at him with sorrow. He was sure his partner was feeling sorry enough for himself.
“Yeah, uh. Just tell Curtis that something came up and I had some business to handle.” Ruxs countered, still staring out the window.
Green kept thinking. There was no damn way he was letting Ruxs out of his sight tonight. “You’re not going to help him with that honors math test he has tomorrow? Remember he asked you about it earlier this week? You can help him while I cook. You know I can’t understand that calculus with trig math. He’d fail for sure. You’re the math genius.”
Green thought he’d seen a quirk of his friend’s mouth because of the compliment but he wasn’t sure. “After you guys are done and Curtis leaves; I’ll take you home after that, okay.” Green was already taking the off-ramp to his place before Ruxs could try to argue it. He bought himself a little time before he had to come up with his next stall tactic.
“Man. Don’t those rolls smell good, Ruxs?” Curtis grinned, craning his head to watch Green in the kitchen.
“Yeah, they sure do. Concentrate, buddy. We’re almost done.” Ruxs finished writing out another practice problem for Curtis and turned the paper around for him to complete it. Ruxs took another swig of his beer while watching Curtis work the complex problem. Damn, the boy was so smart it never ceased to amaze him. He was in all honors classes. He rarely needed help with the others, but Pre-Calculus with Trigonometry was a pain in the ass. Newton probably needed tutoring with that class. Ruxs didn’t ever mind helping Curtis. He was a math major in college. He’d had plenty of practice.
Green came over and set a small plate of salami, olive and Colby cheese rolls in front of him. It was Ruxs’ favorite appetizer. He mustered a little smile for his friend. He was trying. Curtis reached over and tried to grab one but Ruxs tapped his knuckle with his pencil. “Ah, ah, ah.” He tsked teasingly. “Finish the problem first.”