Darkness at the Edge of Town (Iris Ballard #2)(31)
“I’m not…” Gia closed her eyes and sighed. “Look, all I ever knew about you was that your brother idolized you, then you fucked off and never looked back. That hurt him, okay? And he was proud of you, he was, but you being the fucking superstar made him feel like shit. Like he could never measure up. That’s all. And I’m sad and pissed and scared. And I’m just fucking exhausted after rehashing all this shit.”
“Then I’ll get out of your hair,” I said, rising from my chair. “I think we’ve covered everything. I just need Kevin’s number and I’m gone.” Gia got her phone and wrote down the number. “Thanks. And if you think of anything, anything useful, please call me.”
“Yeah. Okay.”
After she walked me to the door, I turned around and held out my hand for her to shake. “It was nice finally meeting you. I’m just sorry it happened under these circumstances.”
She stared down at my hand, but after a second she did shake it. “Me too.” I turned and walked down the wooden steps before she called, “Iris?” I spun around. “When you see Billy, tell him…” She swallowed. “Tell him…” She swallowed again and rolled her eyes. “Tell him he owes me two grand.” With that she retreated into her trailer, letting the door slam behind her.
Yeah, she still loved him. No doubt there. And despite the digs—hell, maybe because of them—I actually liked her. She was just sticking up for the man she loved. I respected that. Give me a strong ball-busting woman over a meek lady any day of the damn week. Billy needed someone like her. Someone to push him, challenge him, be strong when he couldn’t be. Hell, that’s what everyone needs in a partner.
I was the same with Hayden’s family. They were upper-crust Potomac types who expected perfection at all times. Their son was a doctor, but he slummed it in the ER when he should have been a neurosurgeon or even better, a lobbyist like his father and brother. The first time I met them I let the digs against me slide, but the moment they started in on Hayden, World War III began. I didn’t give two shits what they said about me, but they sure as hell weren’t going to disrespect the man I cared about. After I ripped into them and stormed out, Hayden came to me in tears. Not because of what I did, but because he was terrified they’d driven me away. No one had ever stuck up for him like that before. That was the night I realized I was really, truly in love with him. So I knew where Gia was coming from and didn’t fault her one bit. I just prayed their love story had a happier ending than mine did.
And I swore to whoever was listening that I’d do all in my power to make sure it would.
Chapter 7
The interview with Gia drained me almost as much as the fight with Merrill, and it wasn’t even noon when I pulled into the McDonald’s parking lot for my next interview. Kevin Perry seemed eager to speak with me when I called him but only had a half-hour lunch, so he suggested we meet at the McDonald’s across the street from the plastics plant. I ordered a coffee and found a booth to stew in.
That stuff about Billy’s anger and sadness toward me stung like a motherfucker to the point it was actually physically hurting me. I hadn’t a clue my own brother held such animosity and resentment toward me for leaving town. I always knew I would go to college. It happened sooner than usual, since I took the GED at sixteen, then started community college. I was living in a dorm at Penn State Altoona by seventeen and never lived in Grey Mills again. It wasn’t as if I’d never gone back full stop. I came home for Christmas if I wasn’t working, but I did work or attend school through summers and other holidays. I had a mission. A calling. My family knew that. And if Billy called or emailed, I always replied. If he’d ever asked for money—he never did—I would have given it. I just had a busy life. I barely had time for my husband and we lived in the same house, forget making time for someone in another state.
I understood the real reason for his anger. Deep down he wasn’t mad at me, he was mad at himself. He never had any drive. He was always a go-with-the-flow guy. He never planned for the future, never had any real goals or a mission. All he ever wanted was to be loved. He didn’t even have hobbies, beyond reading comic books and going to the movies. For a time he wanted to be a veterinarian, but like me he wasn’t great at science or math. I know he tried to enlist in the Air Force, but his heart condition stopped that notion. Since high school he’d always worked odd jobs, from janitor to retail to working the line at the plastics plant. But he always seemed content. I did push him to go to college or at least vocational school, but he never did. Could I have done more? Probably. But that went for him too.
As I sipped my coffee, I took the time to check my emails so I could stop obsessing about my brother. Most were from Miranda, with more press offers and reaction quotes to stories about my book deal. When I returned to my grandparents’ home I would have to write her back. No to all the press, even CBNN until I had a signed contract with them. I also planned to send Gia two grand so she wasn’t out on the street. Call me a hopeless romantic, but I thought that once I unwashed Billy’s brain he’d want to rekindle their love affair. I gave them fifty-fifty odds. Crazier things had happened in the love department. Where there was love there was hope.
While I contemplated how to get Gia to take the money without her pride getting in the way, my phone rang. My already emotionally overtaxed self almost choked on my coffee when I saw who was calling. I actually couldn’t answer for two rings because I couldn’t breathe from the choking. I was still coughing when I answered and said, “Hello? Luke?”