Angel of Redemption (8 page)

“
Fuck you. Doesn
’
t matter. She
’
s
the social worker for two of our residents. How would that look to the board?
”

“
Legally, there
’
s nothing wrong with it. Interagency dating happens all the
time.
”

He
’
s right, but I
’
m
not going to admit that.
“
Regardless, she has a say in whether
those boys stay here or not. We get paid to have them here. Conflict of
interest.
”

“
Whatever. You always find a fucking
excuse, don
’
t
you?
”

“
Leave it alone, Aiden.
”
I walk away, pretending I don
’
t hear his grumbling.

* * *

“
Thank
you, Mr. Wyatt,
”
Kayla says, popping her head into the
kitchen about half an hour later. I turn to face her as she walks into the
room. She looks around in awe. I have to admit, it is an amazing gourmet
kitchen. Another of my mother
’
s designs.

I
think about how my brother called me abrasive. Maybe I could try being a little
less of a dick.

“
No problem,
”
I answer.
“
Can you do me a favor, though?
”

“
Um, sure,
”
she answers, tilting her head.

“
My name
’
s
Dean. I can
’
t
stand being called Mr. Wyatt.
”

“
Oh. Okay,
”
she says, looking slightly conflicted.

“
Yeah.
”
I shift my weight, feeling like a complete dipshit.
“
Uh, I
’
d also like to apologize.
”

“
For what?
”

“
I was
…
abrupt
last night.
”
I can see from her expression she
’
s expecting more. The words
“
I
’
m sorry
”
don
’
t
exactly roll off my tongue easily. I
’
m
always an asshole to new people. Normally, I don
’
t
care what they think, but, for whatever reason, this time I do. I take a deep
breath through my nose, swallowing my pride.
“
I
’
m sorry.
”

“
It
’
s fine, Dean,
”
she sighs with a wave of her hand.
“
I just want Logan and Matty to be happy here
—
to be stable. We
’
re going to have to work together in order for that to
happen because Logan will challenge you.
”

I nod in understanding.

“No, you don’t get it,” she laughs humorlessly. “Once
he gets settled, he will do everything he can to get under your skin. That’s
how he works. He doesn’t trust people, so he’d rather push them away before
they can hurt him.”

I understand him better than she could possibly
know. The thought puts me back on edge.

“
I
’
ve done this before, Kayla. I know what I
’
m doing, but thanks.
”
I can hear the agitation in my voice and know she can, too.
She looks disappointed, but I can
’
t
bring myself to backpedal.

“
I’ll check in on them next week,
assuming there aren’t any problems before that,” she huffs. She turns around
and walks away, the objects of my fucked-up fantasies clicking against the
floor. I scrub my hands over my face. In the span of two minutes I’ve gone from
apologizing to screwing up all over again. I cannot let this woman get to me.
She wouldn’t understand—wouldn’t accept me. And she shouldn’t. I’m fucked
up. I have too many demons. They would destroy her. No matter how tempted I am,
I absolutely cannot let Kayla Brooks into my life.

Kayla

Storming out of Wyatt House, I stop on the porch and breath
in the crisp, cold winter evening.

The door opens behind me and I glance back,
pulling my coat closed. Aiden walks out, pulling on a hat.

“
Hey.
”

“
Hi. Uh, sorry, I
’
ll get off your porch,
”
I say, forcing myself to smile.

“
Don
’
t worry about it. I saw you out here
and was hoping I
’
d
catch you. I just wanted to apologize.
”

“
For what?
”

“
I know my brother can be tough to deal
with sometimes.
”

“
Oh,
”
I chuckle lightly.
“
Well,
that
’
s
his problem, not yours. It
’
s okay.
”

“
No, it
’
s not. He
’
s not a bad guy, Kayla. He
’
s used to being defensive, so that
’
s his first instinct. He
’
s good with the kids, though. He has
an insight that most of us don
’
t. I don
’
t want you to worry about Matty and Logan.
”

I
smile, and this time it
’
s genuine.
“
I
’
ll do that no matter where they are.
”

“
Yeah, well, you know what I mean.
”

I
nod.
“
Thanks, Aiden. I really appreciate it.
Are you leaving?
”

“
Just for a minute,
”
he says, shaking his head.
“
I
have to go get a few things at the grocery. I caught a nasty bug from my kids a
few days ago and was out sick. Dean
’
s
been covering for me, but that means he
’
s
been on for a week straight. I
’
m here all weekend. If you have any questions, you can
always call me. Or if there
’
s a problem, I
’
ll let you know.
”

“
No offense, but I really hope I don
’
t hear from you,
”
I say, laughing.
“
I
’
ll see you later.
”

Aiden
winks.
“
See ya.
”

I
step off the porch and climb into my car.

* * *

My mom and stepdad, Richard, live in a three-bedroom,
high-rise penthouse in the heart of Minneapolis. Richard is a cardiothoracic
surgeon, and my mom
’
s a surgical nurse. I lived with them for awhile when I was
a kid, but it didn
’
t work out so well. Richard
’
s never liked me. I was an unwelcome
part of the package when he married my mother.

My
parents divorced when I was ten after my mom found out she was pregnant. The
baby was not my dad
’
s. A few months later our house was sold, and my mom and I
moved in with Richard, who she
’
d been having an affair with for over a year. I was
confused and sad
—
and then I was angry.

I
felt left out most of the time. I watched as my perfect baby sister was doted
on and spoiled. At the time, I hated her. I saw her as the reason my parents
split up and the reason my mother could barely look at me anymore.

I decided that negative attention was better than
no attention at all, so I turned on the obnoxious switch. I started doing
things that I knew would annoy them. I would leave dishes on the countertop,
towels on the bathroom floor, and clothes everywhere but the hamper. When I was
thirteen, I graduated to stealing money and shoplifting cigarettes. By
fourteen, I was ordering pay-per-view porn on the daily, and when I was
sixteen, my mother walked in on me riding my boyfriend Jimmy in my bedroom.
That resulted in the fight that had me packing my bags for my dad’s house.

It
wasn
’
t
until I left that I realized how much I actually loved Claire. It wasn
’
t her fault that our parents were
cheaters and liars. At first, Richard refused to even let me see her. He was
afraid I
’
d
be a bad influence, but eventually Mom convinced him that my absence was
hurting Claire more than it was helping.

Walking
in the front door of the penthouse, I set my purse down on the entryway table.

“
Anybody home?
”
I call out.

I
round the corner and laugh as I see my sixteen-year-old sister. She
’
s wearing a long-sleeved, threadbare
white shirt over a navy-blue tank top and the shortest pair of
shorts
I’ve seen in awhile—especially
for the middle of winter. She
’
s got her earbuds in and is swaying
her hips, occasionally singing as she cleans the countertop. She twirls around
and lets out a scream as she spots me, grabbing at her chest.

“
Kayla,
”
she screeches, taking out her earbuds and letting them hang
limply at her neck.
“
You scared the crap out of me.
”

“
Well, that
’
s not my fault,
”
I laugh.
“
Where are Mom and Richard?
”

“
Last minute errands,
”
she says, shrugging.

“
Are you ready to go?
”
I could wait for my mother and stepdad to get back, but I
don
’
t
really want to. They seem to tolerate me now that I
’
m an adult, but I think they hold a
lot of things against me, and I know that Richard doesn
’
t trust me. The only reason he
’
s leaving me with his baby girl for
two weeks is because Claire begged him nonstop for a month, and I think he grew
tired of saying no. She likes spending time with Andy and me
—
we
’
re not as uptight as her other options. Compared to the
kids that we deal with, Claire
’
s an angel.

“
You don
’
t want to wait until they get back?
”

I raise my eyebrows at her. I don’t think my
sister knows the whole story of our parents—I’ve never told her and I
doubt anyone else would have, either. Despite being raised by an egocentric
fuckhead and a cheating bitch, Claire has a good heart. It would devastate and
embarrass her to know what they did to my father, and how badly they’ve treated
me. But she’s smart enough to realize we’re not on good terms, and that there’s
no way in hell I want to stick around and wait for them.

“Right,” she laughs. “I’ll go get my suitcase.”

“
So we
’
re going to have to get up pretty
early to get you to school on time,
”
I tell her as we drive back to my place. My sister attends
a private school not too far from their penthouse. It
’
s the same one I went to until I was
sent away. It
’
s completely out of my way, but Richard
refuses to let her get a license, so I
’
m
stuck driving her every morning.

Claire
is lost in her phone and doesn
’
t answer. She spends the entire drive
texting. When we get home, she heads straight to the guest room to put her
things away. My phone rings, and Andy
’
s picture pops up.

“
Well, hello,
”
I greet happily.

“
Hey, buttercup,
”
he says.
“
I
’
m guessing you
’
ve got the package, and she
’
s getting herself settled?
”

I
laugh.
“
I guess so. She
’
s been glued to her damn cellphone
since we left the penthouse.
”

“
She
’
s a teenager, Kayla. That
’
s what they do. You know that.
”

“
I
didn
’
t do that,
”
I protest.

“
That
’
s because cellphones didn
’
t exist that long ago,
”
he teases.

“
Shut up, jerk,
”
I laugh.
“
Yes, they did. And you
’
re older than I am, so I wouldn
’
t play that game. What
’
s up?
”

“
I
’
m heading home. Do you want me to pick up some food?
”

Just
as I
’
m
about to answer, Claire wanders in.

“
You hungry?
”

“
Starving,
”
she moans.

“
Andy
’
s picking up food. What are you in the
mood for?
”

“
Chinese?
”
she asks, her eyes lighting up.

“
You hear that?
”
I ask Andy.

“
I got it. I
’
ll be home in about forty-five.
”

After
hanging up, I reach into the fridge and grab two bottles of water, handing one
to Claire. We flop down on either side of the couch and I pick up the remote,
flipping through the channels aimlessly.

“
So how
’
s school?
”
I ask after awhile.

“
Same old, same old.
”

“
Oh, please, little miss straight
A
s.
”

Claire
frowns at me and pulls her legs up to her chest.
“
I
’
m just bored, Kayla. My life is so
monotonous. I wake up, go to school, and hang out at the same places doing the
same things. Mom and Dad are so freaked out I
’
m going to do something wrong, they
don
’
t
let me do anything at all.
”

“
Sorry, honey. They wouldn
’
t be like that if it weren
’
t for me.
”

“
Yes, they would,
”
she grumbles.
“
Dad
’
s got a stick permanently wedged up
his ass. He won
’
t
even let me date. The cutest boy in school asked me to go to a movie
—
a
movie
, Kayla. Not a party, not a danc
e—
a movie. Dad said no way.
”

“
What did Mom say?
”

“
She said, and I quote,
‘
I can
’
t
go against your father
.
’”
Claire sits up straight when she says
this and her voice gets all hoity-toity. I grin at her. She sounds just like
our mother.
“
It
’
s bullshit.
”

“
Oh. My. God!
”
I gasp.
“
Did Claire Graeme just swear?
”

“
Shut up.
”
She giggles, sticking her foot out to kick me.