The Years After (35 page)

Derek shifted around in the front seat. How did Tony manage to read his thoughts? As of that moment, he had no more than a few changes of clothes to his name. He had no money. Not even a car now. He abandoned everything. And now he was forced to rely on complete strangers? It didn’t seem feasible that such an arrangement could work out.

“Derek? Hear me out. Please. A lot of people have bent over backwards for this to happen. A lot of people are willing to help you two just on Gretchen’s and my say-so. And after what happened back home…”

“I understand. I won’t fuck it up. I promise.”

Tony held his gaze before he glanced back at the interstate. “That’s all I’m asking for. I have to believe in what my daughter saw in you, and so do you.”

His heart felt like Tony stabbed him whenever he mentioned Olivia. No, it wasn’t lost on him that in doing this, he was now hundreds of miles away from her. He would not see her again. It was over. Forever. As it should have been. But that didn’t stop his heart from aching, or his stomach from hurting.

“I’ll try.”

They fell silent as Tony maneuvered through the streets before parking in front of a large house covered in old, stately trees that were now just starting to show buds. It was a quiet neighborhood with grand homes and a pervasive quiet that would have been very rare in Marsdale.

Tony nodded. “You’ll be fine. Just use some of them manners I taught you.” His smile was brief and fleeting. Derek grabbed his bags and so did Max as they shuffled out: two homeless, wrinkled, lost losers. Derek hated it. It was almost as bad as being called a street thug.

They shuffled up to the imperial front entrance and the door was opened by a tall, skinny woman with dark hair. She smiled with visible sweetness as she pulled the door wide open. “Tony. Hi. Hello, Derek, Max.” She nodded at each of them and offered her hand, “I’m Lindsey.”

Derek took her slender hand in his. She was taller than he. Tony leaned in and kissed her cheek before going inside, and indicating for the two brothers to follow. Down the stairs came another tall man with dark hair and glasses. He was dressed all preppy like, and had the same polite, nice greeting. The house was like nothing Derek had ever seen. All dark wood and furnishings. It was dignified, clean and homey. And again, another part of the unknown world. Max turned in a full circle as he scrutinized the place.

They shook hands, and the guy named Noah was every bit as warm as Lindsey. Derek glanced at Max, who shrugged. He was pretty sure his mom and dad never once said hello to him when he entered a room. These people were good talkers and knew the proper manners and language to use.

Noah invited them to carry their things upstairs to the rooms where they’d be crashing. Derek followed as they were presented their own rooms. Throwing his bag to the floor, Derek turned, suddenly unsure what the hell to do with himself. Noah seemed decent enough, maybe a bit like Tony.

“Derek? Why don’t you come down alone? We’d like to talk with you first.”

Max was shown a giant TV and given the remote, which he happily accepted. He flopped down on a recliner and started flipping through the menu without another glance around.

All the adults were gathered in the kitchen. Lindsey was leaning against the counter and Noah walked over to stand next to her, resting his hand around her waist. Tony sat at the coffee bar and said, “Sit down.”

Derek sat next to him, glancing from one face to the next.
What now?
“So I’ve told them what happened down in Marsdale. What happened to Olivia, and what you did there. There are no more lies and no more hiding. We get that you’re eighteen and you can do whatever you want. But all of us are asking you to stay here for a while and just give this a chance. We’re asking you, for Max’s sake and for your own sake, just to try living here for a while. You have a lot to learn about being an adult, kid; and, as far as I can see, not one person ever spent even a single moment teaching you how to survive in society properly. But I can’t do it. For obvious reasons.”

Derek stared at his hands. He’d never been lectured by an adult before. Not like Tony. He glanced around. Noah stepped forward then. “There will be no drugs or alcohol in this house. In any capacity. There will be no dealing drugs either. We find evidence of that, and you’re out of here. No crimes permitted.”

Tony continued, “You need to learn how to work and function as an adult. You need this training, Derek. Will you stay? Will you follow some pretty ordinary rules?”

“Yeah, I guess,” he mumbled, staring harder at his fingers. The eyes of all the adults were riveted on him. He slumped forward. He fought the urge to turn to Tony and beg him not to leave him there. He couldn’t imagine trying to accomplish so much. But if Tony were there, maybe he could. Of course, there was never a chance Tony would help him, not after what he’d done.

“Look me in the eye and promise me. And mean it.”

He lifted his gaze and met Tony’s. “I promise.”

He nodded and a strange feeling started to flutter in Derek’s chest.
It was like… what? Pleasure? From what?
A stupid adult’s approval of him? He shook his head. He didn’t get these people at all.

Lindsey came forward. “I made hamburgers for dinner. Figured most boys your ages would eat those. You hungry?”

Derek glanced up and nodded. Tony thumped his back. “You say, ‘yes, ma’am’ and ‘thank you.’”

Derek scowled at Tony for chiding him like a toddler, but obediently mumbled, “Thank you, Mrs. Clark. Yes, please.”

“It’s Cole. Noah and I aren’t married. But just call me Lindsey. And Tony, quit being so prudish. This isn’t the military. Relax a bit, Derek. Okay? Let’s just take this one day at a time.”

He stared up at her and she smiled. It was a warm, welcoming smile. It was how Gretchen first smiled at him when he visited them. It was, he guessed, how normal adult women smiled at teens they didn’t know very well. It was as foreign to him as their calm voices and their insistence on directing the conversation towards him.

She leaned across the counter and tapped her index finger against his arm with another smile. “Ignore them; they’re acting like principals on steroids. Now, do you guys like fries too?”

Derek nodded before escaping into the living room where Max was. Sitting down on a clean couch in a clean room was a novel experience and he wasn’t sure what to do next. Dinner was strange too. They all sat down together, like Olivia’s family had. The adults drank wine and chatted between themselves, and then stopped drinking. Nothing more came of it. There was no fighting, or screaming, or storming off, or leaving to have sex while he and Max were still present. It was very obvious these people didn’t ever do any of those things.

He and Max kept quiet. That seemed the safest strategy. He had no idea how to talk like them or why they even bothered. What kind of people let strange teens inside their home? Teens plagued by drugs and violence, at that. How did they know he or Max wouldn’t murder them in their sleep? Or simply ransack their house and steal their priceless possessions? The weird thing was: it didn’t even occur to any of them that he and Max could do that.

He slept fitfully on the queen-sized bed with sheets that smelled very pretty. He went downstairs the next morning in jeans and a t-shirt, unsure of what the day would bring. At least in Marsdale he knew what he was doing.

“Good; you’re up. My friend, Will, is stopping by. He said he’d give you a job. You ready to do an honest day’s work for once in your life?”

Tony was good at putting him in his place. He was showing Derek what they expected of him. It was something he honestly didn’t know. He shrugged. “I’ve never done any honest work.”

Tony slapped his back. “I know. And Will was in the Special Forces, so I don’t recommend dicking around with him. He won’t tolerate any laziness or irresponsibility. He’s not going to be nearly as nice as me. I had my daughter’s influence to make me so soft with you. He doesn’t. In fact, he really doesn’t like what you did before you got here. You have to get your shit together fast here, Derek. It’s kind of a now-or-never for all of us. You ready to fly straight?”

Was he? He could have taken the hot coffee and thrown it across the counter before storming out of there and abandoning all their crazy expectations and clean living. But the image of Olivia, lying naked and unconscious on the bed flashed through his brain, and the familiar pain started to split his head again. He did that to her. Every choice in his life had led up to that moment. And perhaps this was the only road that just might change that.

“I’m going to try.”

Tony nodded with a grunt. Then he quickly sipped his coffee before setting his cup back down. “I have to get back to Olivia. Gretchen says she’s having a really tough time. The shock of all this is too much for her. And no forgetting, you broke her heart. You’re lucky I don’t slam your head into the counter for that.”

The pang of Olivia in distress made his temples throb. She was the reason he had to do this. “Why didn’t you?”

Tony shrugged. “I saw a kid in more pain than she was, and I don’t think it was your fault. But from here forward, what you do, will determine your life path. If you fail, it will be your fault now, Derek, and nobody else’s. You’re being given a chance, and a shot at learning about real values and living a real, normal life.”

It was so much pressure. His head ached just thinking of it. He felt tired and old before he even got started.

“I’m going to get Quentrell, Derek. Just so you know. He won’t get away with drugging and kidnapping my eighteen-year-old girl. And trust me, justice will be done. I don’t know how yet, but I’m working on it. He never realized how many decent people are still out there, and he finally messed with the wrong one.”

“I didn’t know.” Derek’s heart lifted, but soon dropped. How often did reality ever turn out happy for him? Or right? When was justice ever served for him? But Tony seemed so sure, that Derek couldn’t say.

“My daughter isn’t living in fear for the next few years. She deserves to finish college and enjoy her life the way it was supposed to be, before you.”

“I know. I know she does. I’m sorry, Tony. For what I did to her.”

His jaw clenched. “When I see you so lost and clueless about normal things, I feel sympathy for you. But then I think of you as a predator, coming after Olivia, when you knew better. When I remind myself that you were a drug dealer and all the crap you were exposed to, and brought into her life, I almost consider sending you to jail. But then, I remember how I found you that night. It’s not an easy thing to feel about you. But I did this for you. I got you guys out. What you do now is your decision. Not mine. And I won’t judge Noah and Lindsey or Will for however they deal with you. Just know this: if you screw this up, that’s it.”

“I understand,” he said softly. He glanced up. “I won’t mess this up.”

Tony inhaled a breath and replied, “I’m hoping I’m right about you. So your job is to prove Olivia was right.”

****

Max didn’t shuffle downstairs until just before lunch. He was as quiet as always. He kept his head down and didn’t engage any of them. He knew the deal, as well as Derek. Lay low. Keep quiet. Take what you can get whenever you can get it. Lindsey tried to get him to open up and talk, asking generic questions, but he rudely grunted his answers.

She finally let him be. He sat on the couch, totally enraptured with their TV. Then a black truck parked in the driveway and a man with a young girl got out. Derek dropped his feet off the ottoman and stood up. Must be round three in his fight to prove he wasn’t a lying sack of shit there to cause trouble.

Tony flung the door open and he and the man thumped each other on the back in kind of a hug. The little girl followed. She looked about Max’s age, with long, brown hair and eyes. She stayed back behind her dad.

“How the hell are you?” the man asked Tony.

Tony shrugged as he shut the door. “This shit’s been hard. But thank you for taking him on.”

“I can’t imagine. If it were Christina…”

“Yeah, well, it’s not exactly how I thought I’d handle it, bringing the kid here to live and work with you guys. Anyway, this is Derek Salazar. Derek, this is Will Hendricks and his daughter, Christina.”

Will was muscle-bound and kind of mean-looking. His cold gaze swept over Derek, who immediately sensed his suspicious nature. Derek knew he wouldn’t get the warm, happy welcome that Noah and Lindsey gave him.

Tony called Max, and he came out, with his eyes downcast. Derek put his hand out to Will as Tony nudged his arm. He forgot.
Shake hands like a man.
Will shook his hand and his gaze held his. “So, you doing this because you have to, or because you want to?”

He shrugged. “Both. I guess.”

“Honest. Okay, do you know what I do?”

“No.”

“I’m a subcontractor who installs, repairs and maintains HVAC systems.”

Derek blinked.
What did that all mean?
“I don’t know what that is.”

“It’s heating and air-conditioning systems. Like the heat register there?”

“Oh. Okay.”

“Dad? Why do you sound so weird?” The girl stepped out from behind him.

He winced and grinned down at her, his entire expression softening. “Because, Tiny, he’s been in some trouble recently, and I need to make it clear that won’t be the case with me.”

The girl’s coloring went to pink. “Dad! I told you not to call me that.”

She rolled her eyes with a shy, girlish giggle and a smile. He stepped back. Nah-uh, no way. Was she… Making eyes at him? “I’m Christina,” she said before rolling her eyes again.

Derek grabbed his little brother and placed him in front of him. “I’m Derek, and this is my brother, Max. Looks like you two are about the same age.”

Christina’s eyes were on Derek, not Max. Max shrugged and said, “H-hey.”

She glanced at him and said, “Hey.”

Derek never had a more uncomfortably painful conversation. Will glanced between them and finally set his hand on her shoulder, like a protective warning. “So, are you willing to start tomorrow?”