30. Derek

CHAPTER THIRTY

Derek

" Y OU FUCKED MY BABY SISTER!" I duck to avoid the bottle of ink Ash hurls at me. It hits the wall, splattering all over my station area.

"Ash!" I yell at the red-faced man. "Calm your fucking ass before I have to kick it!"

"Good luck accomplishing that because after I chop your dick off and feed it to my chicken, I'm breaking both your goddamn legs! When I'm through with you, you're going to be wishing that tractor killed you!" He lunges for me, but Atlas wraps him in a bear hug from behind.

"Okay, breathe… Remember your mantras from therapy." Atlas says softly as Ash tries to bite him.

"Fuck therapy, fuck mantras, and fuck you for taking his side!"

Atlas scoffs, "I'm not taking his side! I can't help that I have a sex sense. He walked in, and I knew he had sex!"

I roll my eyes and look at the idiot. "You ain't got a sex sense. You're just trying to start shit! And why do you believe his stupidity over just asking me?" I say to Ash, though I'm thoroughly creeped out that when I walked into Hel's this morning, Atlas looked right at me and declared I'd had sex.

"I am not a shit starter!" Atlas gasps in indignation. "I have a very honed skill. The moment you walked in, I could smell it on you!"

"How's that when I've taken two showers since then?" Fuck, I walked into that one. Atlas smirks, and he accidentally loosens his grip on Ash, and like a rabid animal, he charges me, all but frothing at the mouth.

"Enough!" Fox barks, grabbing Ash and rolling him to the ground. "Derek still has stitches, so knock it off."

I huff out a laugh. "I could still beat his ass, stitches or not." Ash tries to shove Fox off him, but Fox is much larger than Ash and continues to keep him firmly planted on the ground.

"You fucked my sister! Do you have no fucking code?" I groan at the man. I'll be honest, as much as I didn't want to feel anything that resembled a familial bond to these fuckers, there is a deep, very tiny insignificant part of me that might feel that way. Sort of. And because of that, I do feel bad for fucking Indy. A little.

"She's an adult. What do you want from me?"

"To keep your dick away from my sister!" Ash screams, and it's at this exact moment Indy and Stevie walk in. All of us look over, and shit… her face goes bright red. I watch as she whirls around and storms off. Perfect. I turn around and glare down at Ash.

"In case you've forgotten, I have to live with her, so you had better go to her and make goddamn sure it ain't going to be awkward between us," I warn as Fox lets the man stand up. Ash scoffs while brushing his clothes off.

"You think I give one fuck whether you two are awkward? What do you want me to do? Turn on some soft jazz and light some candles while you get your dick wet in my sister?" My fist collides with Ash's face, and Fox grabs me, pulling me out the back while Atlas holds Ash back.

Once outside, I storm down the steps, still full of adrenaline, rage, and maybe a little embarrassment. Why did I fuck Indy? Why?

"You alright?" Fox asks, and I give him a you really have to ask look. He gives me a nod.

"Derek."

"Save it." I interrupt. "I can't do this anymore." I sigh, and I run my hands through my hair in frustration. "I can't handle this."

"Handle what?" Fox asks.

"What? This!" I snap while gesturing to the shop. "Her! I can't handle her! She's messy, stubborn, and constantly getting into trouble. She thinks everyone is an undiscovered best friend! I'll bet you the title to my car that she would sit and talk to a fucking dealer on a corner and find some goddamn redeeming quality about them! She is insistent on being kind, smiling, and fucking taking care of me! It's too fucking much!" I groan in frustration while tugging at my hair. "I don't know. Maybe I should just give her the house, and I'll just move away."

Fox's huff causes me to look up in time to see him shaking his head while laughing. "Oh, I'm glad you find this shit entertaining."

"I do, in fact," he laughs. "Because all you fuckers gave me such shit over Torch. Though I have to say, I never offered to give her my house and move out. You obviously have it hard." I clench my jaw as I look around, making sure no one is snooping.

"I do," I say through gritted teeth. Fox's laughter dies immediately, and I can't believe I'm saying any of this out loud. "She's the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing at night. The days she's not here working, I worry about her. If my house stops smelling like her stupid-ass candles and lotions, I'll probably never go back. Every day, I find myself more and more infuriated by the fact that I'm constantly wondering what she would think about things. Ash tried to nail me in the head with that ink, and all I could think was, ‘It's purple. I wonder if Indy would make some cute comment about it being purple?' I'm not an idiot that will deny my feelings for her. I know I care about her."

"So, what's the problem?" He asks cautiously, which is understandable. I don't talk much, and when I do, it isn't about my feelings.

"The problem is, I ain't enough," I state firmly. "That girl in there deserves a doctor. She deserves fancy dates, flowers, and lavish vacations. Not some old fucking hick tattoo artist with trust and abandonment issues and a short temper."

"First off, you make more money than most doctors."

"It's the title, not the bank account." I snap, and Fox rolls his eyes.

"Derek, I thought the same thing with Janie. I knew that girl was too young, too pretty, and too fucking smart to be with me. Fuck, we've been together a few years, and I still think about it. I think about the fact that she wants a baby, and it's just not happening as easily as she wants it to. Maybe if she were with someone younger, it would be easier. The point is I wanted her to have the life that she wanted. But it took me a while to understand that the life she wanted was with me, and if I truly wanted her to be happy, I had to realize that it is okay for me to be with her." I don't appreciate how his words feel, mainly because of the truth they hold.

"Well, that was your choice. My choice is not to let her settle down with a man in his mid-forties." I brush by Fox to go back inside.

"So, does that mean you'll let her go out tonight? Let her be with another man? A doctor?" I feel my hand tighten on the railing as the thought of another man touching her soft skin enters my brain. I feel angry and dizzy at the same time. Choosing not to answer him, I walk back up the stairs, leaving Fox alone in the parking lot.