Chapter 20

I drag myself through the garage, the weight of the week settling heavily upon me. The air is filled with the scent of motor oil and grease. The tools that once felt like extensions of my hands now seem unfamiliar as I attempt to work on my truck.

I reach for the wrench, my fingers faltering. What has always been my escape and a hobby I love is now a chore.

Sinking onto a nearby stool, I feel like I'm drowning in sadness and regret over what I did or didn't do with Sloane. Minutes stretch into hours as I sit in the garage, my mind consumed by thoughts of my former stepsister.

Dad's voice breaks through the heavy silence of the garage. "Hey, son. Wanna go grab some burgers?"

I glance up, my expression reflecting my misery. "No."

"Okay, how about tacos, then? I hear Marvin's is parked over at the Home Depot lot," Dad persists.

My frustration bubbles over. "No!" I snap, tossing my rag to the ground. How can he just act like nothing"s wrong? Let's go get food and pretend like life is fucking normal. And not like my heart is shattered into a thousand pieces.

Dad raises his hands in a gesture of surrender. "What's the problem?"

"You!" I exclaim, my voice filled with bitterness. "Sloane! Everything!"

Dad sighs, his gaze softening with understanding. "You asked her to stay, and she didn't, son. It's not your fault."

"I love her!" I burst, the words tumbling from my lips before I can stop them. "I always have and always will. You ruined it!"

He quirks an eyebrow, his expression full of surprise and concern. "Me? What did I do?"

"You know what you did," I spit at him through clenched teeth.

"She fucked you and me multiple times in the same weekend. That"s just cool with you? Because there"s no way she wouldn"t be back in my bed and then yours if she was still here. And you know it."

I sigh, the weight of his words hitting me like a ton of bricks. My hand slaps against the metal surface of the truck door. "Yeah, it is," I admit. "But I can't handle this whole not seeing her, talking to her, knowing how she is. I lost her once, and I can't do that again."

"So what are you suggesting, Atlas?"

"We live together, work together. What's wrong with sharing a girl? It's not like I"ll be the one fucking you or vice versa. I'd rather have her under those conditions than not at all."

"I don't know." He rubs his temples like he's trying to remember the numbers in pi and not just agree to be with Sloane.

"I saw how you looked at her," I push.

"The same way you looked at her? Because I care about her, don't get me wrong, and have no regrets in fucking her, but I don't love her. Not like that."

He's lying to himself and me, but I'm not going to push that right now. I just need him to agree to this crazy fucking plan so we can win our girl back. I mean, I could go find her on my own and win her over, but if Dad isn't on board, being with Sloane might require me to move out and cut ties with him, and I don't want to have to choose.

I'd rather just have a different relationship than most people. We don't have friends or family around here, so who the fuck cares?

"You're serious about this?" He sighs.

"I'll take her any way I can get her. Even when we were teens and she lived here, she looked at you with hearts in her eyes, a schoolgirl crush, one that clearly never went away."

He"s either in or out, and I don't have it in me to convince him. I stride out of the garage, leaving the heavy air of tension behind me. Pushing open the door to the house, I head straight for the kitchen.

Clicking a few buttons on the oven, I wait for it to preheat, and grab a frozen pizza from the freezer, unwrapping it.

Dad is still outside, so he must be thinking hard about everything I said. That's good.

I slide the pizza into the oven and set the timer, the soft hum filling the silence.

While it cooks, I head to my bathroom. Turning on the shower, I strip off my clothes and step inside. The hot spray cascades over me, washing away the day. I stand there for so long, lost in my head, the water turns cold. There"s no way I can go another seven years without seeing her, I have to fix this. I step out, wrapping a towel around my waist before I throw on my black sweatpants.

I pad back into the kitchen, inhaling deeply. The smell of melting cheese and tomato sauce hits my nose. Pulling the pizza from the oven, I cut it into slices and put a couple on a plate.

I sit down at the counter and eat alone, mulling over everything I admitted to my dad in the garage. It's unconventional and I'm sure taboo to fuck the same woman as your dad, but I really can't find an ounce of regret in telling him what I thought.

My dinner for one is interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching. I look up to see him entering the kitchen, his expression unreadable. He sits on a stool next to me, grabbing a slice, and for a minute we eat without talking.

"Okay." My dad finally breaks the silence.

My brows furrow, and I tilt my head as I look at him. "Okay—what?"

"Okay, I"ll help you get Sloane back," he mumbles. "I"m still not sure about the sharing thing, but I"ll help find her and win her back. Everything that happens after that... I just want it to happen naturally. I won"t force something between us, and I"m not pushing myself to share a woman with my son, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want it. It"s weird to even say out loud."