Chapter 11

11

Natalie

Cooper laughs, holding onto the door as he takes in the sparkling pink glitter covering my husband, and I tilt my head, eyeing him.

I’m not surprised he found out where I lived; he’s good with computers, but I am amazed he’s here, covered in glitter to boot.

“Piston, why are you covered in glitter?” I ask in confusion.

He runs his hand through his hair, causing some to fall, making him glare at the stuff before he murmurs, “Annalise….” My eyes widen, and then he admits, “She sent a male stripper to the club….”

Laughter bubbles up in my throat, and he narrows his eyes, but I hold my hand up, not able to fight the giggles.

That woman is amazing.

Holly told me all about the Untamed and Devil’s women pulling pranks on their men for screwing up, and extending it to their affiliated clubs.

They are my heroes.

“Are you quite done, Diamond?” he asks impatiently, and I nod but more laughter comes out as Cooper falls to the floor, stuttering, “You l-look like a g-glitter b-ball….”

Ha, he really does!

“Fuck’s sake,” Piston mumbles before stepping forward, and my eyes widen when he grabs Cooper and hugs him, stating, “And now so do you….”

Cooper groans but continues to laugh at the same time, and he pushes Piston away.

All humor leaves me at seeing them together.

Piston never knew about Cooper; he doesn’t know anything about my family life. The only reason why I know some of his family is because Holly tricked him when he was with me.

I swallow hard and wrap my arms around myself, trying not to be self-conscious because I’m wearing a shirt I couldn’t part with. I ask, “What are you doing here, Piston?”

He looks up from my brother, his eyes intense, full of anger, and I wince.

“Flipping Steal, he promised,” I grumble.

Piston hums. “Yeah, flipping Steal, though he said you can’t be mad because he had his fingers crossed behind his back….”

I look at him with a brow raised. Seriously, he crossed his fingers?

Piston smirks and adds, “Anyway, can’t a husband come visit his wife?" He looks down. “And her brother?”

I wince again at the accusation he most likely didn’t to come out like that.

Cooper grins wide. “Awesome, I’ve wanted to meet you for ages.” He grabs Piston’s arm, “You’re early enough. You haven’t missed dinner, though we may end up ordering takeout like the last time Sissy made lasagna.”

Cooper drags Piston past me, and Piston asks, “What happened last time?” I scrunch my nose as I follow, which Piston obviously notices and chuckles, confirming, "You dropped the pan, didn’t you?”

I put my nose up and state, “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” while Cooper says, “She totally did….”

Piston grins. “Just like how you knocked my bike over….”

My freeze, eyes wide as my mouth opens and closes a few times, but he smirks, and then moves around my couch, looking around my living area.

Damn you, Steal! I’m so going to get him back for this….

Wincing lightly at his knowing look, I say, “I’ll go check on the food,” before quickly leaving them to it, valuing my life.

I already see I’ve lost my brother's attention, which doesn’t surprise me. He’s been wanting to meet Piston for months.

Cooper hands Piston the Xbox controller, something Henry allowed him to keep here, and says, “Okay, Sissy,” before giving all his attention to Piston.

I feel my husband’s eyes on me when I get into the kitchen, but I ignore him. I check on the pan in the oven, sigh when I see the cheese starting to bubble, and then go to the fridge and grab a beer.

With a pit in my stomach, I walk over to Piston and hand it to him, nearly dropping it when Cooper says, “Yeah, I stay here a lot. Sissy and I didn’t see each other for years because my mom’s mean. I heard mom say nasty stuff, which is how I had found out that I had a Sissy. I showed up at her door after mom hit me, but she’s not Sissy’s mom, which I think she’s lucky for, though we have the same dad….”

Piston catches the beer before it hits the floor and raises a brow, but I shrug.

He and I never talked about our pasts, and mine, well, it’s not pretty.

I turn and walk away but flinch when Cooper adds, “Did you know Sissy was left on Dad’s doorstep after she was born, like she was just a tiny baby, left in a bassinet, and it was cold that night….” Crap. “Her mom is as mean as mine, I think….” I sigh in defeat, continuing my path to the kitchen, and ignoring Piston’s glare on my back.

“Is that so?” Piston replies.

Cooper replies, “Uh huh, and my mom made my dad take my Sissy’s room when I was born, too.”

Ah, come on, Cooper. The kid has no filter….

Trying not to flip out, I grab the garlic bread and place it in the oven, setting the timer while hoping my little brother doesn’t tell my husband every sordid detail of my past.

Suddenly, I’m glad we weren’t close until recently.

I spend the next fifteen minutes trying to stay busy in the kitchen while hearing my little brother giggle, and feeling my husband’s eyes on me.

I feel out of sorts that he’s here. He’s all I could think about at the apartment because he was deep within the walls. Here, this house, was my safe space, and now that’s gone.

I quickly wash the last dish while silently cursing my landlord for not getting back to me about the dishwasher when the timer goes off.

Rushing over to it, I turn it off and grab my oven mitts, before opening the oven door, only to jump when two strong hands grip my waist, and gently pull me back.

“Hey,” I say as Piston takes the mitts.

“We boys are hungry, Diamond," he says, and I narrow my eyes at him, but he doesn’t shy away. Instead, he raises a brow and asks, “Do you really want to chance it?”

My stomach growls, the smell of lasagna filling my senses. I grumble, stepping back, which makes him chuckle. "That’s what I thought.”

He grabs the lasagna and places it on top of the stove, then grabs the garlic bread, before shutting the door and turning to me.

“Why don’t you go and set the counter? It may be safer,” he jokes.

I cross my arms over my chest and glare, making him grin.

He laughs when Cooper admits, “I’ve already set it and put our drinks there, and the salad.” I mock glare at my little brother, who just shrugs. “I’m hungry, Sissy. Remember last week, when you accidentally knocked over the glasses when you put our silverware down?”

Damn, kid.

Poking his side, making him giggle, I move around the counter, and sit at the end. Piston snorts, thinking I sat here on purpose, but I ignore him, taking a sip of my soda.

He dishes out the food before both join me, my little brother taking his normal seat in the middle, and digging in, instantly moaning. “That is some good grub, Sissy. You should have been a chef, not a teacher.”

I grin. “Me? In a chef’s kitchen? Do you think that would be a good idea, Coop?”

He pauses for a minute, then nods. “You're right, that would be a disaster. You’d probably set a bigger fire than you did here last month.”

I wince as Piston chokes on his drink, coughing, before looking at me with shock. I smile sheepishly, wishing I could bury my head in the sand.

“How-how…” he stutters.

I open and close my mouth a few times, but nothing comes out, so my traitor brother decides to speak for me through a mouthful of food.

“S-She forgot a-about the dishcloth on the stove….”

Piston blinks, and I groan, dropping my head while mumbling, “No talking with your mouth full, Coop.”

He laughs as Piston whispers, “Damn, I think I need to put a guard on you….”

I look his way and narrow my eyes, and he winces, clearly not meaning to say the words out loud.

Geez, I’m not that bad…. Right?

Rolling my eyes, I grab my fork and stab it into my food, ignoring Piston's eyes.

Damn Cooper opening his little mouth.

Hopefully, Piston will leave once it’s time to put Cooper to bed.

I know why Piston’s here, but I just don’t understand why he cares. Not only has he disregarded me for years, but he watches women get off.

He doesn’t love me; no one ever will.