Chapter Twenty-One

Tommy

Five Years Ago

Blake’s mother was throwing a party. She had no job, she had no money, and yet, when I pulled his car into my driveway, it was more than obvious what was going on at his house. The music, the laughter, and the people on the front porch. This was mortifying for me to witness, and I could only imagine how Blake felt.

“You want to stay here tonight, Bug?” I squeezed Blake’s thigh. “You know it’s fine. My parents don’t mind.”

He shook my head. “I have to clear all these people out of the house before the cops show up. I’m surprised no one has called them already.” The music was so loud we could hear inside the vehicle.

When Blake started to open the door, I tightened my grip on his leg. “Let me help you.”

“Tommy, it’s fine. I’m used to this.”

I followed Blake out of the car and pinned him against the trunk before he could go across the street to the house. “It’s not fine, Bug. None of this is fucking fine, and I’m your boyfriend. I want to help you. Let me, please.”

His green eyes were full of worry and fear. I knew that he didn’t want to let me into this part of his life. He had done a really good job of hiding it for the past few years, but it was starting to crash down around him.

“Okay.” He pressed his face into my neck like he was breathing me in before he pulled back and squared his shoulders. “I’m ready.”

I nodded. “Come on.”

I grabbed his hand, and we walked across the street. I yanked open the front door to find the living room in complete disarray. Bottles and cups were everywhere. The room was full of strangers, some dancing, others drinking, and when I felt Blake squeeze my hand, I zeroed in on the stereo.

The moment I turned it off, I felt all eyes on me. “Everyone, get the fuck out.” When no one moved, I gritted my teeth. “Right now!”

If I weren’t such a big guy, there might have been more of a fight. There might have been a few punches thrown, which I could have blocked. There was a lot of grumbling, and some people gave Blake and me dirty looks, but they started to clear out of the house. My boyfriend leaned into me, and I felt nothing but rage at his mother for doing this to him. He had been dealing with this for years all by himself and she had just let him. He had been a child; Monica was his mother, and he hadn’t been able to be a kid because he was so worried about her. It wasn’t fair.

“I’m going to go find my mom,” Blake whispered once the house had cleared out, leaving a giant mess behind.

I tugged him closer. “Let me come with you.” I dropped his hand so that I could cradle his head with both of mine.

“I’ll be fine, Gretzky. I’ve done this before. She’s most likely passed out in her room. I need to make sure she’s on her side. I’ll leave some water and aspirin by her bed for the morning.”

I nodded. “Okay, but if you need me, just holler.” I pressed my mouth against Blake’s before I released him and watched as he headed upstairs.

I cleaned up the living room while Blake was upstairs. I got rid of all the empty bottles and cans, along with the cups. Then I emptied out the bottles of booze that had been left behind as my mind wandered. What would Blake do if she continued on this path? Would he really leave her behind to pursue his dreams, or would he stay here and try to help her? The thought made rage rip through my body. It was so unfair of his mother to put her child through something like this. Blake had so much talent it would be a waste if he didn’t try to make something of himself with Mulligan.

Mrs. Duncan’s addiction wasn’t a secret in Canfield, although Blake never spoke a word about it to me. When he’d moved here four years ago, he’d said it was because his parents divorced. Not that it was because his father had had enough of his mother’s alcoholism. Or that she couldn’t keep a job longer than a couple of months. Or that she couldn’t remember to pay the bills, keep the house clean, buy groceries, do the laundry, or do any of the things that a parent was supposed to do for their kid. I understood why Blake hadn’t gone with his father for fear something would happen to his mom, but she should be taking care of him.

“She’s out of it.” I turned at the sound of Blake’s voice and took in the redness in his eyes. “Tommy,” he whispered.

I opened my arms, and he wrapped himself around me. I held him tightly against me as he cried.

“I know,” I murmured, rubbing his back. “I’m sorry, Bug. I love you. You shouldn’t have to do this alone, and you won’t. Not anymore.”

“I love you too,” Blake whispered. “Will you stay the night here with me?”

Like that was even a question. “Of course.”

Blake released me to go lock the door and turn off the lights before he led me up to his bedroom. I watched as he stripped off his clothes so that he was in nothing but his briefs before he climbed onto his bed. I followed behind him, and when Blake leaned his head on my chest, I heard him let out a sigh of relief. He drifted off to sleep not too long after that, but I lay awake long after trying to figure out how I could fix all of this for him.

Money might be the only way, and I was lucky my brother had plenty of it.

***

I managed to get a few hours of sleep and woke just as the sun was coming up. I climbed from the bed, careful not to wake Blake. I watched him reach across the bed like he was looking for me just before he moved into the spot I had just vacated. He smacked his lips together, then he smiled in his sleep, and I couldn’t resist leaning down to kiss his forehead. Then I put on my clothes to go outside to call Jackson.

“You’re up early for a Saturday morning,” my brother answered on the first ring. “Everything okay?”

I glanced up at the sky. “Blake and I are together now,” I told him.

“Like together, together?”

I didn’t answer straight away. A moment later, I heard Jackson whisper something I couldn’t understand away from the phone. Another male voice I didn’t recognize answered him, and then I caught the sound of a door shutting.

I grimaced. “Am I interrupting?”

“Nah, it’s fine, just a guy I met. You love him?”

“Fuck, yes. I love him more than anyone or anything.”

“And he feels the same way?”

I nodded, even though Jax couldn’t see me. “Blake loves me, too. You don’t have to worry about that. We’re together, and we’re good. I want forever with him.”

“But?” He pushed, and I wished he wasn’t so far away. That I could have gone to talk to my brother in person about this. Boston was only a couple hours away, but I needed to do this now. Before things got worse.

I moved farther away from the house. “His mother is a raging alcoholic, Jax, and I’m terrified that Blake is going to throw away everything for her. She drinks away any money she makes, and Blake uses his Mulligan money to pay the bills. It’s not right.”

“What do you need from me, Tommy? Just say the words; you know I’ll help you in any way I can,” my brother assured me. I was so proud of him, but I missed him so much.

I closed my eyes. “She needs to go to rehab. A good one. A place where she can dry out, get the help she needs, and stop drinking. For good. Then Blake can go to California with Mulligan, just like he’s supposed to do and make a name for himself.”

“You want me to pay for her rehab, Tom, is that it? You really love Blake, don’t you?” I heard something in Jackson’s voice that pained me. Something he hadn’t told me, and I wondered if he was thinking about Maverick. Did he feel the same way about his best friend?

I sighed. “I can pay you back. When I get drafted, or if that doesn’t happen, I’ll get a job—”

“Tom, I don’t care about the money. I care about you, and if this is what you want, if doing this for Blake makes you happy, then I’ll do,” Jackson told me.

I felt my body begin to tremble. “Thank you, Jax.”

We chatted a little bit longer before he had to go off to practice, and I went out to grab some donuts and coffee before Blake woke up. When I came back, I found him still sleeping in his bed, curled up where I had left him. I placed my goods on the dresser before I kicked off my shoes so I could hold him.

“Where did you go?” Blake reached down to touch my hands that were holding his taut stomach. He spun around to face me, and I pressed a kiss to his soft lips.

“I went to get some breakfast.” I nuzzled his neck. “Let’s go out and do something today. Unless you just want to hang here and gorge on donuts.”

A smile pulled at his lips. “I think going out would be good for me.”

“I love you, Bug. You know that, right?” I dragged my tongue over his neck and up the side of his face before I got to his mouth. He stared at me with hooded eyes.

Blake shoved me over onto the bed and climbed on top of me. “I love you, too, Gretzky. So damn much it scares me. Thanks for everything. For last night, this morning, the other day when you came to check on me. I want to be with you forever.”

“Forever, yeah, me, too.” And I meant it.