20. Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

Beck

R oman and I are talking to his dad today. Neither of us is sure what to expect, but he’s hopeful, and I’m ready to take care of him if things don’t go the way we want. He’s come so far in such a short amount of time. I know he hates it when I make him repeat affirmations, but it seems like they help. I read an article about how you can retrain your brain by saying nice things about yourself, and I really want Roman to believe that he is a good person deserving of good things.

I think it’s working too. His shoulders are relaxed, and his head held high as he leads me up the porch to the front door. A month ago, this very thing would have filled him with misplaced shame and embarrassment. But not anymore. Now, he knows he is worthy, regardless of what happens on the other side of this door today.

Roman pushes the door open and peeks his head in. “Dad?” he calls out. His voice is solid and strong and I smile to myself, so fucking proud of all the progress he’s made. His grip on my hand is loose and relaxed and he walks through the door, taking a look around. There are way fewer whiskey bottles this time, which to me is a good sign.

His dad steps into the living room and he appears sober—or at least not completely drunk. His eyes light up when he sees Roman, then he rushes toward us and wraps his arms around Roman. “Rome,” he whispers. “I’m glad you’re back.”

Roman doesn’t let go of my hand, but he does wrap his free arm around his dad and pat him on the back before taking a step back.

“Hey, Dad. I won’t be here long, but we wanted to come talk to you about something,” he says, giving my hand a little squeeze. I know he’s worried about his dad backing out, or not wanting to accept help from my parents. “But first, I want you to meet my boyfriend, Beck. Officially.”

His dad’s eyes shoot to me, like he just noticed I was there. He stares at me for a second and then holds a hand out. I reach out and shake it, trying to be magnanimous, even though I really don’t want to be. “I’m Richard. It’s nice to meet you.”

I simply nod at him because truthfully, I have no respect for the man. This is Roman’s show. I’m here to support him, not to play nice with his dad. Maybe that’s shitty of me, but Roman’s my priority. I’ve seen the damage his dad has done.

Roman clears his throat. “Let’s sit down.”

Richard nods and steps over to the couch. “Sorry about the mess.”

Neither of us says anything, but we follow him and sit down. Roman turns to him and takes a breath. “Last time I was here, you said you wanted to get help. Did you mean that?”

I hold my breath. This is literally the moment of truth. He seems lucid and sober enough to have this conversation. I glare at him, hoping he makes the right fucking choice for once in his sorry excuse for a life.

He nods slowly, and I basically sag in relief. Roman really needed this win. “Yes, I do. I… I want to get right. I’ve missed too much. I’ve done too much wrong. I know I can’t—” His words cut off and tears fill his eyes. I have to resist the urge to roll my eyes and tell him to drop the theatrics. He swallows hard and takes a shaky breath. “I know I can’t fix or change the things I’ve done, but I want to be better. For you, and for myself.”

Roman nods. “Beck’s mom has arranged for you to get a thirty-day inpatient treatment at rehab. It’s completely paid for.”

His dad hesitates, and rage burns through me. If he backs out when presented with an actual, viable option, I’m going to fucking scream. If he got Roman’s hopes up, only to immediately dash them, he’s really not going to like me, and this time, he’ll have a very good reason for it.

I stare him down, willing him to make the right choice, and after a few long minutes, he nods. “I don’t know how to thank you,” he says, looking from Roman to me.

“Don’t thank me,” Roman replies. “Get sober and get your shit together. That’s all the thanks we need. We can take you in now, if you’re ready to go.” My mom suggested taking him in immediately if he agreed. She said there was less chance of him changing his mind.

He nods again, a little quicker this time. “Okay. Let’s go.” I watch as his throat bobs with a heavy swallow, his nerves palpable.

I stand when Roman does, and he turns to me. “We’ll call your mom and she can meet us over there?”

“Sounds good to me.”

We all walk out of the house together to head to the facility. God, I fucking hope this works.

Dropping Richard at the rehab facility went off without a hitch. Roman was strong the entire time, but now that we’re home, I can tell it wore him down emotionally. He grabs my hand, dragging me down the hall to our room. He pauses by the bed, staring at me with pleading puppy dog eyes. I fold like a cheap suit.

“Arms up, beautiful,” I whisper, and he lifts his hands immediately. The rush it gives me when he leans into my care makes my entire body flush with pleasure. It’s not even sexual—it’s soul deep.

I strip him down slowly, taking my time, placing kisses along his skin as I go. Once he’s down to his boxers, I get him into bed and strip down myself, climbing in after him.

We spend a few minutes in silence, his body tucked against mine, his fingers exploring my skin. His touch, as always, has me hard, but I’m content to lie here and soak him in.

“I love you,” he says, breaking the silence.

“I love you too.”

His fingers pause. “Do you think it would make me a bad son if I didn’t go visit Dad? I know I should probably be there for him, but today was exhausting. Trying to keep it together and not fall apart. Trying to keep myself calm and relaxed. It took so much energy,” he says, confirming my suspicions.

“No, beautiful. I don’t think that makes you a bad son. You’ve already done more than most would. You helped him as much as you could. It’s up to him now. If you want to be there to support him, then okay, great. If you don’t, then okay, great. You have to do what’s best for you.”

“Okay,” he whispers, his fingers resuming their stroking. “I don’t think I want to see him until he’s out.”

“That’s perfectly fine. I can ask Mom for updates. Do you want to know anything or not?”

“I don’t know, really. Can I take it day by day and see how I feel? Ask you if I want to know something?”

“Of course.” I tilt my head down and kiss the top of his head.

It’s been two weeks since Richard went into rehab, and Roman hasn’t asked about him once. Not that I blame him—it’s probably for the best. Mom said his detox was brutal, but he hung in there and seems to have made it through the worst of it. I was a little surprised that he didn’t flake out and quit, demanding to go home. But I guess he was serious about sticking it out and getting sober. I’m hoping his determination means that he’s going to stay committed to the program when he gets out. Roman deserves that. He deserves to have the dad he wants.

Roman’s working today, and Riley is coming to hang out. I feel like I’ve barely seen her lately, which sucks. She’s about to go to college in a couple of weeks, and I really need to start thinking about that too. I’m leaning toward nursing school, but I’m not entirely sure yet. I’m thinking I want to specialize in something different from Mom, but we’ll see.

When Riley pulls up outside, her radio is blaring so loudly I can feel the vibrations of the bass in my bedroom. I chuckle to myself, and within minutes, she’s running into my room and flinging herself onto the bed next to me.

“Hello, bestie. I haven’t seen you in forever,” she says, lightly punching my arm.

I roll my eyes. “Don’t be so dramatic. I saw you last week.”

She smirks at me. “I know,” she grumbles. “But it feels like forever, plus it makes me a little sad that I’m leaving in a few weeks and won’t get to see you all the time.”

Her words hit me harder than I expected them to. “It really is the first time we won’t be together in years.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” she pouts. “I’m excited, though, even if I am a little sad.”

I nod. “Same, Ri. I know you’re going to do great things, though.”

She smiles at me and rests her head on my shoulder. “Times are changing, huh?” she says, her tone wistful and a little sad. “You’re in love. I’m moving out of state.”

I hum, trying to keep my voice steady. “Yeah, but you’re going to come back, right?”

“Yeah, I think so. But who knows, maybe I’ll fall in love too, and leave this town behind.”

A lump forms in my throat at the thought of her not coming back. She’s my person, my best friend. “But who will be my best man if you leave and don’t come back?”

“I’ll still be your best man, Beck. I’ll come back for that. I… I don’t know if here is where I want to be, you know? I want to explore the world.” That doesn’t surprise me at all. She’s a wild spirit and always has been. But it still sucks. “Besides, you have Ro now. You don’t need me.”

I’m not so sure that she’s right about that. “I’ll always need you, Ri,” I choke out, surprised by the tears that spring to my eyes.

Her head shoots up, and she turns to look at me. “Nope,” she says, tears filling her own eyes. “We will not cry and get sappy. We’re going to order a pizza, veg out, and watch shitty reality TV together.”

I choke out a wet laugh and nod. “Yeah, sounds good to me.”

We’re sitting on the couch, watching some shitty show, bellies full of greasy pizza, when Roman walks in the door. His eyes light up when he sees Riley sitting on the couch, and he rushes to her, thoroughly ignoring me.

They launch right into their overly complicated handshake—something they came up with a few weeks ago. “Um, excuse me. Kind of rude to walk right past your boyfriend,” I say, only half-joking.

“I live with you, Beck,” he says, without even sparing me a glance. “I hardly ever get to see Riley.”

“He gets me,” she says with a wave toward Roman.

I roll my eyes, even though I’m happy they’re friends. “You saw her last week.”

He turns to me with a cute nose scrunch. “Yeah, but that feels like forever ago.”

“That’s exactly what I said!” Riley yells, and I throw my hands up in defeat.

“Kind of regretting introducing the two of you right now,” I pout.

Roman practically throws himself at me, straddling my hips and wrapping his arms around my neck. His weight knocks me backward against the couch, and he starts peppering my face with kisses. I can’t help but smile like a jackass. “Happy now?” he asks, a smirk on his face. “Is this how you want to be greeted, oh glorious boyfriend of mine?”

I laugh and tickle his sides. He squeals and squirms on top of me, making my cock swell. Which is not ideal in our current company. “Yeah, this is a good start.” I wrap my arms around his waist and squeeze him tightly to me, breathing in his sweet scent. I may not like to eat sweets, but goddamn, I love the smell of sugar on his skin.

“Swoon. You two are adorable. See? This is why I need to find love. All the boys in this town are either stupid or you two.”

Roman’s chuckle vibrates against my chest, and he buries his face in the crook of my neck. I turn my attention back to Riley as I hold Roman against my chest. “I’ll give you that. I got me a pretty good one.”

She rolls her eyes at me but laughs. “Yeah, yeah. Rub it in.”