Beautiful Oblivion

CHAPTER TWENTY

AND JUST SIGN HERE, AND HERE, AND YOU’RE GOOD TO GO,” I said.

Landen Freeman made a few squiggles on each line, and then leaned against the counter, onto his elbows. I’d seen him around Eastern State’s tiny campus when I was taking more classes, but I hadn’t seen him in over a year, and it wasn’t surprising that he didn’t recognize me.

“What time does this place close?” He stared straight into my eyes, flashing a sexy smile that I imagined he had been perfecting in a mirror since puberty.

I pointed to the writing on the door with the pen, and then purposefully busied myself with his paperwork. “Eleven.”

“Mind if I stop by? I’d love to take you to the Red Door. Have you been there?”

“Have you?” I asked, slightly amused.

“Once in a while. I’m loaded down with twenty hours a semester. Trying to finish and get the hell out of here as quick as I can.”

“I know the feeling,” I said.

“So . . . what about that drink?”

“What drink?” I asked.

“The drink I want to buy you.”

Trenton appeared beside me, picked up the papers, and began looking through them. “If you’re wanting this freehanded, Calvin’s your guy, and he’s not working today.”

Landen shrugged. “I’m cool with whoever. It doesn’t have to be freehand.”

“You want me to do it?” Trenton asked.

“Yeah, I mean, I’ve seen your work on the website. It’s badass.”

“I’ll do it, but you’re going to have to stop staring at my girl’s tits.”

I craned my neck at him. I hadn’t caught Landen staring at my chest once.

“Uh . . .” Landen said, stammering.

“On second thought, you better call and make an appointment with Cal. I’m busy.” Trenton tossed the waivers, and they rained down around us. He turned his hat to sit off center, and I watched, unimpressed, as Trenton strolled back to his station. He walked with an arrogant swagger—the way he did before beating someone down.

Landen looked at me, then down the hall, and then back at me.

“I’m . . . I’m so sorry,” I said, handing him our card. “Here’s the number for the shop. Calvin works on Wednesdays and Thursdays, by appointment only.”

Landen took the card. “I didn’t know,” he said, smiling sheepishly. The door chimed when he left, and I turned on my heels, stomping down the hall into Trenton’s room.

“What the hell was that?”

“He asked you out!”

“So?”

“So? I should have beat his ass!”

I sighed and closed my eyes. “Trent, I handled it. You can’t run customers off every time they flirt with me. That’s what Cal hired me for.”

“He did not hire you to be flirted with. He hired—”

“A hot piece of ass to work the counter. A job you offered me, don’t forget.”

“He didn’t even ask you if you were single, first! At least the douche nozzle could have started with that.”

“I had it handled.”

“I didn’t hear you turn him down . . .”

My nose wrinkled. “I was dodging his question! I can’t just shut him down while he’s out here in the waiting area! It’s called professionalism.”

“Oh, is that what it’s called?”

I narrowed my eyes at him.

“You could have told him you have a boyfriend.”

“Is that what this is? That I’m not holding up my new label like a picket sign? What if I just tattoo TRENTON’S GIRL across my forehead?”

His face softened, and he chuckled. “I will gladly tat that somewhere else.”

I growled in frustration and walked back to the front. Trenton jogged after me.

“It’s not a horrible idea,” he said, only half teasing.

“I am not tatting your name on me,” I said, disgusted that he was even entertaining the idea. Trenton had already filled in the poppies the first week of Christmas break with a striking cherry red, and then two days before Christmas, he’d added some tribal art and black and bright green swirling clouds to the same arm. A week after New Year’s, I had a gorgeous blooming red rose with yellow accents. I was on my way to an intricate, badass sleeve. We had begun to refer to our sessions as pain therapy. I would talk, and Trenton would draw and listen. I loved sharing that time with him, and knowing that I carried his beautiful pieces of art with me everywhere.

He sat on the counter, his palms planted flat against the Formica. “Maybe I’ll hide it in one of your tattoos one of these days.”

“Maybe I’ll break your machine into a million pieces,” I said.

“Whoa. Shit just got real,” he said, hopping down to stand next to me. “I’m sorry you’re angry that I ran the guy off. I’m not sorry for running him off, but I am sorry I made you mad. Think about it, though. I wasn’t going to tat him up after he hit on my girl. Trust me. It was best for everyone.”

“Stop making sense,” I snapped.

Trenton wrapped his arms around me from behind, and then buried his face in my neck. “I’m almost not sorry for making you mad. You’re fucking hot when you’re angry.”

I playfully elbowed him in the ribs, and the door chimed again. Colin and Chase walked toward the counter, and Chase crossed his arms over his chest.

“Tattoos?” I asked. They weren’t amused.

Trenton’s grip relaxed. “How can we help you, guys?”

Colin frowned. “We need to talk to Camille. Alone.”

Trenton shook his head. “Not gonna happen.”

Chase narrowed his eyes and leaned toward us. “She’s our fucking family. We’re not asking for your permission, Maddox.”

Trenton raised an eyebrow. “You are, you just don’t know it yet.”

Colin’s eye twitched. “Chase is here to talk to his sister. This is family business, Trent. You need to stay out of it. Camille, outside. Now.”

“You can talk to me here, Colin. What do you need?”

He glared at me. “You really want to talk about this here?”

“What do you want to talk about?” I asked, trying to remain calm. I was sure if we went outside, Colin or Chase would lose his temper and a fight would break out. It was safer to stay put.

“You didn’t show up for Thanksgiving. Dad said you had to work. Whatever. But then you don’t show up at Christmas. Then your chair is empty again at lunch on New Year’s Day. What the fuck is going on, Camille?” Chase asked, incensed.

“I have two jobs, and I’m taking classes. It’s just the way things happened this year.”

“Dad’s birthday is next week,” Chase said. “You better fucking be there.”

“Or what?” Trenton said.

“The fuck did you just say to me, Maddox?” Chase snapped.

Trenton lifted his chin. “She better be there, or what? What are you going to do if she doesn’t show?”

Chase leaned against the counter. “Come get her.”

“No. You won’t,” Trenton said.

Colin leaned in, too, keeping his voice low when he spoke. “I’m only going to say this one more time. This is family business, Trent. You need to stay the fuck out of it.”

Trenton’s jaws worked under his skin. “Cami is my business. And her cocksucking brothers walking into her work trying to bully her is most definitely my business.”

Colin and Chase glared at Trenton, both of them taking a step backward. Colin spoke first, like he always did. “Camille, come outside with us right now, or I’m going to tear this place apart while I kick your buddy’s ass.”

“I’m not her buddy. I’m her boyfriend, and I’ll knock you the fuck out before you can scratch the paint.”

Calvin appeared on the other side of me. I looked down and his hands were balled into fists. “Did you just say you were going to tear up my shop?”

“What are you going to do about it?” Chase spat on the floor.

“Chase, Jesus Christ!” I yelled. “What is wrong with you?” Trenton held me back, even though I wasn’t trying all that hard to go anywhere.

Bishop and Hazel came out of their rooms, curious about the noise. Bishop stood on the other side of Calvin, and Hazel on the end.

Hazel crossed her arms. “I may not look like much, but when one of these big boys are holding you down and I’m clawing your eyes out, you’ll understand why I’m standing here. But see . . . I don’t want to claw your eyes out, because you’re Cami’s family. And we don’t want to hurt her. Ever. Because she’s part of our family, now. And you don’t. Hurt. Family. So take a lesson from us, wipe those frowns off your punk ginger faces, and go home. When you cool off, Chase . . . give your sister a call. And talk to her nice. Unless you don’t want to keep your eyes.”

“Or your arms,” Trenton added. “Because if you ever talk to her with anything less than a respectful tone again, I will rip those fuckers off and beat you with ’em. Do we understand each other?”

Colin and Chase watched our group with wary eyes, from Trenton to Hazel, and everyone in between. They were outnumbered, and I could see in Colin’s eyes he wasn’t going to take them all on.

Chase looked to me. “I’ll call you later. We deserve an explanation for why our family’s falling apart.”

I nodded, and they both turned and pushed through the double doors.

When Colin’s engine fired up, I looked down, embarrassed. “I’m so sorry, Calvin.”

“The shop’s good, kiddo. We’re good.” He walked back to his office, and Hazel walked over, sliding her arms between mine and pressing her cheek against my chest.

“We got you,” she said simply. I kept my eyes on the floor, but when it was obvious Hazel wasn’t letting go, I squeezed her tight.

Bishop watched us for a moment.

“Thank you,” I said.

Bishop raised an eyebrow. “I wasn’t going to fight. I was just out here to watch.” He walked back to his room, and I chuckled.

Hazel let me go and took a step back. “All right. Show’s over. Get back to work.” She left for her room.

Trenton pulled me into his arms, and touched his lips to my hair. “They’ll get it eventually.”

I looked up at him, unsure of what he meant.

“I’m never going to let them intimidate you again.”

I pressed my cheek against his chest again. “It’s all they know, Trent. I can’t really blame them.”

“Why not? They blame you for everything. And they’re not robots. They’re adults, and they can make different choices. They choose to stick with what they know.”

“Kind of like you and your brothers?” I didn’t look up, and Trenton didn’t respond right away.

Finally he took a breath. “We don’t react to things because it’s all we know. It’s just the opposite. We have no fucking clue what we’re doing.”

“But you try,” I said, nuzzling up against him. “You try to be good people. You work toward doing better, being better, more patient, and more understanding. But just because you can beat someone’s ass . . . doesn’t mean you should.”

Trenton chuckled. “Yeah it does.” I tried—and not very hard—to push him away. He held me tighter.

“I’m going to make you beef tips and rice tonight,” I said.

Trenton made a face. “I love your cooking, baby doll, but I can’t keep eating dinner at three AM.”

I laughed. “Fine, I’ll have it waiting for you. There’s a spare key under the rock that sits in front of the pillar by my door. I’ll leave it there.”

“Can I take a rain check? I promised Olive I’d take her to Chicken Joe’s.”

I smiled, but I wasn’t happy about missing out on Olive time.

“Wait. Did you just tell me where the spare key was?”

“Yeah?”

“So can I use it anytime?”

I shrugged. “Yeah.”

A small smile tugged on one corner of Trenton’s mouth, and then it spread across his face. “I’m going to bet on Travis’s next fight. Try to get the money back I lost to Abby, and then some. I’m going to start looking for a place next week. I want you to come with me.”

“Okay,” I said, not sure why he had such a serious look on his face. I already knew he was working toward getting his own place.

Trenton’s smile was beaming. “It’s his end-of-the-year fight. Big money. They’ll probably get some has-been MMA fighter like they got last year.”

“Who’d they get last year?”

“Kelly Heaton. He lost the championship four years ago. Travis beat the piss out of ’em.” Trenton was clearly enjoying the memory. “I made fifteen hundred. If I can make at least that this year, we’ll be set.”

“You’ll be set. I have a place.”

“Yeah, well, maybe one of these days you’ll decide to stay the night and you’ll never go home.”

“Don’t count on it. I love having my space.”

“You can have your space. You can have whatever you want.”

I rose up on the balls of my feet, wrapped my arms around his neck, and kissed Trenton’s soft lips. “I already have what I want.”

He squeezed me tighter. “Come on. You know you want to.”

“No, thank you. Not anytime soon.”

Trenton’s face fell for just a second, and then he winked and grabbed my keys. “I’m going to start the Jeep. Be right back.”

He slipped on his coat and jogged outside.

Hazel came to the front and shook her head. “Trenton loves you, kaibigan. Like, the deep, forever kind. I’ve never seen him like this, doing this shit for girls.” She was nearly cooing every word.

I turned to her. “What did you just call me?”

She smiled. “I called you ‘friend,’ bitch. In Tagalog. You have a problem with that?”

I laughed and pushed her, barely hard enough to budge her tiny frame. “No. I have a problem with the fact that I’m almost out of cigarettes, and I don’t want to spend the money for another pack.”

“Then fucking quit. It’s gross, anyway.”

“You don’t smoke?” I asked. Everyone else at the shop did, so I just assumed she would, too.

Hazel made a face. “No. And I would never date you, based on that alone. It’s disgusting. No one likes tonguing an ashtray.”

I popped a cigarette in my mouth. Trenton ran in, shivering. “Heat’s on high, baby!” He pulled the cigarette out of my mouth and kissed me, leaning me back a bit.

When he released me, I turned to Hazel. “Someone does.”

Hazel stuck her tongue out at me. “Come in early tomorrow. I’m going to start your gauges.”

“No. You’re not.”

“Yes, I am,” she lilted, walking to her room.

“You want me to drive you to the Red? I don’t want your shit head brothers showing up at your apartment. And it’s nasty out.”

“Brazil’s there, and I can handle a little snow.” There was a foot of dirty, melting mess on the ground, and the wind was brutal, but it was better than ice, and our little town was good about keeping most of the roads clear.

Trenton’s cheeks and nose were bright red, and he was still shivering. “Brazil can’t handle your brothers,” he said, frowning.

I giggled, and grabbed my heavy black coat and purse. “Thank you for starting the Jeep. Stay in here where it’s warm.”

He handed me back my cigarette, but not before giving me one last kiss. “Valentine’s is in a week.”

“Yes. In exactly one week from today. So it’s on a Saturday. Good for everyone else, bad for us.”

“Ask off. You worked Thanksgiving.”

“I’ll think about it.”

Trenton stood at the door while I backed out of the parking lot. I drove home without a problem. I shut the door behind me, tossed the keys onto the counter, and walked straight to the bathroom. Standing under a hot shower felt glorious, but the second I turned off the water, I could hear Brazil and Raegan bickering. By the time I brushed my teeth, wrapped myself in my white, fuzzy robe, and stepped out into the hallway, they had taken their argument to the front door.

Brazil saw me, and sighed. “I’m going, Ray. I told them I’d be there, and I’m going.”

“But we had plans. It’s not okay to cancel plans with me to go drinking with your frat brothers! Why don’t you get that?”

Brazil pulled his hat down low over his eyes, zipped up his coat, and left.

Raegan walked straight into my room and sat on my bed. I sat on the floor in front of a full-size mirror, and unzipped my makeup bag.

“He’s such a dick!” she said, pounding the mattress with her fists.

“He’s not ready for a relationship. He wants the benefits of a girlfriend without the commitment.”

She shook her head. “Then he’d just pull a Travis Maddox and fuck everything with a vag until he found the one, instead of trying so hard to make things work with me.”

I raised an eyebrow. “He doesn’t want you to be happy with anyone else.”

Raegan’s angry expression turned sad. “Kody called me today. He’s worried about the roads and wants to pick me up for work. We had our stupid fights, but I miss him.”

I painted my eyes and lips, and then plugged in my hair dryer and turned it on. “What are you waiting for, Ray?” I said loudly, above the noise.

She didn’t answer, instead she just watched me blow my hair all over the place. When I was finished, she shrugged. “Brazil dumped me right about this time before last year’s date party. I bought a dress, I told everyone he asked me. I’m going to that fucking party.”

I glared into the mirror, staring at her reflection in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? You are putting up with this frat boy nonsense to go to a party?”

“I bought a dress!” she said. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“You’re right. I wouldn’t.”

The doorbell rang, and Raegan and I stared at each other.

“Maybe it’s Brazil,” she said.

“Colin and Chase came by Skin Deep today. Almost got in a fight with Trenton . . . and everyone else.”

“Shit, you think it’s them?” she asked.

I stood up, crept over to the door, and looked through the peephole. I rolled my eyes and pulled off the chain, opening the door. Kody was standing there, bundled in a wool coat, scarf, gloves, and cap.

“What are you doing here?” Reagan asked, stepping out into the living room.

“It’s getting worse, Ray. I don’t think it’s a good idea that you drive. Either of you.”

She looked down. “I’m not ready for work, yet.”

Kody fell onto the love seat. “I’ll wait. I’ll leave the truck running so it’s warm when you get in.”

Raegan stifled a smile, and then she rushed to her room and shut the door.

“I just got home less than twenty minutes ago. It’s not that bad,” I said with a smirk.

“Ssh,” Kody said. “She doesn’t need to know that.”

“You’re good,” I said, walking back to my room.