Ande
Anderson and Sloane
Cruz sat opposite of Presley after they hung up with her parents and sighed. “Are you okay?”
“He stole money from Dad. He came here with the sole intention of making me go home, by whatever means possible. He plotted with your ex to drug you and you make you sexually vulnerable to a woman who would undoubtedly rape you, Cruz. He wanted to break my heart and send me home crying to my father. What the hell is wrong with him?”
“So much.” He rubbed his head as he contemplated for the first time in his life he was at a loss of how to deal with a situation facing him. Even when fronted with the death of his mother being because his father was a selfish narcissistic prick who refused the woman’s treatment, he immediately was able to formulate a plan to get on the right side of s**t. This, though? This felt almost insurmountable. While he knew their friendship from the time they were small boys until middle school wasn’t steeped with sexuality or the like, Odin must have already known he was different and so to fit in, to promote his masculinity, he acted tough and mean. Growing older, he grew exponentially worse. “Presley, I need to ask you, and I want you to be honest with me. is this making you want to pull away from me?”
She looked at him in confusion. “What?”
“I’m not a fool,” he watched her expressions. 1 know some of the things you said to Ramona the other day in the lobby, about having a crush on me since you were a kid and now you have me, you’re keeping me, some of it was steeped in truth.” He watched as her face turned a pretty shade of pink. “I never contemplated it in the past because I always considered you too young but I’m here, I’m thinking of it and I don’t want to end what we have started. However, is this thing with Odin, his unrequited love for Anderson and the guy from the team, is this making you resent me the way he seems to resent me?” His voice trailed off as she went from startled to a rage fueled red. “Or not.”
“You’re an i***t. You think Odin is going to make me run for the hills? I’ve been taking that fucker on since! was born. No. I don’t want to run, Cruz. Look, sexuality aside, he’s f****d up in the head. There are millions of
because of what they’ve young men in this world who are gay and have been ostracized, punished, tortured gone through and they don’t pick on their kid sister and become misogynistic assholes who plot to drug their best friend for a few measly dollars. Yes, he’s sick. No, it doesn’t give him the right to be mean and torture people. Asshole.” She glowered at Cruz, “if you want out, if this is the out you’re looking for, sa put this on me.”
Cruz. Don’t
“You think I want out?” he almost laughed and would have if she wasn’t clearly so annoyed with him.” Sweetheart, come here.” He crooked his finger and patted his knee.
“I don’t want to. You’ve pissed me off
“Yes you do,” he laughed now unable to stop himself. When she got up and moved to sit on his lap he hugged her to his chest. “Ladybird, you are my fantasy come to life. You’re wild and my kind of crazy, coupled with the best s*x I’ve ever had in my life and, most importantly, I feel good when I’m with you. When we’re hanging out, doing nothing but browsing shops or laying on the beach or looking for starfish like we did earlier, it feels right to me. It might have taken me twenty–five years to see you as something more than Odin’s kid sister who played pranks with me, but, you have my attention now and I’m thrilled by it. I’m not trying to give either of us outs. I’m simply aware this, our new relationship, is going to give Odin more spiteful ammunition to use against you and I don’t want him coming at you because he is pissed off at me for never noticing the
Anderson and Sloane
Anderson and Sloane
Cruz sat opposite of Presley after they hung up with her parents and sighed. “Are you okay?”
“He stole money from Dad. He came here with the sole intention of making me go home, by whatever means. possible. He plotted with your ex to drug you and you make you sexually vulnerable to a woman who would undoubtedly rape you, Cruz. He wanted to break my heart and send me home crying to my father. What the hell is wrong with him?”
“So much.” He rubbed his head as he contemplated for the first time in his life he was at a loss of how to deal with a situation facing him. Even when fronted with the death of his mother being because his father was a selfish narcissistic prick who refused the woman’s treatment, he immediately was able to formulate a plan to get on the right side of s**t. This, though? This felt almost insurmountable. While he knew their friendship from the time they were small boys until middle school wasn’t steeped with sexuality or the like, Odin must have already known he was different and so to fit in, to promote his masculinity, he acted tough and mean. Growing older, he grew exponentially worse. “Presley, I need to ask you, and I want you to be honest with me, is this making you want to pull away from me?”
She looked at him in confusion. “What?”
“I’m not a fool,” he watched her expressions. “I know some of the things you said to Ramona the other day in the lobby, about having a crush on me since you were a kid and now you have me, you’re keeping me, some of it was steeped in truth.” He watched as her face turned a pretty shade of pink. ” never contemplated it in the past because I always considered you too young but I’m here, I’m thinking of it and I don’t want to end what we have started. However, is this thing with Odin, his unrequited love for Anderson and the guy from the team, is this making you resent me the way he seems to resent me?” His voice trailed off as she went from startled to a rage fueled red. “Or not.”
“You’re an i***t. You think Odin is going to make me run for the hills? I’ve been taking that fucker on since l was born. No. I don’t want to run, Cruz. Look, sexuality aside, he’s f****d up in the head. There are millions of young men in this world who are gay and have been ostracized, punished, tortured because of what they’ve gone through and they don’t pick on their kid sister and become misogynistic assholes who plot to drug their best friend for a few measly dollars. Yes, he’s sick. No, it doesn’t give him the right to be mean and torture people. Asshole.” She glowered at Cruz, “if you want out, if this is the out you’re looking for, say it, Cruz. Don’t put this on me.”
“You think I want out?” he almost laughed and would have if she wasn’t clearly so annoyed w Sweetheart, come here.” He crooked his finger and patted his knee.
“I don’t want to. You’ve pissed me off,”
- m.
“Yes you do,” he laughed now unable to stop himself. When she got up and moved to sit on his lap he hugged her to his chest. “Ladybird, you are my fantasy come to life. You’re wild and my kind of crazy, coupled with the best s*x I’ve ever had in my life and, most importantly, I feel good when I’m with you. When we’re hanging out, doing nothing but browsing shops or laying on the beach or looking for starfish like we did earlier, it feels right to me. It might have taken me twenty–five years to see you as something more than Odin’s kid sister who played pranks with me, but, you have my attention now and I’m thrilled by it. I’m not trying to give either of us outs. I’m simply aware this, our new relationship, is going to give Odin more spiteful ammunition to use against you and I don’t want him coming at you because he is pissed off at me for never noticing the
© Anderson and Sloane
obvious.”
“Will you have my back?”
“Always.”
“Then I want to see where this goes, if you do.” She blushed as she stared into his eyes.
He couldn’t help but cuddle her into him, grateful for her acceptance and admittedly full of relief. She fit to his body like she was carved to be there and he wondered if he’d ever grow tired of her being in his arms. He pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, “I’m very happy to hear this.”
“What are we going to do though, Cruz? I’m pissed off. Dad is hurting. Mom is hurting. He’s out here living his life with no ramifications. Dad told me tonight the woman who Odin coerced, refused to press charges despite Dad begging her to. He said he’s so frustrated with everyone letting him off, he’s going to have him arrested for grand theft. He stole ten grand from Dad’s bank account to get here.”
“He did not.”
“He did.”
“**, Presley. We have to deal with him. We have to make him realize how far gone he is.”
“What if it’s too late?” she asked sadly. “What if he’s never going to be better? Our grandfather held hope for Odin right up until he died but I can’t lie and say I have the same hope. I have none. I think he’s a lost cause
and it makes me a horrible person, doesn’t it?”
“I think,” he kissed her forehead softly, “when someone hurts you over and over and over again, there comes a time in your life when you need to say that’s enough and walk away. I think you’ve earned your distrust of him. I think your entire family has.”
“If I don’t do his brunches, he doesn’t get money. I feel like I’m the one responsible for his doom.”
“If he wasn’t such a horrible human being, wouldn’t you want to have a meal with him? This isn’t your fault, Presley. This is his. If he wasn’t so rude, mean, cold, callous to you during every meal, and I know he has been, would you not want to help him get his money?”
“Yes,”
“Why should you be forced to suffer when he is the one getting the rewards. It’s bullshit. I say let him figure it
out.”
“He’s not going to simply let me walk away,” she sighed. “He’s too angry a person for that.”
Cruz was going to reply, his heart hurting to see the sadness in her face, when his phone rang. He looked at the display and sighed, “Anderson.” He answered it, “hey buddy. You got me and Presley.”
“I have Sloane with me. We’ve been doing a deep dive into Odin.”
“How are you Anderson? You must be reeling?” Presley asked sadly.
“Honestly, I spent about ten minutes thinking over every single encounter I’ve ever had with Odin in my life. Overnight camping trips to sleepovers to being in the shower with him after games and it was all on replay in my head until Sloane said something to me.”
“What?”
“You’ve crushed on Cruz your entire life and you never were going to act on it. People have crushes all the
O
Anderson and Sloane
time and whether it’s a man or a woman crushing on me makes no difference. It’s not any different than you crushing on Cruz or me crushing on my grade twelve English Lit teacher. Her boobs were banging! it was a crush. No biggle. It’s not the downfall for our friendship. Odin’s erratic and abusive behavior on the other hand is definitely the culprit. I’m done with him after what I’ve been able to uncover. He’s let his anger at the world taint his soul and now its clear he’s nothing but a horrible human being. Damn, Presley, I didn’t know
how abusive he’d become to you over the years.”
Sloane’s voice picked up, “Presley, you didn’t tell me about his weekly emails.”
1 send them to junk and don’t even read them.”
“He’s horrible and vile.” Sloane was furious. “You should have told me and I could have simply made them disappear before they even reached your junk folder.”
“It’s just Odin being Odin.”
“There’s more,” Anderson spoke, “he’s been making large payments each month to a private bank account. I backtracked it. It looks like he owes a big chunk of change to the guy who owns the casino which was built three years ago. He’s been making payments to him of ten grand every month for the last twelve months.” “The mafia guy?” Cruz said quietly. “The one who went head–to–head with the premier in public and didn’t give a s**t? Odin owes him money?”
“Yes, I don’t know the details of the loan, Cruz. What I can tell you, I’m betting if he misses a payment, he’s
fucked.”
“Damn it, why is he the way he is?” Presley groaned. “So he took some kind of loan from this guy?”
“Yes.”
“For what?”
“I think I found it.” Sloane spoke up, the sound of her fingers tapping her keyboard audible as Anderson moved his phone closer to her. “Holy s**t. He was being blackmailed.”
“By who?” Presley asked curiously.
“f**k,” Anderson’s voice was shaky, “I don’t believe this. There are hundreds of pictures here of Odin and a few lady boys, is this politically correct term, I’m guessing in Thailand.”
“He went there four years ago,” Presley said. “He went on his own.”
“Someone recognized him there,” Anderson said quietly, “and they took advantage of him being in his drunken state and photographed him in some very compromising situations. There is an email here demanding a million dollars. He paid it.”
“He borrowed a million dollars from the mob to pay off an extortionist to make sure nobody ever found out he’s gay and f****d some drag queens in Thailand.” Presley covered her mouth. “Odin needs help. We have to talk to Dad. He can’t keep hiding s**t like this. No wonder he’s hurting. He’s lashing out.”
“He’s a grown ass man,” Sloane hissed. “Do not start feeling sorry for him, Presley. He is literally a grown man who stole money from your father, which I discovered earlier and you’ll need to call him and tell him.”
“He knows already
“Well, he’s a criminal and he needs to be held accountable. If he wasn’t such a d**k, maybe people wouldn’t
<Anderson and Sloane
screw with him.” Sloane was furious.
“Oh my God.” Anderson choked, “you’re not going to believe it. I was able to get through the email chains, The person who blackmailed him,” he took a deep breath.
“Who?”
“The woman he lost his job over a couple years ago.”
“What?”
“I bet she started working for him thinking she was going to find a way to make some more easy money. She probably played your dad and Cruz.” Sloane spoke up.
“Unbelievable.” Cruz was in awe. “We need to confront him.”
“Not yet.” Anderson sighed. “We’re coming to you.”
“What?”
“Sloane, Halima and I already booked out flight. We’re on the next plane out. We’re coming to you. You need backup. We’re not going to let Odin and Ramona tear apart what could possibly be the best relationship to ever grace all of Canada. We’re coming to France.”
Cruz looked at Presley and grinned as she shook her head at his friend’s words. “Since everyone is going to be here, maybe we should really f**k with Odin and Ramona and do a fake wedding.”
“No.” She shook her head. “If I ever get married, real or otherwise, Dad is walking me down the aisle and Odin
knows it.”
“Uh, Presley, I’m in your father’s bank accounts right now because I was tracking what Odin was doing and it looks like your father just booked three tickets to France.” Her fingers clicked away, “he is coming with your mom and Odin’s mom.”
Cruz leaned back in his seat, holding Presley on his lap. “Then maybe we should give my father what he wants. Let’s make Ramona realize she’s never getting me back and let’s ensure Odin knows the entire family has Presley’s back over his. It’s time for both of them to get theirs.”
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