Total pages in book: 157
Estimated words: 145088 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 725(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145088 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 725(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Frank closed the door behind them, patting Dex’s back as they stood in the middle of the living room, in the familiar glow of the single wall lamp and the TV. For several moments, he kept quiet, but eventually, his chest trembled as he cleared his throat before speaking. “You do? It’s been only—” he stalled and for once stopped himself from chastising Dex for jumping the gun.
“I don’t even know how long. Three weeks? What does it matter if that’s how I feel? We’ve been through so much together already, and we are just such a good fit. I just… I need to fix it somehow.” He dared to meet Frank’s eyes. “And I’m sorry for what I said about my mom, I was so angry. I can never do anything right.”
Frank opened his mouth, closed it, and then guided Dex to the table where the remains of the day’s dinner still rested on a plastic tray. “Everyone fucks up sometimes,” he said and squeezed Dex’s shoulder. “I’ll make you something to eat, hm?”
“I am hungry…” Dex said reluctantly and sat down, slouching under the weight of the world. “You don’t fuck up this way, you know. Normal people don’t. I ruin everything. I said such shit things to you, and now you’re trying to make me feel better.”
“Well, I fucked up too,” Frank said, standing behind his usual chair and grabbing its backrest. His gaze passed over Dex’s face before settling on a piece of meat he’d left on his tray. “Shouldn’t have smacked you. I just got so angry I lost my cool.”
Dex shrugged. “I deserved it.” And he would have preferred a punch from Hammer to the silence.
“No,” Frank said with a firm shake of his head. “Even if you crossed the line, it was wrong to hit you just to make myself feel better. Which didn’t work, by the way. I’ve been through enough to know nothing good comes from hitting your kid.”
Dex wanted to remind Frank that he wasn’t his dad, but he knew what his uncle meant. “I can’t imagine you being a teen rebel.”
Frank turned around to boil some water. “I didn’t have a good dad, and your grandma left me and my sister with him anyway. I’d hate it if you felt you had no place to go and no one to reach out to for help.”
Dex rubbed his tired eyes again. “Even after everything I did? I am gonna prospect for the club, you know.”
Frank stalled, but then reached into Dex’s cupboard and took out his favorite instant ramen. Despite the house being his and the worktops installed uncomfortably high for Dex, Frank still looked too big for the small kitchen. “I can’t stop you. And yeah, I hate it. I hate that I can’t protect you forever, but Hammer was right. You are an adult. All I can do is try to help if something doesn’t work out,” he said and started chopping a bell pepper, but then suddenly turned, pointing the knife at Dex. “Even when something doesn’t work out with him. I’m gonna gut him if he hurts you, but I need you to know that you can come and tell me no matter what. I won’t laugh, and I won’t blame you. I’m on your side, Dex, even if you don’t believe that sometimes.”
Dex snorted, playing with a fork. “You’re gonna gut him? What happened to your no-killing rule?”
Frank’s face fell, and he faced the chopping board again. “It wasn’t always in place. I... I wasn’t always the man I am now, so I also know people can change. And maybe Hammer can too. I want to believe you’re not wrong about him.”
When the water boiled, Frank poured it into a pot and chucked in the noodles before returning to the toppings.
Dex would have pulled on the juicy thread of Frank’s past if he wasn’t so damn tired. “He is a butcher. It’s just that he’s not dangerous to me. But after my fuck up, I don’t even know if we’re together anymore.”
Frank shook his head. "Schrödinger's relationship?”
“What?”
“You don’t know if it’s alive or dead. It could be either, but until you check inside the box, you’re in limbo.”
“I don’t wanna agitate him with questions just yet,” Dex said, but in truth he was simply afraid of the answer he might get.
Frank looked over his shoulder, and his muscles flexed when he brought the knife down hard. “So you haven’t called him since? And you say he lost his finger?”
Dex’s insides twisted at the memory of the expression on Hammer’s face when he’d cut off what was left of the finger. “Yeah. My fault. How much time should I give him? Maybe I should prod? Maybe he’ll think I don’t care if I don’t?
Frank shoved all the cut vegetables and ham into the pot and faced him. “You said he protected you? Yeah, I think you should call him first. Don’t give him too much time to think.”