He’s hurt and he’s doing a great job of hiding it by taking his anger out on Anton. He wants to take him down. We all do, but it’s not going to be easy and he knows it. A guy like Anton doesn’t get taken down. The cops have tried countless times and he always manages to cover himself. He’s like some kind of criminal mastermind, just like my mom.
Finding out that she was the leader of a prostitution ring; my God, I never expected that in a million years. I mean, from what little I could gather about Rivers’ personal life, I always assumed the woman who raised him was going to be no good, but a prostitution ring? It’s been weeks and I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.
Noah takes his water bottle off the park bench and discreetly looks around before gently placing the cold bottle between his legs and pulling me out of my head. “What the hell are you doing?” I chuckle as I watch him trying to ice his dick.
“It burns,” he groans before taking a bite out of his Caesar wrap and focusing on the children playing in the park, though, I know he’s looking that way but I don’t think he actually sees them. Something tells me he’s trapped inside his head which has been happening a lot lately.
I reach over and take his hand. “You ok?” I murmur, hating that his heart is hurting at the moment.
“Yeah,” he sighs. “I’m just thinking of ways I can get mom to forgive me.”
“She said she needed you to make amends for everything you’ve done while working for Anton.”
“I know,” he says. “But it’s not that easy. It’s not like I can go and un-steal a car and give it back to the guy. That thing is probably in tiny little pieces and long gone. How am I supposed to make amends for that?”
“I don’t know, but I’m sure you’ll figure out a way. You could always volunteer for the community. I’m sure your mom would appreciate that.”
He looks back at me. “Keep talking.”
“Ummm…there’s always picking up trash and cleaning up the community. You know, scrubbing graffiti off buildings or giving them a new paint job.”
“Like a fucking criminal doing community service? No thanks. What else you got?”
“Uh, you could volunteer for the fire department. I’m sure they’ll appreciate the help. You’re fit enough to keep up with those guys, but I’d be pissed if you killed yourself trying to be a hero.”
Noah looks over at me. “That’s not a bad idea. I’m going to look into that.”
“Good,” I smile proudly as I dig into my lunch. “Now, what about Anton? Have you worked out what you’re going to do there?”
“Nope,” he says with a heavy sigh, putting his lunch down. “I can’t tell the cops what I know without telling them how I know it. They’ve tried him so many times before that they’ll need hard evidence to get another warrant and as bad as I want to take him down, I’m not too keen on taking myself down with him. But if I could find a way to make that happen and be the guy who puts him away, that’ll go far in earning back mom’s trust.”
“She’ll come around eventually,” I tell him. “She’s just hurting and feeling betrayed. Just give her a little time.”
“It’s not that easy. She’s my mom.”
“I know,” I tell him, a little jealous of the bond he shares with her. I was never lucky enough to have something like that. The woman I thought was my mother was awful until she abandoned me, and the woman I’ve recently discovered is my biological mother…well, she’s currently rotting in prison.
How did I get so lucky?
“I think it’ll get worse before it can get better,” he tells me. “I can’t earn her forgiveness and trust without telling her the full story. She needs to know about Lily’s involvement with this. Right now, she just thinks I work for the guy to earn a bit of cash. I have no idea how she’s going to react when she finds out that I sold my soul to him for Lily.”
“I think it’ll take a little while, but she’ll eventually understand.” I scoot into his side and get undeniable relief when he wraps his arm around me. “No matter where you’re living or how upset she was, just remember that she loves you.”
“I know,” he sighs. “I’m trying but when your mom kicks you out of her house, it’s not that easy to remember.”
“You have no choice but to remember,” I tell him before glancing down at his crotch. “Now, how much is that thing hurting? I want to see it in action.”
Noah shakes his head. “Trust me, babe. I am so out of action,” he says with a smirk. “And you’ve got no one to blame but yourself.”