Maybe living in Luna Harbor with Mane will change things between us. I’ll take this as a challenge to show my abuelo that I can help without having to live in Luna Harbor for the rest of my life while my brothers begin to trust in me again.
Can I do that?
ChapterThirteen
Siobhan
“How dareyou keep this from me?” I’m shaking with anger.
His brother, Manelik, is renting Nydia’s house.
“You… knew it!”
“I just found out a couple of weeks ago,” he says, as if that will absolve him from what he did.
“Then you give us a heads-up and don’t blindside my best friend.”
His jaw twitches, and his eyes fill with something, maybe fury. Who cares? I’m not afraid of him.
“You might be used to little town gossip, but I’m not going to—”
“Don’t you dare talk to me like I’m beneath you, Iskander Cantú.” I point my index finger. “It’s not gossiping to inform me that you and your brother are taking overourhouse. I have no idea what he did to Nydia, but—”
“How do you know it was him who did it?”
“He never came back or broke up with her.”
“She ghosted him,” he retorts. “And if this thing between us is going to work, you have to stay away from their relationship. It’s none of our fucking business.”
“I…” I pause because I’m not sure what to tell him.
It angered me to see my friend in pain—physical and emotional.She’s one of the best people I know and doesn’t deserve to suffer.
“Maybe we shouldn’t continue,” I suggest.
“It’s just sex, Siobhan. Nothing more than fucking.”
“Which means I can’t be involved while there’s such a big history between your family and my only friend in this town.”
He shakes his head. “You’re looking at this the wrong way. As I explained, we’re just having fun. We won’t add feelings or let other people’s problems come between us,” he says with a steady, almost businesslike, voice. “I’m not offering more than fun nights and a few weekend trips.”
“But my friend…” I sigh.
“She isn’t part of this deal. We don’t talk about her, only us and how much fun we have together. Can you do that?”
I can’t help but frown, staring at him as if he’s lost a marble. “What exactly are you asking me to do?”
“This has to stay casual. We can’t let emotional entanglements get to us. More so when this will be over in a few months when my grandfather is back.”
I’m tempted to ask if he has any idea how people recover from cancer. It’s not a five-minute treatment where the patient can just bounce back. Well, at least it’s not for an almost eighty-year-old man. He needs more than just a couple of months away while getting treatment. His body has to recover from the chemo and radiation.
But maybe he’s right. We should keep this… emotionless? Is that what he’s asking for? I already planned on not falling in love, but I guess he wants to add a clause that says we don’t discuss friends and family.
“So we fuck,” I say as a matter of fact.
“And have fun,” he adds.
“Since you seem to have lots of experience with this kind of agreement, why don’t you spell out the expectations, limits, and the fine print.”