There's Something About Him (Complete)

Chapter Thirteen - He's My Only Friend

"So why did you pick here to settle your family?" Heath had shown me around the back of the house where his mother had expertly planted a lovely rose garden and was now leading me down a paved pathway to where a massive shed stood with its doors wide open.

He kept his pace slow as we moved forward, "Mum loved the house and I liked that this town is on the opposite side of America from all the shit we've been dealing with."

I peered up at him, "You don't like the fame?"

He laughed, "I have to admit that I like what it brings me." He waved a hand, "I was able to do this for my parents and I'm able to put River through college even though he insists on staying enrolled at that horrible school for the moment."

I grinned, "He said that you offered to hire him private tutors so he could be home schooled."

"Yeah," he sighed, "but I gave him the choice and he said that he'd prefer to go through the public system."

"I think he regrets it," I murmured, wondering how long I was expected to follow Heath before I could join River in the house since I had essentially come to spend time with him.

I saw him look at me from the corner of his eye, "Is that what you think? He seems to actually be enjoying it."

"He gets propositioned a lot," I admitted, "And I know that he gets frustrated and upset that everyone wants to hang with him so that they can meet you."

Heath sighed and raised a hand to tug at his hair, "Alira, I'm an asshole. I know that and I can't completely blame it on the fact that I didn't want you to turn out like his last so called friend but I want you to know that I do believe both you and River when you say that you're not here for that."

"Why? Why do you believe that now when less than an hour ago you were ready to kick my ass to the curb?" And, more importantly, what had happened with River's friend?

His eyes glinted, "One, I forgot for a moment that River is a smart boy and can see the difference now that he knows what to look for and two...I may have taken a moment to finally look over that Spyder you were laying across." He leaned down so that he could look me in the eye, "Unless you're a thief, you have some big secrets."

I felt myself pale, "Does River know?"

"That you must be rolling some serious money to be able to afford that car," he shrugged, "Like I said, he's not stupid, Alira."

"Do you think he'll hate me?" I whispered.

He eyed me sharply for a second before his hands came down to rest over my shoulders, "River is one of the most loyal people that I know and one of the most forgiving. He won't hate you for protecting yourself if that is your reason keeping quiet but I do suggest that you guys have a chat soon and just get everything into the open."

"You're not judging me?"

He chuckled, "I think I've already done that enough, don't you?"

"He's my only friend," I whispered.

I was shocked when those large hands pulled me into a solid chest, "And you're his. Everything will work out fine."

"You know," I mused, weirdly comfortable as I pressed my check to his pectoral muscle, "I think you have bipolar disorder or a split personality."

He laughed as he finally released me and took a step back, "It wouldn't surprise anyone if that turned out to be true." His face suddenly turned serious as he offered me a hand, "Can we start over?"

I peered at his hand, baffled, before looking into his eyes. I didn't completely trust him but it seemed that I had found a surprising ally who might just understand me even if our circumstances were completely different.

I shook his hand and drew a deep breath, "I'd like to start over with both you and River. There are a lot of things that I haven't told him - things that I haven't trusted anyone with."

I saw him slowly turn back to the house, waiting until I stepped up next to him before he began walking, "We all make decisions and some do seem to bite us on the ass a lot but with River, with my family, I doubt that what you say will make a difference to how you'll be treated."

"Unless it's that I'm a gold-digging whore who borrowed that car from one of my sugar daddies, right?"

He grinned down at me, "Right. And I can see that you aren't going to stop kicking my ass over that."

I shrugged, "River wasn't the nicest person when we first met and I told him that I had no idea who his family was. I'd never heard of you and he didn't believe me at first."

He nodded, "He told me about that. Said you pretty much ripped his balls off and told him to go fuck himself."

I blushed, "I didn't say it like that."

He shrugged, "He told me that he deserved it, said that after everything that's happened he was sick of being so jaded."

"What happened to him? His friend from back home?"

"That's his story to tell but it nearly broke us - took him a long time to stop hating me and even longer for me to stop hating myself."

We reached the back door before he paused with a hand on the knob, "Don't hurt him, Alira - that's all I ask."

I nodded, hoping that I wouldn't be the one hurt in the end.