I Hate You, Mr. Boss-Man [18+]

039

Dylan

"Kiss dad's headstone for me."

I push the shopping cart aimlessly through the aisles, glancing at the grocery list mom had written up. She sent me out to get a few things before the party, give or take a few. I stop in the drink section, crouching down to retrieve a 32-count pack of bottled water—dad's tags jingling against my chest. I kept replaying my sister's words in the back of my head. I knew it wasn't her fault with what went down between mom and her.

Sometimes I could say some shitty things but, I'd never go as far as to blame Katherine for something like her ex. Jacob was a dick, plain and simple. I knew something was going on with her. She seemed happy and lively. Whether it be a promotion or a boyfriend, I was glad she was finally receiving the long end of the stick.

"Stratford? Is that you?"

My head whips around to the sound of my name. My gaze landed on none other than the dick himself. I huff, scratching the back of my neck as he approaches me, a stupid ass smile on his lips. "Heathers," I gripe, folding my arms over my chest. "To what do I owe this terrible pleasure?"

Jacob's smile falls quickly, brows pinching together. "Seriously? You're going to hold that over my head, as well?" He scoffs, the corner of his mouth tugging into a smirk. "Dude, come on. It was seven years ago."

"And yet," I start, jaw clenching tightly. "Seven years don't seem like enough to get over you hurting my sister, does it?"

Jacob huffs, shaking his head at my resentment towards him. My eyes flicker down to the 12-pack of Rainer beer. Shitty beer for a shitty person. "Look, man," Jacob starts once again, splaying his free hand in defense. "I just came over to see how you were doing, that's it. I know it's Landon's birthday today and-"

I shake my head, his sentence falling short. "Don't do that," I grumble, stepping in front of him—Amber turning the corner into the aisle. "Don't pretend as if you care about my well-being. We're not friends, okay?" I step away, taking hold of the shopping cart.

"Glad to know that you and your sister have the same attitude."

I halt, the squeak of my boots grazing the linoleum. I consider it, thinking long and hard about the consequences before I turn around in a flash, balling up my fist, and I punch him hard in the hollow of his cheek. "Jacob!" Amber shouts, quickly aiding him at his side.

He stumbles back, horror in his eyes as he holds his cheek—eyes locked on mine like magnets. "Fucking hell!" He hisses, his side of his lip busted open. "What the fuck, Dylan?!"

"That's for my sister, you assclown." I hiss, my knuckles throbbing, and my hand beginning to shake from the force. It had started to bruise but, I didn't care. "I should've beaten your ass seven years ago."

"You were nothing but a punk-ass kid!" Jacob spits angrily, wiping the blood from his mouth as he scrambles to his feet, pushing Amber's hands off of him. "What the fuck were you going to do?"

"That might've been," I chuckle, shoving my trembling hand into the pocket of my hoodie. "But, I grew out of that. You, Heathers? You will always be a cheater. That's not something you can walk back from."

"Fuck you, Stratford."

"Fuck you, too, Heathers. Have a wonderful rest of your day." And with that, I turn around and continue my shopping trip.

Later on

"What the hell happened to your hand?!" Mom scolds me and pulls my hand closer to inspect the bruising.

"Nothing, mom," I mumble and rip my hand from her grasp, and I head inside the kitchen to set the bags down. "I had a bit of an altercation with the cans."

"Ruth Heathers called me," She pipes up, making my eyes shut tightly in defeat. "She said that Jacob came home with a busted lip and bruised cheek. Do you happen to know anything about that?"

"What are we? In high school?" I snicker, shaking my head. "I'm not a kid anymore, mom. I don't need you scolding me." I grumble, turning to face her.

She sighs loudly, looking to the ceiling for a moment before meeting my eyes. "I just want to know if you did it."

"Why? So, you can blame that on Kat as well?" My mouth snaps shut, realizing what I had just said. It wasn't supposed to come out like that but, better now than never. "I didn't mean-"

"Yeah, you did," She mumbles, arms folded over her chest. "You meant it with all your heart. I was just wondering when it was going to come out." Mom sighs, running her fingers through her ash brown hair. She smiles thinly, cupping my cheek in her palm—caressing my skin with her thumb. "You get your honesty from your father."

"Why'd you do it?" I ask suddenly, mouth pressed in a hard line. "Why are you still keeping a grudge against your daughter?"

She drops her hand, closing her eyes before shaking her head. "Dylan, you just wouldn't understand."

"Bull," I grumble. "Don't talk to me as if I'm still sixteen. I'm twenty-two fucking years old. Is it pride, mom? Is that why you cut her out?"

"Don't speak to me like that, Dylan." She hisses, pointing a scolding finger at me. "I'm still your mother. I don't owe you any sort of explanation." My mom begins to walk away.

"No, but you owe Katherine."

She halts in her tracks, her back to me.

"You owe her so much more than an explanation," I say softly as my phone rings. I huff out a breath, reaching into my back pocket to fish out my cell. "It's Kat," I mumble, looking down at the screen before meeting my mother's green eyes. "Don't leave yet. I'm going to answer, and you're going to listen." I slide the call button to the right and place the call on speaker. "Hey, Kat,"

"Hey," And I immediately knew that she had been crying. I look at our mother, her brows softening at the sound of her daughter's voice. "I just w...wanted to know if you got there safely?"

"Yeah," I nod assuringly, knowing she couldn't see me. "I'm okay. I just got back from the grocery store. I'm helping mom put the groceries away."

"How, um...how is she?"

My eyes never leave my mother's, her face washing over with an unreadable expression. "She's, well, mom is mom." I chuckle, earning a soft smack from our mom.

"I just...I wanted to know if she was okay. You know, despite everything that happened with us, Dyl. I love her. I mean, she's our mom, and even though there are days where I could fly out to Pearland and yell at her until I'm blue in the face. I forgive her, you know?"

My mom blinked back the tears burning her eyes. She covers her mouth, stepping away from me and the phone in my hand.

"As I've said before, whatever mom has against you is her problem, not yours," I note, "You've done nothing wrong."

I hear Kat laugh on the other end. I knew it wasn't because she thought it was funny. "I've got some pretty exciting news for you!" She exclaimed, her tone picking up.

"Yeah? Tell me all about it."