You're Always You

Chapter Thirteen

David Minett

....

Dave had not expected to find Lydia...for a good while. He had no clues, he would've had to look back all the way to high school to find her again.

But apparently she was here....

Stripping.

With Monica.

That was...convenient he supposed, but Jesus Christ.

Well, at least he didn't have to do any detective work. That was...something. Bright side, Davie. But, now he had to get them both out of here, and....Well, he had a feeling rescuing Lydia would be a lot harder than rescuing Monica.

When David had found Monica, he'd pulled her down from the stage and brought her to a corner to give her a thorough scolding. Telling her that this was gross, that she shouldn't expose herself like this, that she was asking for trouble outside of work, and that this would follow her for the rest of her life. And that wasn't even mentioning that she could've just asked her family for help. It wasn't like there was a whole lot anybody else was paying for right now. She didn't need to do this.

And then....Then Lydia.

That had shocked David nearly to the point of not being pissed off anymore, until she decided to try and defend Monica.

....That was difficult. If anyone else had come up trying to get him to back off, he'd have been a lot more aggressive about it. But he was conflicted with Lydia, because on one hand the last thing he wanted to do was be mean to her, and yet she was trying to stop him from taking Monica home.

"I'll be damned," Lydia said upon recognizing him, though as a schoolmate instead of her husband, which was...painful. "David... something, right?"

He couldn't help but snort softly at that. "Yeah," he muttered. "David something."

He would've thought if she was so chummy with Monica, she'd know his last name, knowing that she was his sister, but apparently not. Apparently this place had dumbed her down a bit.

"Well, David something," she continued, putting a hand on her hip. "Amethyst is perfectly fine where she is. This place is safe. You can go now."

"Amethyst is quitting and never coming back, starting right now," David retorted. "She doesn't need to flaunt herself at strangers to survive." Making a risky pass over Lydia's body, which used to be his privilege alone and now was just out in the open for everyone to see, he added, softer, with more care, "And neither do you."

He didn't wait for Lydia to respond, and instead murmured to Monica that they were leaving. She didn't argue, and mumbled, "I'll...grab my clothes," before wandering off.

"Do you have a problem with what we do here, David?" Lydia remarked, her dissatisfaction with him subtle, but he noticed.

Yeah, he had a lot of problems with what they were doing here, but he didn't want to make this more hostile than it already was. He was well aware of how fragile his relationship with Lydie was right now. He didn't want to tip it any direction but positive, which was going to be hard. "You do you," he muttered, averting his gaze, mostly so as not to...look at her. "But this is no place for my baby sister."

"You don't...." she murmured, stepping towards him and touching his arm. "...Like it here?"

No, he didn't.

"No offense, but no, not really. I'm not that kind of man. I'm sorry if you take it the wrong way, but I don't want my baby sister lusted after by perverts twice her age," he responded, chancing a glance in her direction, and regretting it as she was purposefully trying to get him to cave, pushing her breasts in his direction. Probably to prove that he was a hypocrite, that he enjoyed this or something, and that he had no right to pull Monica away.

....He knew her too well. In...any situation, apparently. Even ones like...this.

Well, he wasn't caving. He wasn't any semblance of happy about this. Even seeing his wife in clothes he normally would've been very excited to see her in, the fact that they were in a room full of perverts and her attire was for them, not him, it just....

It didn't turn him on at all. It was creepy. If anything, he was as flaccid as ever.

Lydia fell silent at that, stepping back from him with a frown, a frown he only knew was on her face thanks to another glance. She didn't say anything, but remained there, until Monica came back wearing clothes, thank god.

"Okay...." Monica mumbled. "I'm ready."

"Alright," David said, placing a protective hand upon her back. "I'm gonna take you back to Mom's, okay?"

She nodded, avoiding his gaze. To Lydia, she said, "It's alright, Ly—....Bambi. Cover for me?"

Lydia glanced between the siblings, but nodded her head. "Yeah," she muttered, watching the pair as they started to leave. "I'll let Richie know."

....

David nearly stumbled hearing that name, but saved face well enough, continuing to walk his sister towards the door. However, his scowl had returned.

Richie?

As in, Richard?

As in, the douche from the football team?

Once they were out and climbing into his car, David asked Monica about it. "Who the hell's Richie?" he questioned, starting the car.

"Richie King," she murmured. "...You went to school with him. He...owns the place."

Fucking....

David had never called Richard anything but Dick, because it was an insult and technically an acceptable nickname. The guy was a fucking cock, always had been. He went around slinging shit about all the other guys on the football team, David especially, but for most people his lies never stuck. They were too blatantly untrue.

He was just jealous Dave was better at football than him, and tried to accuse his teammate of using steroids. It happened an absurd number of times, none of which amounted to anything, because they were lies. Dick got suspended for it once. And David was not surprised that instead of doing something productive with his life, the fuckass had gone and opened a stripclub.

Hell, Dickie being a pervert was what had brought Dave and Lydie together. The ass was harassing Lydia something awful, the poor girl, and David was the one to swoop in and cut that shit off right quick. His exact words had been, "Hey man, don't be a sexual predator."

....

Oh.

Fuck.

That.

That was it.

That was what fucked everything. That was why everything was all messed up. David must've never gotten Dick to back off in high school. Instead of ending up with David, Lydia gave into Dick, and the fucker must've gone and turned the poor woman into a stripper.

Which left David single, unmarried, and without a reason to quit the Army when he did.

That was it.

Holy fuck.

"...Davie?" Monica said, waving a hand in front of his face. "You're holding up traffic. Light's green, Davie."

David shook his head, returning to Earth, and moving the car forward. "Sorry, Moni, I just...had an epiphany...."

She raised a brow. "About what?"

....

"I'll tell you later," he copped out, reaching over to squeeze her hand. "For now, let's just get you settled in at Mom's for the night, okay?"

She seemed skeptical, but nodded her head. "Okay."