Page 17 of Almost True
Dex gives me a tight smile. “She was everything I ever wanted. Gorgeous, funny, popular…” I can feel his knee bouncing under the table. “Turns out she came from money, and her whole group of friends didn’t care much for rules. Their parents owned half the town, so they could do whatever the fuck they wanted and no one would care. I don’t know if they were trying to screw me, or if they honestly thought I wouldn’t get in trouble—”
“What happened?”
“They used to give me dares. Dumb shit, you know. Against the rules, but not a big deal. And I’d do it, because they made it seem like that was the only way to prove I was worthy of dating my girlfriend.” He lowers his voice. “Then they dared me to steal a really expensive piece of equipment from the campus lab. They didn’t want me to keep it, just to hide it for a couple days before returning it somewhere really public. Only I got caught, and I was arrested, and not a single fucking member of that group stood up for me.”
“Shit. They sound like a great bunch of people.”
Dex drags a hand through his hair. “I know. It wasn’t until later that I realized the whole fucking relationship was toxic as hell, but at the time I was so obsessed with this girl that I wasn’t thinking straight. It makes me wonder if something is wrong with me, or if I’m just really bad at relationships.”
“Is that why you’ve gone for a guy this time?” I tease.
The shadow in Dex’s eyes retreats as he laughs. “’Course. That’s exactly what this is about.”
“What does everyone here know about what happened?”
“Not much. My dad paid the fines to get me out, but after that he closed my bank account and disowned me. I think people here know I’ve fucked up pretty badly, but that’s all.”
“It could’ve been much worse,” I say, thinking about my own history. At least he doesn’t have something like that tearing him apart. No one blamed me, so it’s not like I faced charges or anything, but it’s fucking killing me. I can’t seem to pull myself out of this hole I’ve ended up in.
“I guess. The worst part is that no one trusts me any longer. Hell, I don’t trust myself. If I messed up that badly once, who says I won’t do it again?”
I think about how he bought me a set of new clothes right after he’d told me he was almost as broke as I was.
“There’s nothing wrong with you, Dex. You just made a mistake. That’s part of life.”
“You might be the only one who thinks that,” Dex mumbles. Then, with a visible effort, he straightens in his chair and pushes away whatever memories are haunting him. “So. You ready to fix up this cabin?”
Chapter 13
Dex
I wish I could hold Korren’s hand on the way back from the bakery. But that wasn’t one of the dares, and why the fuck am I wanting to do that anyway?
It’s the way I felt talking to him there, when I told him what I did—which I’ve never admitted to anyone else—and it didn’t change the way he looked at me. Fuck, I didn’t even tell my dad the whole story, because he doesn’t believe in making excuses and would’ve left me to rot in jail if I’d tried to blame my mistakes on my ex.
I mean, I know there’s something dark in Korren’s past, so maybe he’s a hardened criminal and stealing something for a laugh means nothing to him. But that doesn’t even matter to me. I just want him to look at me like that again, as if I’m worth something.
Once again, I realize how fucking lonely I’ve been. I honestly love the idea of living with Korren.
He doesn’t say anything on the walk back, and I don’t open my mouth, because I’m worried about what will come out if I do. It’s a relief when we make it to the cabin and we can turn our attention to the mess inside.
“So, what has your uncle said about all this crap?” Korren asks, pulling open the off-kilter door and kicking a rock into place to hold it there.
“All of his junk can go into their garage,” I say. “And there should be enough materials there to fix the roof and everything.” Uncle Rhodes has given me a couple hundred dollars to get ourselves set up here, since most of the furnishings are ruined—he called it payment for repairing the cabin.
We spend the rest of the morning clearing everything out and dumping it in the meadow so we can sort the building materials from the general junk. There are boxes of books, toddler-sized life jackets, a lampstand shaped like a dick, a whole collection of princess crowns from Disneyland, and of course the kayak. Which we have to carry between the two of us back to Uncle Rhodes’ house.
“I’m getting some interesting insights into my uncle’s life,” I say as we maneuver our way back down the trail.
“You mean the dick lamp?” Korren asks.
“Among other things. Can you imagine that family prancing around Disneyland wearing princess crowns?”
Korren laughs. “No. Absolutely not.”
Uncle Rhodes is outside splitting wood when we get back, and he calls out, “How’s it going?”
“We haven’t even started on the repairs yet!” I shout from behind the kayak.
