Page 7 of Anger Bang
Oh, it may take time for the truth to out itself—not everyone was as upfront about only being in it for themselves as Jackie, which (truth be told) he kind of admired about her—but it always did eventually. That’s why he didn’t pretty things up, he didn’t bullshit, he didn’t pretend to save other people’s feelings.
And if that made him an asshole? So fucking be it.
Dex had never realized the truth about people, let alone their own mom—not even when she’d finally left. He’d always held out hope that she’d come back and everything would be perfect, while Kade had wondered why it had taken fourteen years for the inevitable to finally occur.
“I’ve been a realist since birth,” Kade said. “The question is why you of all people have finally seen the light.”
Dex shrugged and went back to staring at his phone. “Things change.”
Kade waited for his brother to say more. Healwayssaid more. The kid was born talking and had never stopped—well, minus the two weeks after their mom left.
“You’re going to do this.”
It wasn’t a question. Kade knew his brother too well for that, and Dex knew it, which was why he didn’t bother answering. Instead, he tossed his phone onto the couch cushion and focused all of his attention on Kade.
“Even more, I need you to do me a solid,” Dex said. “Actually, I need you to do two of them.”
Nowthatmade Kade’s oh-fuck alert go off. “I’ve already agreed to be your best man for this farce. What more could you possibly need?”
Dex got up and grabbed a bottle of Dr Pepper out of the fridge. He twisted the cap off and downed half of the twenty ounces in one long gulp, then took a short break before going back to it. Kade knew better than to expect answers until the bottle was empty. His brother took his Dr Pepper very seriously, which was why his agent made sure to include a clause in all his contracts demanding his on-set fridge include sodas flown in from Waco, where it was invented.
“First,” Dex said after he got the last sip of soda, “be nice to Jackie. She might come off as a pain right now, but she thinks this wedding is the only way to save her career, and it has her a little on edge.”
“A little on edge?” Kade repeated back. “The woman is demanding I shave my beard, cover my tats with makeup, and learn TikTok dances for the reception.”
“It’s unhinged, yes, but Jackie knows what she’s doing,” Dex said. “She’s been in the business for almost twenty years. The transition to adult roles is kicking her ass, but she’s gonna get there. I don’t doubt her for a minute.”
Kade scoffed. “Spoken exactly like someone with Stockholm Syndrome.”
“Fuck you.” Dex flipped him off again, then let out a harsh breath and seemed to steel himself. “The second is Mom is gonna be here tomorrow.”
The record-setting heat of August turned frigid in less than a heartbeat, and Kade would have sworn in court that the whole world stopped moving in the point three seconds it took for him to process his brother’s words. The woman who’d left their family ina foreign citywas here? The woman who’d never even bothered to send a Christmas card for five years after she’d hit the road? The woman who hadn’t even shown up for their dad’s funeral? The woman who now reached out to Kade every three months like she had a calendar reminder set that said “make amends with eldest child” that he religiously ignored?Shewas here?
And there’s only one reason why Elenore St. James would be here.
Dex had invited her.
The little shithead.
He turned on his brother, an icy rage burning him from the inside out. “No. Fucking. Way.”
Dex lifted his hands, palms outward, and took a very smart two steps backward. “I know you’ve been hesitant about reconnecting, but—”
“Hesitant?” The word roared out of Kade like a curse. “Try no fucking way, not even if the world was about to end and all I had to do to save it was say five words to that woman.”
“Grow the fuck up,” Dex hollered back. “She did what she thought was best for us.”
“She left the country—she left us—and never looked back.”
Kade had overheard his dad talking on the phone once, knew it was with their mother right after she’d left. Sure, Kade had only heard one side of the conversation, but it was kind of hard to misunderstand things like “just talk to them,” “give them a chance to say goodbye,” and “help them understand why.” But Elenore St. James had apparently wanted a clean cut, and he’d sworn that night that he’d give his mother exactly what she wanted. That didn’t change just because she’d sobered up ten years ago and had spent the past decade trying to make amends.
Amends were for the people who actually gave a fuck.
Kade sure as hell didn’t.
“There’s more to the story, Kade, and it’s past time you pulled your head out of your ass and listened to her long enough to find that out,” Dex said. “If you just give her five minutes to—”
Kade cut his brother off. “Not gonna happen. Ever.”
