Page 25 of Tristian (The Doherty Mafia)
“Now, drink some of that coffee and eat a pastry. An early morning sugar rush always helps me get things in perspective,” she added, handing me the paper bag again.
I forced myself to smile and took one, just to placate her for now. I didn’t know what I’d do, but I knew I couldn’t tell Isabelle about it. As much as I trusted her, I knew her loyalty would always lie with the family. She’d have to tell Tristian everything I told her. So, whatever I decided to do next, I’d have to act quickly.
Fourteen
Tristian
I told Elsie I had shit to do when I stormed out of the apartment earlier, but that was a lie. I didn’t actually have anything to do or anywhere to be. I just wanted to get out of there so I wouldn’t be tempted by her again. Because the only thing I wanted to do when I saw her in my kitchen cooking me a big hearty breakfast was throw her over the kitchen counter and spread her legs out for me.
So I went to see my brother Nolan instead.
He took ages to come to the door. If I had to guess, Isabelle probably had a key to his place though. She had a key to all our places.
“Yo!” Nolan exclaimed when he finally opened.
“I’m coming in,” I growled, pushing past him.
I saw the naked chick in the kitchen right away. She was wearing literally nothing while she sat on top of Nolan’s breakfast bar, eating cereal out of a big bowl.
“Right. Okay. Tristian, this is…” Nolan struggled with her name and I wasn’t surprised by it. Nolan wasn’t the type to ask a chick her name before he banged her.
The girl twisted her face up bitterly. I saw she was insulted by my brother’s lack of real interest in her.
“My name is Cheryl,” she said sternly.
“Cheryl, this is my brother, Tristian.”
She rolled her eyes and continued eating her cereal. I clenched my jaws in irritation and turned to Nolan, who grinned. He thought this whole thing was funny.
I should’ve gone to see Brendan instead. Nolan was too…young and inexperienced. He was our baby brother. The youngest in the family and we all treated him as such. Never burdening him with our stuff.
But Brendan had a new family now. In fact, all my brothers had women they were committed to. None of them would be glad to see me banging down their doors early in the morning.
So Nolan was my only option right now.
“We need to talk,” I said. Almost threateningly.
Nolan shrugged while he grabbed a carton of orange juice off the counter.
“Shoot.”
I looked back at the naked chick who continued eating her cereal.
“You need to leave,” I snarled at her.
“Is that absolutely necessary?” Nolan asked.
“Now. You need to leave now,” I added.
The girl looked at Nolan for support but he just shrugged in response.
She rolled her eyes again and then got off the table and walked away.
“What’s going on with you? Ever since that chick started living with you, you’ve been acting up,” Nolan said.
Well, maybe he did know more than I thought he did. He’d hit the nail right on the head.
The chick in Nolan’s apartment seemed to take ages to put on her clothes and leave. As she was going, she went over to Nolan to try to hug him or kiss him or something, but my brother grabbed her by the elbows and led her in the direction of the front door.
“You have good timing. I wasn’t sure how I was going to get rid of her,” he remarked once he shut the door behind her.
“You’ll figure out ways,” I said.
“So what do we need to talk about? I’m surprised you want to talk about anything with me,” he said, grabbing the orange juice again.
Nolan always had a way of turning everything into a joke, but I sensed he was probably being serious about this statement.
“What are you talking about, man?”
He shrugged. “I’m usually left out of the conversation. Nobody wants to bother me with anything half-serious,” he commented.
“You’ll get there in time.”
“You’re not that much older than me, if age is a factor.”
He got me there.
“Okay, I’m here now.”
“And what’s the problem? Your bike needs fixing or anything else equally trivial?”
Nolan looked pretty darn serious now and I just realized he’d given this some thought. Maybe this was a grievance that’d chipped away at him over the years.
“Hey, man, none of us ever did it intentionally. We never tried to make you feel left out of the circle.”
“So you admit I’ve always been left out of the circle.”
“You have a bone to pick with me in particular?”
“I don’t have any bones to pick,” he snapped.
I glared at my brother, trying to work out what I was doing there at his apartment in the first place. I should’ve just waited a while and gone to Brendan, who would’ve given me some real advice.
