Which Way the Wind Blows
folder
Romance › General
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
35
Views:
1,890
Reviews:
9
Recommended:
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Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Romance › General
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
35
Views:
1,890
Reviews:
9
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The Author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.
Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Chris stared at Warren like the proverbial deer caught in headlights. The dark-haired man had changed a great deal in the last few months. For one thing, mousy was the last word the blonde would use now to describe his ex’s manner. Warren looked pissed, and the glare he was sending Chris hardened with every second that ticked by. Victoria looked back and forth between the two then sighed.
“Oh, for God’s sakes!” she exclaimed. “All this and now you two can only stare at each other?”
Warren turned his attention to her stiffly then heaved a sigh of his own. For all that he’d been through because of her, Victoria wasn’t responsible. He acknowledged that out of the three of them, she was the least to blame for what had happened. Hell, how could she be? Her boyfriend wouldn’t have told her about Warren, would he?
“Victoria,” he nodded politely at her. “It’s nice to see you again. I’m just … surprised, that’s all.”
“Cut the crap, Warren,” she shook her head. “I know all about your relationship.”
Warren chocked on the breath he was taking and coughed hard. What?! Chris told her?! He turned back to his ex and narrowed his eyes. No! NO, damn it! My life is finally taking off! You’re NOT ruining it, you bastard!
“She says she knew from the beginning,” Chris offered quietly.
Warren tried to process what they were saying but he found it all so hard to believe. She knew? But whenever we saw each other, she didn’t let on at all! She played dumb? Well, Chris always said she was an airhead. But how could she be?
Chris watched the emotions play across Warren’s face sadly. Whatever his ex was thinking, none of it was good for the blonde. But then he didn’t expect it to be. He knew he owed Warren an apology, but after that, he’d have to let him go live his life. It was the least he could do. And he had his own new life to settle into. How much attention could he give a boyfriend right now?
“Look, can we at least take this into our apartment?” Victoria asked. “I really don’t like the idea of someone barging in.”
“Your apartment?” Warren spat angrily. “You two live here? TOGETHER?!”
“It’s a long story,” Chris sighed wearily gesturing to the stairs which Victoria was already climbing. “We’re just on the second floor.”
Warren speared him with another glare before following the black haired woman up. She had taken Chris’ keys from his limp hand during the exchange and was now unlocking the door. The three moved into the living room area and Chris let the door fall closed behind him. Warren was glancing around the Spartan apartment in fury while Victoria went into the kitchen area to deposit the bag of Chinese food.
“Sorry we don’t have furniture yet,” Chris offered. “It’s on its way.”
“I’ll bet.” The dark haired man gave him another icy glare as they silently watched each other again.
Victoria came back out of the kitchen and leaned against the wall, crossing her arms. She wanted so much to help Chris right now but knew anything else she said to Warren would be received very frostily. So she opted for playing backup.
“Explain,” Warren finally hissed in a clipped tone.
“I don’t know how,” Chris replied, looking down. “There’s no good excuse.”
“Start with why you’re here then!”
Chris ran a hand through his messy blonde hair and sighed. No matter what he did say to Warren right now, it wouldn’t be enough, he realized. It probably never would be.
“I came to New York to find you,” he began. “That much is true. But when I got here, and I saw you on the street …”
“You saw me?!” Warren demanded in a soft tone that bespoke of a temper under a thin layer of control.
“On the street a few weeks ago,” the blonde man said as he waved his hand in the air. “You looked happy.” He glanced up at his ex sadly. “You looked really happy.”
“I was away from you,” Warren hissed, hoping to hurt Chris at least a little … assuming the asshole could be hurt.
“I get that.” Chris turned and walked to the window looking out at the street below. “That’s why I told Vic I wasn’t going to chase you down after all. You looked like you were happy in your new life and I’d already caused you to miss so much time. It wouldn’t have been fair to you.”
“And yet you end up staying in New York and moving into the same building I live in!”
“I had no idea you lived here!” Chris turned back to him. “If I did, I never would have taken the place!”
Warren narrowed his eyes again trying to figure out what kind of game Chris was playing. He looked sincere, but he told himself that Chris always looked that way before snowing him in the past. Then he chanced a glance at Victoria. What was her game? She came here with Chris. Apparently she’d moved in with him. And his ex-boyfriend wanted him to believe he was sorry? That was a laugh!
“Why are you here, Victoria?” he asked.
She looked startled that he was addressing her, and probably wary of the look he was sending her too. Good. She needed to be aware that he wasn’t the mild-mannered pushover he used to be.
“I … uh … left with Chris.”
“Why?” Warren asked. “For that matter, why did you both even leave Seattle? You had your lives set there, right?”
“That was the problem,” she grunted. “Our parents had our lives set there. We told them we weren’t going to follow the path they made for us, and when they pushed the issue, we left.”
“You left,” Chris snorted. “I was told to leave.”
“Told?” Warren turned back to him.
“Yeah. My father cut me off,” Chris shrugged. “He got me fired from my job and made my brother start eviction proceedings.”
“Daddy cut loose the golden child?” Warren mocked. “How shocking!”
Chris took in a deep breath, telling himself Warren had every right to be pissed off, and let it out slowly. “He said he couldn’t abide a fag in the family.”
Warren felt his anger roiling in his gut. What am I supposed to feel sorry for him? He refused to feel any pity for the man who wouldn’t acknowledge him for six years. For the guy who wouldn’t tell him he loved him but always demanded to hear it from him. No. Warren wouldn’t give him that satisfaction. This was beyond egotistical! And if Chris thought he believed that bullshit story about not knowing he lived here, he was deluding himself.
“Well, at least you landed on your feet,” he sneered. “As always. Must be nice to have the connections to fall back on.”
“He didn’t fall back on any connections!” Victoria cut in. “He did it all on his own. You have no idea how much he’s gone through to make his own life.”
“Typical of you to defend him,” the dark-haired man smirked. “You always were one of those things he fell back on before.”
Her jaw hung open at that. Warren had never been so vindictive before. But then he hadn’t had as much to his life before. Chris had been right in his assessment. Warren had changed since he left Seattle. Still, she wouldn’t allow him to demean everything Chris had dome to change his own life.
“He came here with no prospects and an former employer who told the people he interviewed with that Chris wasn’t hirable.”
“Maybe he isn’t.”
“You may hate him, but you can’t deny that he worked hard for his father’s friend.”
Warren shrugged.
“He did!” she insisted. “And his father would take him back in the family any time, but he won’t go because he knows that would mean giving up his freedom!” She glared hotly at him. “And I know you can understand how much that means to someone.”
“Oh, I know,” Warren shot back. “Which brings me back to my questions earlier.” He approached his ex and grabbed him by the collar, slamming him up against the wall easily. “What the fuck are you doing here? As in, what are you doing back in my life? I’m better off without you.”
Shocked at the outburst of violence, Chris cringed and shut his eyes, waiting for an accompanying punch. When none came he opened them again and peered up at Warren warily.
“I … know you are,” he gasped shakily. “I swear … I wasn’t … going to … bother you.”
“Right!”
“I swear!”
Warren released him with a grunt and stalked backwards. “Well, you seem to be here,” he said.
“As soon as we can get in touch with the real estate company, we’ll find a way out of our lease,” Chris murmured.
Warren gave him a skeptical glare.
“He means it,” Victoria added. “We won’t stay here when we’re not wanted.”
“You were never wanted,” Warren hissed at her. “At least I never wanted you around.”
“I realize that.”
He approached her and towered over her for a moment. “Every time he went to see you, it told me how little I meant to him!”
“That wasn’t the case,” she replied evenly as she stood her ground. “He may have fucked me, but he loved you.”
“I’ll never believe that!”
“I can’t help you then,” she replied.
“Warren,” Chris whispered, licking his lip nervously. The dark haired man turned to him with nothing but scorn in his eyes. “I know it won’t matter to you, but I really am sorry for the asshole I was to you.”
“You’re right,” the other man snorted with a laugh. “It doesn’t matter. It means nothing to me, Chris!” He opened the door and gave them each one last look. “Like you mean nothing to me!” Then he was gone, leaving Chris to slide down the wall to the floor trembling with his tears.
Chris stared at Warren like the proverbial deer caught in headlights. The dark-haired man had changed a great deal in the last few months. For one thing, mousy was the last word the blonde would use now to describe his ex’s manner. Warren looked pissed, and the glare he was sending Chris hardened with every second that ticked by. Victoria looked back and forth between the two then sighed.
“Oh, for God’s sakes!” she exclaimed. “All this and now you two can only stare at each other?”
Warren turned his attention to her stiffly then heaved a sigh of his own. For all that he’d been through because of her, Victoria wasn’t responsible. He acknowledged that out of the three of them, she was the least to blame for what had happened. Hell, how could she be? Her boyfriend wouldn’t have told her about Warren, would he?
“Victoria,” he nodded politely at her. “It’s nice to see you again. I’m just … surprised, that’s all.”
“Cut the crap, Warren,” she shook her head. “I know all about your relationship.”
Warren chocked on the breath he was taking and coughed hard. What?! Chris told her?! He turned back to his ex and narrowed his eyes. No! NO, damn it! My life is finally taking off! You’re NOT ruining it, you bastard!
“She says she knew from the beginning,” Chris offered quietly.
Warren tried to process what they were saying but he found it all so hard to believe. She knew? But whenever we saw each other, she didn’t let on at all! She played dumb? Well, Chris always said she was an airhead. But how could she be?
Chris watched the emotions play across Warren’s face sadly. Whatever his ex was thinking, none of it was good for the blonde. But then he didn’t expect it to be. He knew he owed Warren an apology, but after that, he’d have to let him go live his life. It was the least he could do. And he had his own new life to settle into. How much attention could he give a boyfriend right now?
“Look, can we at least take this into our apartment?” Victoria asked. “I really don’t like the idea of someone barging in.”
“Your apartment?” Warren spat angrily. “You two live here? TOGETHER?!”
“It’s a long story,” Chris sighed wearily gesturing to the stairs which Victoria was already climbing. “We’re just on the second floor.”
Warren speared him with another glare before following the black haired woman up. She had taken Chris’ keys from his limp hand during the exchange and was now unlocking the door. The three moved into the living room area and Chris let the door fall closed behind him. Warren was glancing around the Spartan apartment in fury while Victoria went into the kitchen area to deposit the bag of Chinese food.
“Sorry we don’t have furniture yet,” Chris offered. “It’s on its way.”
“I’ll bet.” The dark haired man gave him another icy glare as they silently watched each other again.
Victoria came back out of the kitchen and leaned against the wall, crossing her arms. She wanted so much to help Chris right now but knew anything else she said to Warren would be received very frostily. So she opted for playing backup.
“Explain,” Warren finally hissed in a clipped tone.
“I don’t know how,” Chris replied, looking down. “There’s no good excuse.”
“Start with why you’re here then!”
Chris ran a hand through his messy blonde hair and sighed. No matter what he did say to Warren right now, it wouldn’t be enough, he realized. It probably never would be.
“I came to New York to find you,” he began. “That much is true. But when I got here, and I saw you on the street …”
“You saw me?!” Warren demanded in a soft tone that bespoke of a temper under a thin layer of control.
“On the street a few weeks ago,” the blonde man said as he waved his hand in the air. “You looked happy.” He glanced up at his ex sadly. “You looked really happy.”
“I was away from you,” Warren hissed, hoping to hurt Chris at least a little … assuming the asshole could be hurt.
“I get that.” Chris turned and walked to the window looking out at the street below. “That’s why I told Vic I wasn’t going to chase you down after all. You looked like you were happy in your new life and I’d already caused you to miss so much time. It wouldn’t have been fair to you.”
“And yet you end up staying in New York and moving into the same building I live in!”
“I had no idea you lived here!” Chris turned back to him. “If I did, I never would have taken the place!”
Warren narrowed his eyes again trying to figure out what kind of game Chris was playing. He looked sincere, but he told himself that Chris always looked that way before snowing him in the past. Then he chanced a glance at Victoria. What was her game? She came here with Chris. Apparently she’d moved in with him. And his ex-boyfriend wanted him to believe he was sorry? That was a laugh!
“Why are you here, Victoria?” he asked.
She looked startled that he was addressing her, and probably wary of the look he was sending her too. Good. She needed to be aware that he wasn’t the mild-mannered pushover he used to be.
“I … uh … left with Chris.”
“Why?” Warren asked. “For that matter, why did you both even leave Seattle? You had your lives set there, right?”
“That was the problem,” she grunted. “Our parents had our lives set there. We told them we weren’t going to follow the path they made for us, and when they pushed the issue, we left.”
“You left,” Chris snorted. “I was told to leave.”
“Told?” Warren turned back to him.
“Yeah. My father cut me off,” Chris shrugged. “He got me fired from my job and made my brother start eviction proceedings.”
“Daddy cut loose the golden child?” Warren mocked. “How shocking!”
Chris took in a deep breath, telling himself Warren had every right to be pissed off, and let it out slowly. “He said he couldn’t abide a fag in the family.”
Warren felt his anger roiling in his gut. What am I supposed to feel sorry for him? He refused to feel any pity for the man who wouldn’t acknowledge him for six years. For the guy who wouldn’t tell him he loved him but always demanded to hear it from him. No. Warren wouldn’t give him that satisfaction. This was beyond egotistical! And if Chris thought he believed that bullshit story about not knowing he lived here, he was deluding himself.
“Well, at least you landed on your feet,” he sneered. “As always. Must be nice to have the connections to fall back on.”
“He didn’t fall back on any connections!” Victoria cut in. “He did it all on his own. You have no idea how much he’s gone through to make his own life.”
“Typical of you to defend him,” the dark-haired man smirked. “You always were one of those things he fell back on before.”
Her jaw hung open at that. Warren had never been so vindictive before. But then he hadn’t had as much to his life before. Chris had been right in his assessment. Warren had changed since he left Seattle. Still, she wouldn’t allow him to demean everything Chris had dome to change his own life.
“He came here with no prospects and an former employer who told the people he interviewed with that Chris wasn’t hirable.”
“Maybe he isn’t.”
“You may hate him, but you can’t deny that he worked hard for his father’s friend.”
Warren shrugged.
“He did!” she insisted. “And his father would take him back in the family any time, but he won’t go because he knows that would mean giving up his freedom!” She glared hotly at him. “And I know you can understand how much that means to someone.”
“Oh, I know,” Warren shot back. “Which brings me back to my questions earlier.” He approached his ex and grabbed him by the collar, slamming him up against the wall easily. “What the fuck are you doing here? As in, what are you doing back in my life? I’m better off without you.”
Shocked at the outburst of violence, Chris cringed and shut his eyes, waiting for an accompanying punch. When none came he opened them again and peered up at Warren warily.
“I … know you are,” he gasped shakily. “I swear … I wasn’t … going to … bother you.”
“Right!”
“I swear!”
Warren released him with a grunt and stalked backwards. “Well, you seem to be here,” he said.
“As soon as we can get in touch with the real estate company, we’ll find a way out of our lease,” Chris murmured.
Warren gave him a skeptical glare.
“He means it,” Victoria added. “We won’t stay here when we’re not wanted.”
“You were never wanted,” Warren hissed at her. “At least I never wanted you around.”
“I realize that.”
He approached her and towered over her for a moment. “Every time he went to see you, it told me how little I meant to him!”
“That wasn’t the case,” she replied evenly as she stood her ground. “He may have fucked me, but he loved you.”
“I’ll never believe that!”
“I can’t help you then,” she replied.
“Warren,” Chris whispered, licking his lip nervously. The dark haired man turned to him with nothing but scorn in his eyes. “I know it won’t matter to you, but I really am sorry for the asshole I was to you.”
“You’re right,” the other man snorted with a laugh. “It doesn’t matter. It means nothing to me, Chris!” He opened the door and gave them each one last look. “Like you mean nothing to me!” Then he was gone, leaving Chris to slide down the wall to the floor trembling with his tears.