Page 85 of Fight for You

"You are an asshole, but I never hated you, Titan."

"I know. Saw that shit every time you looked at me like you were disappointed in me. Despite being pissed, you didn't rat me out to January. You kept my secret."

"You think I want to break her heart like that?" I demand, shoving my hands into my pockets because I kind of want to hit him, but I promised January that I wouldn't. "I didn't keep your secret for you. I kept it because knowing what you've been up to would have devastated her. She idolizes you, but you're too fucking blind to see it. That girl has worshipped the ground you walk on since she was a baby."

"I know," he whispers. Guilt flows through his expression. I think he actually regrets the shit he's done that would break her heart if she knew. The shit that would have her looking at him like something less than the hero she's always thought he was.

No matter how pissed I am at him, I'd never do that to her. Hell, I'd never do it to him, either. Because as much as he likes to pretend otherwise, we both know he thinks his little sister hung the moon. That's one thing we've always agreed on. I'd never take that away from him or weaponize it by using it against him.

"I'm not going to tell her," I mutter to him. "If that's what you're worried about, I'll keep your secret."

"That's not what I'm worried about. I know you won't tell her. Even if I don't deserve it, you'd never tell her something that would hurt us both." He glances up and sighs. "I fucked up. Like majorly fucked up."

"What happened?" I ask, unable to stop myself. He dug his own grave, and I should let him lie in it, but I won't. Because no matter how far we've drifted apart, no matter how pissed I am at him, he's still like a brother to me. I still love him and I'll still do whatever I can to help him.

"I started dealing to help get January out of here, but then I got hooked."

"You're taking the shit you're dealing?" I take a step toward him.

"No. Hell no, I'm not that goddamn stupid," he says, holding his hands up and shooting me a "what the fuck" glare. "I got hooked on the money it brought in. Mom's working fewer hours. Things around the house are getting fixed. My bike isn't falling apart every time I ride the son of a bitch. It was nice, being able to take care of my family without killing myself working twelve-hour days on the job site."

His mom has been working fewer hours. I just chalked it up to the fact that their bills were less now that Titan's rarely around. Without him home to eat through a grocery store each month, she had to be saving some serious cash. Maybe I should have been paying more attention, though.

"A few weeks ago, Kaleo decided it was time to make a move against the Diablos," he continues, referencing the biggest gang in the area. "I told him it was a bad idea, but he told me I could either do what I was told to do, or our deal was off, and he'd come for you. He's gotten into some hard shit over the last year, man. Real hard shit. I didn't want him bringing that around here, so I did what he told me to do."

"Fuck me," I mutter. Kaleo has hated the Diablos for years but never had the balls to go after them. He knew they'd squash him like a bug if he tried, so that shady motherfucker used Titan to do his dirty work instead.

"They caught me fucking up one of their businesses a few days ago," Titan mumbles. "I told them it was Kaleo's idea, but they didn't give a shit. Told me that I either pay them 50g's in restitution, or I'm the one they're coming after."

"Motherfucker," I swear, fighting not to put my fist through the door. "You told Kaleo?"

Titan nods. "Said it wasn't his problem and that it sounded like I'd better get rich quick if I wanted to keep them from killing me."

Of course he did.

Kaleo will deny having anything to do with Titan until he can't deny it anymore. There's no way he's going to take responsibility when he can pass the buck to Titan. That's what he does. That's exactly why we fought so fucking hard to keep ourselves out of his clutches. We didn't want to end up like any of the other motherfuckers he fucked over.

"I offered them intel on Kaleo if they'd let it ride, but they refused. Said they don't give a shit what he's up to because he's not worth their time. I have until tomorrow to come up with the money, or they're coming after me."

"Jesus Christ, Titan," I curse and shake my head. "Why the fuck didn't you say something sooner?"

"It was my problem," he whispers. "I thought I could find a way out of it by myself." His eyes fill with tears. He puts his fists against them and rubs like he used to do when he was a kid and something made him tear up. Even then, he hated to be vulnerable. He's still just a fucking kid, in way over his head.

Had he just come to me before he went to Kaleo, I could have fixed all of this. We would have found another way to keep Kaleo off our backs. I would have paid for January to go to school.

Jesus. I should have told them both about the money when I found out about it. Maybe then, none of this would have happened.

It's too late for that now, though. All I can do is try to repair the damage I've caused.

"I'll pay them," I tell Titan. "Whatever they want, I'll pay."

"That's not your responsibility," he says. "That's not why I came to you."

"You think I don't know that? You didn't even know I could pay it until fifteen minutes ago."

"I have a plan," he says, ignoring me. "I haven't just been Kaleo's little soldier boy for the last two years. I've been gathering information on him. I know all his dirty secrets. He's pimping out girls. At least one of them is underage. I have proof. I recorded videos and took photos. I even screenshotted a bunch of his texts one day when he left his phone unlocked. It's all in my room."

"Jesus Christ," I whisper, my stomach turning at the thought of that son of a bitch whoring out teenagers. I knew he was a piece of shit, but I didn't think he'd ever stoop that low. I thought he at least had the decency not to pimp girls, but I should have known better. At the rate he uses teenage boys as shields, it shouldn't come as a surprise that he's also found a way to destroy their girlfriends, too.