Mine by Mary Calmes

Did he tell you about his cocaine habit? Do you know about that?”
    But how could that be? When I met him, there had been vices, addictions, but they had all been abandoned so quickly, so completely, so thoroughly, and never seen again. The man only drank socially, sometimes had wine or beer at home with me, but that was it. He never hid anything from me. I saw him every day, knew where he went and who he saw. There was more reason to doubt me .
    “My folks think… I mean, I told them how good he looks, how amazing his business is, and all about you. They’re dying to meet you.”
    I had not anticipated that.
    “How is he?” he asked, and his breath was shaky. “I mean, how does he function?”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “I mean, he used to go into these rages and just… he came at me with a knife once. We were in the kitchen and I said something, and our maid was cooking, and he grabbed the chef’s knife, and if my father hadn’t been there… I mean, he came at me, do you understand?”
    I understood what he was saying, but Landry’s intent was lost to me since I hadn’t been there.
    “I went into his room one time and he was slicing up his arm, and I remember screaming for my mother, and everyone came running and they took away the knife and held him down and just…. Trevan, if he’s never gotten any help, then you’re living on borrowed time.” He said it earnestly, willing me to believe him. “I swear to God he could hurt you… more than hurt you.”
    The concern was there, real, on his face.
    Yes, Landry could be volatile, but so was I. And Landry was the guy with the balanced life now; mine was the scary one.
    “Hey.”
    We both looked up, and there he was, yawning, eyes watering as he looked down at me and Chris.
    “Can you move so I can sit?” he asked his brother.
    “Sure,” Chris said, getting up so Landry could push by him to retake his seat next to me.
    Once he was down, Landry put on his seatbelt and offered me either the chocolate chip granola bar or the Power Bar from where he had stuffed them into the pocket in front of his seat.
    “I’m not hungry,” I assured him.
    “You sure?”
    I nodded, and he reached up and touched the ten gauge hammered steel plug in my right ear. “What?”
    “I got those red jade ones for you for Valentine’s Day, but you never wear them.”
    “That’s because they’re red.” I smiled at him. “What do I own that goes with red?”
    He smiled at me. “You need to try something new.”
    I closed my eyes. “I don’t like change.”
    “I know,” he said, and I felt his fingers tracing over my eyebrow.
    “I like all those bracelets you make,” Chris told Landry.
    “I have one for you, but I don’t know if you want it.”
    Silence.
    “You made me one?”
    “I picked you one. I didn’t have time to make one from scratch, but I have one that I think fits with your vibe.”
    “Really?”
    “Yes.”
    “Can I have it? I mean… I’d love it.” Chris was breathless, and no matter what he thought of his brother, about his brother, Landry doing anything for him flipped him inside out.
    “Here,” he said, and I didn’t open my eyes to see. It wasn’t that important to me. What was important was that Landry had done something for his brother.
    “Oh shit, Lan, this is awesome,” he breathed out. He was in awe, and it was good to hear.
    “You like it?”
    “I love it.”
    “Good. Now the amber is supposed to ground you so you don’t go crazy,” he told him. “Trev always tells me that I should be draped in it.”
    Chris sucked in his breath, and I started chuckling.
    Landry let out a snort of laughter before his lips pressed to my jaw, his fingers grazing my throat. “Let’s get drunk tonight, okay?”
    “Whatever you want.”
    “Whatever I want?” he asked, his voice almost a growl. “If I beg down on my knees, will you please tie me up?”
    Sometimes Landry needed to be rendered completely helpless to allow his brain