Chapter 7

Present

Landon's POV:

"Back from your date so soon?" Dean asks the moment I enter my room while going through my closet and making a mess – nothing I'm not used to. It really does feel like he lives here.

"What are you doing with my favorite shirt on?" I ask at seeing him wearing my navy-blue, button-down shirt and my expensive Ray-Ban Aviator sunglasses. He manages to destroy everything. I don't trust him with my stuff.

"I can explain..." he hesitates, stalling, "I'm stealing it." Why even bother stalling? He runs a hand through his brown hair and smirks at me. "Because I, myself, have a date to get to," he boasts as if I should care.

"Stupid girl," I comment with a glare. "Now take off my shirt before I rearrange your face." I crack my knuckles, not in the mood. I have a race to get to.

"Alright, alright, you neanderthal," he unbuttons the shirt and tosses it my way before putting his own shirt back on.

"And my glasses," I put my hand out expectantly. "You're way too comfortable around here."

He hands over my glasses. "Just because I'm a non-conformist, a maverick if you will, and don't fear you like everybody else does...at all." He chuckles and takes out his cell phone from his back pocket. "Now shut up and look at my girl." He shows me a photo of his date. "She's fiiinne. No filters."

He's seriously testing my patience. He's always in hot water.

"That's all you ever care about," I say, crossing my arms over my chest. "Looks," I emphasize. I shake my head. "So shallow."

"I'm not shallow. I just judge girls based on their appearances," he tells me, failing to defend himself.

I cock my head to the side. "You dine and dashed on your last blind date when you saw how she looked," I remind him. I'll never admit that I found it funny. "How do your parents even stand you?" I ask, aware that his dad locks him up every now and again when he slips up – con of having a cop as a father.

"You know they can't stand me," he laughs, incapable of taking offense – it's probably why he's lasted so long with me.

"Lan!" Emma knocks on my bedroom door. "You ready to go yet?"

"Another race tonight?" Dean asks me. He doesn't take racing as seriously as Emma and me. He only races occasionally, when he feels like it.

I nod at him and open the door for my sister. "I'm ready, Sis, just waiting for this idiot," I gesture to Dean, "to get out of my room."

Emma smiles at my choice of words. "Lan, why not embrace love, peace, unity, and kindness?" She teases me while using an elastic to put her red hair up and out of her face.

"I do embrace love, peace, and war and all that other stuff you said," I tell her, barely paying her any attention – it's been a long day and it's still not over yet.

Dean chuckles and Em just shakes her head.

"And you, Sasquatch," Emma suddenly turns to Dean with a frown, "stop using my shower after your sweaty gym sessions and stop using my strawberry-scented conditioner! What's your damage, you worm, because I'm about to add to it!"

"But my hair was dry and I'm going on a date, Ems. Besides, Landon's conditioner sucks. Believe me, I've tried it," he replies, calmly taking a seat on the edge of my bed as if it's his.

I stare down at the wooden floor before glaring at him. "Stop touching my things." It's so annoying. He's so annoying.

Dean ignores me. Instead, he gets up and spins in front of Emma. "Be honest, how do I look for my date?"

"Perfect." Em rolls her eyes at him, wishing for the conversation to be over.

"You're just saying that." He waves a flippant hand at her. "I'm a mess."

"You're right, I am, and you're right, you are," Em tells him. She takes in his appearance a second time. "That shirt you're wearing sucks."

Dean immediately frowns and glances my way accusingly.

I shrug and smirk at him, satisfied.

He let himself down this morning when he went out of the house with that shirt on.

*~*~*~**~*~*~*

"Hurry up, Emma!" I beckon her forward. I don't trust anyone, especially not here at the race grounds. "Make haste, woman!" She'd better walk faster!

Everybody around here steers clear of me. They jump out of the way and clear a path when they see me coming. I don't really notice it anymore unless I'm looking for it.

Em scoffs from behind me. "Just go without me if I'm too slow for you."

I do exactly that and begin to walk away from her, aware that she can hold her own.

"Landon Kitler, I was not being serious!" Em shouts after me, reminding me a lot of my mother with the tone of voice she's using. "Come back, right now!"

"I don't take orders, Em, I give them," I tell her but return to her side anyway. We don't fight very often. I love my little sister and I'd sacrifice pretty much anything for her and she knows it. She wields it to her advantage.

My gaze lands on my other buddy, JT, in the distance. He's talking to one of the usuals around here but he's still not smiling. He looks down in the dumps and it's hard for me and everyone else to watch him go south.

Em follows my gaze and sighs.

"When will he stop brooding?" I ask aloud. "It's been two years since she left," I point out the facts. Time has flown by. To be honest, I barely remember how Aqueela looks. It's almost as if I never met her, as if she never existed. "You'd think he'd move on by now."

Emma grimaces and shakes her head at me. "Don't be stupid, Lan." She reaches up and hits me over the head, upset.

"Ouch, Ems!" I strain with a wince. She takes after me for sure. "Yeah, and they say I'm the dangerous one in the family," I mutter under my breath in sarcasm. Emma has a temper too but she controls it. I lose all control and my temper takes full control over me.

"He loved that girl with everything he had," she angrily reminds me. "He's not going to just get over her, you moron."

"Well, he should," I reply, unfazed. It can't be that hard.

"Landon," she growls, glaring at me from under her eyelashes, "you'd have to experience love to understand JT's dilemma," she tells me, sticking up for JT, as per the usual. "In other words, Lan, you'll never get it."

Amused by her irritation, I stifle a grin and throw an accusing finger in her face. "You're mean." I find her personal involvement in JT's life funny. She should just admit that she has a bit of a crush on him. "That was uncalled for, Sis," I add.

"I can't believe I'm agreeing with 'Ruthless Racer', you are mean," Xavier makes his appearance and throws an arm around my sister's shoulders as if he has the right to touch her.

I'm only ruthless when people irritate me, and Xavier is definitely one of those people. I hate him. I'm quick to remove his arm from Emma's shoulders. He's lucky I don't break his arm. The only reason I tolerate him is for my sister's sake and he knows it.

"No one even calls me that anymore," I point out, annoyed with his presence in general. There are few and far times that I miss someone. When Xavier shows up, I sometimes find myself missing the feisty blonde who always put him in his place and shut him up. Without Aqueela, I have to try and restrain myself from shutting him up permanently.

"That's because you threatened everyone and said you'd pummel us all if any of us ever called you that again," Xavier reminds me of my words, a stupid grin on his face. He lives to irritate me and knows fully well that Em would never let me rip him in half, even if he deserves it.

"Well, maybe I should start living up to that threat," I snarl in fury and move forward to punch him – I've had it!

Unfortunately, Grey steps in and pushes me back. "You two never quit, do you?" He mutters, his eyes straying from me to Xavier in warning.

"All I know is that Em won't ever quit on me," Thorman says, purposely trying to get on my nerves. It sucks because he's doing a good job at it. He knows he has to go for my sister to get to me.

"He's a dumbass," I tell Grey, close to pummelling Xavier into a pulp. I'm starting to lose control and the sight is going to be horrific. I don't want to have to scrub someone else's blood off of one of my shirts again – I'll get an earful from Dean; he borrows a lot of my shirts.

"That's old news," Grey agrees. He acts like a tough guy but we all know better. Inside, he cares a little too much about people.

Xavier takes the gap. He wolf whistles loudly at Em and beckons her over. "You and me girl...wild fantasies."

"And I'm supposed to put up with that?" I ask Grey, slowly counting to ten in my head as my therapist told me to do. "He tests my patience. If it weren't for my sister, he'd be dead." I mean it. I absolutely mean it.

Xavier spurs me on and shoots Em a flirty wink. "Want to come back to my place?" He grins suggestively at her. "We could have so much fun..." he pauses in confidence, "just like last time."

1,2,3,4,5...wait for my anger to revive. 6,7,8,9,10...if I'm still mad, I'm gonna kill again. I can't remember the exact words my therapist told me to say, so I've replaced the words with helpful new ones.

I glance over at my sister. She has her head thrown back with her eyes closed and she's pinching the bridge of her nose in aggravation.

A flood of different emotions storm through me with one conquering all: fury.

"What?!" I blurt out, cracking my knuckles in anger. I turn to Em for confirmation. "That better not be true!" I shout at her, the overprotective side of me coming into play. I don't appreciate anyone messing with my sister and I don't appreciate my sister allowing people to mess with her.

"Oh, but it is," Xavier smirks before his gaze flashes over to Emma. "Sweet Em isn't as innocent as you'd like to think she is."

"Tell me you didn't, Emma," I plead quietly. My temper is about to get the best of me and there's no stopping it now.

Emma looks up at me and winces. She bites her bottom lip in guilt, hoping that I'll miraculously listen to reason. "I was drunk..." she starts sheepishly, trying to justify it. "It only happened once."

Grey gags, trying to make light of the moment. "Gross."

I release a strained breath and run my fingers through my hair. "Screw that, Emma!" I snap at her, anxiously pacing in an attempt to not do something I'll probably regret. "What were you thinking?!" I finally shout at her, unable to hold back.

She wasn't thinking. It's painful to not kill Xavier. My fists are itching for contact. I have to force myself to not look at him or my instincts will kick in.

Em flinches back. "It won't happen again," she reassures me, adamant.

Xavier snorts in amusement. "Lie," he says in between fake coughs.

I scowl at him, failing to mask my hatred. "You're the underbelly of society, scumbag." He's a bloodsucking tick with shiny hair and no brains. I want him dead.

"I am, indeed," he says, an annoying grin on his face – one that, for some reason, my sister likes.

I'll kill him.

Grey groans aloud before I can do anything that will get me arrested. "Between you two..." he points at Emma and then Xavier, "and your little thing going on, and you..." he gestures to me next, "with your flaming temper, and him..." he motions to JT in the distance, "with his two-year brooding course over Lawson, I'm done," he concludes, meaning it. "I'm out."

Grey walks away after that and I don't even blame him -- it looks like Xavier's face caught on fire and someone tried to put it out with a fork. He's that ugly. I could skin him alive and use his face to chase away flies.

"He needs to get a girl already," the idiot, whom I despise, suggests, breaking the wanted silence.

I immediately narrow my eyes at him. "And you need to stop getting a girl..." I pause, too angry to even think, "with my sister!"

Xavier chuckles before arching an eyebrow at me. "What are you trying to say, Ruthless? Are you speaking stupid again? I've told you before, I don't understand."

Ready to explode, I shoot Xavier the middle finger before storming off, too enraged to form coherent sentences. He's stealing everyone's oxygen.

I'm about to turn around again and murder him anyway when my therapist's voice rings through my head:

"Landon, you're still in therapy because you fail to walk away. Just walk away."

For the life of Xavier, I keep walking, unable to relax my fists.