Devil vs. Angel

Chapter 2-1

Chapter 2

Briella

The worst? He didn’t really want me to answer that. When you become a parent, worst case scenario becomes your normal state. You’re always looking for the next thing that can hurt your child.

Unfortunately for me, I never saw the biggest hurt of his life coming. His own father.

“Let’s see…Kyle could wander off to the water while you’re pouring drinks and drown. Or he could get into the liquor behind the bar and end up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning. Or he could grab a knife from one of the tables and try to sword fight with it and stab himself. Or—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Bri, calm down,” Alvin said, reaching for me. He held my biceps and stared into my eyes. His were that dark brown color that reminded me of the cooled lava, nearly black but with depths of color so dark you couldn’t distinguish them without serious studying.

Yeah, okay, so maybe I’d studied his eyes. It didn’t really matter, though. Alvin Stone would never notice me. The only reason he was touching me at all was because I was having a nervous breakdown.

“I’m fine,” I said, shrugging him off.

He studied me a long minute and shook his head with a laugh. “You’re seriously twisted, aren’t you?”

I quirked an eyebrow at him. “We’re talking about my kid here. Since the day he was born, I’ve been responsible for him. Vince barely took any time with him. I didn’t plan to get pregnant, but when I did, I was happy. He never really was, and a part of me wonders if he never even wanted kids.”

“It wouldn’t surprise me,” Alvin mumbled.

“Excuse me?”

He shrugged and met my gaze. “The way the guy acts doesn’t seem like he wanted, or wants, kids. He barely sees Kyle.”

I took a deep breath. Defending Vince had become habit so deeply ingrained, I had to choke back the words as they threatened to spill out. But Alvin was right. I knew he was right. And he was only agreeing with what I said. Alvin wasn’t the bad guy, Vince was.

“It just kills me, you know? A boy shouldn’t grow up wondering if his dad even cares that he exists.”

Alvin nodded as my throat swelled with emotion. There were times I hated Vince. Like every single time I had to tell Kyle his dad wasn’t coming. It wasn’t fair that it was up to me to do it, but I was the parent who was there. I had to be strong for my kid.

“Where is he? He can sit up here and I’ll make him a drink,” Alvin said with a grin.

I opened my mouth to argue, but Alvin shook his head.

“Not alcohol. Really, Bri?” He laughed.

I nodded and tried to calm down. I had a hard time talking to Kyle when I was so upset. His dad brought out the worst in me, but Alvin was doing a damn good job of changing how I felt. He always was the kind of guy who could make you laugh the same time he was dumping you. The crush I’d had on him since high school swept through me at times, catching me off guard. For so long, he was my friend’s older brother. He still was, but after my divorce, I also saw Alvin Stone as another man I needed to stay away from. He shared too many qualities with Vince for my heart’s safety.

Kyle stomped over to where Alvin and I were standing and grumbled that he was ready to go. You’d think at seven he wouldn’t have the obnoxious teenager attitude down pat, but he did.

“I was thinking of sticking around for a while. Alvin said he would make you something to drink.”

Kyle flashed his brown eyes at me. “I can’t drink that stuff. Those are Mommy Drinks.”

I grinned at my sweet boy. He was so innocent at times, but everything with his father made him much older than seven. “He can make you a special drink that doesn’t have anything like that in it. Want to try?”

Kyle slid Alvin a distrustful look that broke my heart. He met my gaze again and nodded once.

“What do you like, little man?” Alvin asked, taking control of the moment.

Kyle shrugged.

“What’s your favorite thing to drink?” Alvin tried again.

“I like Sprite, but Mommy doesn’t let me have it that much.”

Alvin narrowed his eyes and nodded. “I think for tonight your mommy will let you.”

I nodded at both of them, stuffing down every last argument I wanted to make. Kyle had been beat down enough for one day. He needed to kick back and relax just as much as I did.

Alvin set to work on mixing something up for Kyle. He poured syrup out of a bottle after putting a tiny bit on a straw and letting Kyle taste it. He added a lemon wedge to the tall glass, and filled it to the top with Sprite, then slid it across the wooden bar to Kyle.

Kyle looked up at me, and I forced a grin. The drink had a blue tint to it and was fizzy. Kyle’s eyes were wide and happy for the first time all night. Leave it to Alvin to erase my son’s dismay at being ditched by his father again.

Kyle leaned down and sipped the drink. He swished the sweet substance around in his mouth like he would mouthwash, coating every one of his teeth with a fine layer of sugar. I swallowed my groan and asked, “How is it?”

“It’s delicious!” He went back for another sip.

Alvin reached over and squeezed my hand. I looked up at him, and he nodded toward the water. I turned to look as the bride and groom led their guests up to the reception. She wore a long, white gown that hugged her hips and flared around her feet. He was in a black tux. They looked perfect together, especially with the way the sun was setting behind them over the water. It was picture perfect.

But I knew just like a picture was worth a thousand words, a picture could also lie. My wedding was picture perfect. I still looked back at pictures and wondered where everything between us went wrong. Unfortunately, I didn’t have an answer.

“Hey, Kyle. Will you hang out with me and make sure I take care of all these people tonight? Your mom can go see Kiana and Ada?”

Kyle sipped his drink and nodded. He looked up at Alvin with something dangerously close to hero worship in his eyes. It scared me because the last thing I needed was for my son to fall in love with another man who wouldn’t be there for him. Because I might not know Alvin Stone well, but I knew, without a doubt, he was not the kind of man who stuck around.