“I don’t like you, and I’m never going to, so you can save the ‘I’m a nice guy’ act with me. I don’t buy it. You just want my mom all to yourself.”
That was my ding to tap into this sparring match. “That’s the furthest thing from the truth. I’m not trying to steal her. I care about her. All I want to do is get to know you too. If you gave me a shot, we could be friends. I play a mean game of Call of Duty,” I expressed, thinking maybe we could reach neutral ground.
Fuck no.
What was I thinking?
This kid was out for blood.
“You think a video game is going to have me calling you daddy?”
“How about we start with Ashton?”
“I’ve never had a dad, and I don’t need one now. Especially one who dresses like a dork and has a stupid haircut. My mom is mine. Mine and Haven’s. This is your one warning. Leave her now, or you’re going to regret it.”
Ignoring his digs, I stayed calm. “Unlucky for you, I don’t scare easily, Haiden. You’re the man of the house, right?”
“The one and only.”
“Listen, bud—”
He stepped toward me, looking up to my face. “I’m not your bud.”
Biting my tongue, I spoke the truth, “I know it’s probably hard trusting a new person in your life. But I like your mom, a lot.”
“I’m not going to share her. With you or anyone else.”
What the fuck do I say to that?
Without even trying, I’d become his number one rival, his mortal enemy, and suddenly I’d found myself at the receiving end of a boy half my size who was ready to throw down and punch me in the balls if needed. Considering he was close to my family jewels with his height, I wasn’t convinced he wasn’t going to.
Haiden didn’t stop there. Blow after blow erupted from his mouth as if I was listening to the kid on the other end of my Call of Duty warfare game.
He must have smelled my hesitation because he squared off to me with the swagger of a man. Standing tall, his shoulders rigid. “This is war.”
Unable to hold back, I sneered, “Good thing I don’t lose then.”
“Oh!” Sage announced, walking into my bedroom with Haven. “There you two are. What’s going on? Everything alright?”
Haiden’s glare instantly vanished as if it was never there to begin with, and in one quick motion he wrapped his arms around my waist.
“Mom! You were so right!” he boomed, hugging me tightly. “Ashton is the best! We’re going to play Call of Duty later! I’m so glad we met him!”
Oh, this little brat…
This was how he was going to play it?
To me, he was Haiden the Hellion.
To his mother, he was her precious angel.
Little did he know who he was fucking with. He wasn’t the only one good at playing this game. Women were my specialty.
Plus, I wouldn’t go down without a fight.
For the rest of the day, everything proceeded without a hitch now that the lines had been drawn between me and Sage’s son. Any chance he’d get when his mother wasn’t looking, he would slice over his neck with his index finger. From one ear to the other, his beady little eyes glaring right at me.
I ordered five different pizzas for us, chicken wings, breadsticks, a smorgasbord of food, and the hellion pretended like he had a stomachache only after it was delivered. Leaving me with an obscene amount of food. I ate as much as I could and took a shower, contemplating my next move.
Should I retaliate?
Should I pretend like it doesn’t bother me?
What’s the right thing to do in this situation?
The more I thought about it, the harder I scrubbed my head. Getting extremely agitated, I took out all my frustrations on my scalp while I roughly washed my hair.
Would he stop?
Could I make him stop?
What were his plans for me?
Turn his mother against me?
His sister?
Why the hell is my scalp burning?
“What the fuck?”
Quickly, I washed it out as fast as I could and rushed toward the mirror in my bathroom.
“Oh … no, no, no, no!”
My hair was blond.
My hair was fucking blond!
“I’m going to kill him!”
It didn’t take a brain surgeon to know that Haiden was behind this. He must have put bleach in my shampoo when he was roaming around my house alone.
What else did he booby-trap?
It was worse than I thought. This kid was going to make my life hell until he got what he wanted.
Me. Gone. Forever.
I refused to give into his terrorist tactics. Remaining calm, I breathed in a heavy, solid breath. Trying to govern my anger that was boiling from the inside out.
“He’s a kid, Ashton. He’s just a little boy. You can do this.” Grabbing my cell phone off the counter, I texted my barber that I needed an appointment as soon as possible. Throwing on my gym shorts next, I sat on the edge of my bed and chuckled to myself.