Hector jerked his head in what was supposed to be a nod while a muscle jumped in his cheek. He looked away and threw back a shot of Jack, pouring himself another the minute he was done and he threw that back too.

Buddy looked at Ralphie.

Ralphie bugged his eyes out at Buddy.

Buddy finished on the part of the night where Sadie shared about Sadie. The part she shared at the end of the night. The part they both figured she didn’t remember sharing.

It was who she thought she was, who she wanted to be, how she didn’t know how to be that and what she thought that Hector thought she was after what happened “that night in my father’s study”.

Hector stared at him.

“She thinks I think she’s a society slut out slumming?” he asked, looking angry.

“She says you said that,” Buddy corrected him.

Hector looked away and threw back another shot of Jack.

“Jesus,” he muttered after he swallowed. “I never called her a slut. I told her I was glad she went slumming. She had to know I wanted her, f**k, I had her against the wall with her skirt around her waist, my hands in her pants, for f**k’s sake.”

This was way more information than they needed but Buddy figured it was Jack Daniels Magic. As good (if not better) than lemon drops.

Hector kept talking as if to himself, “She knew who I was. She’d been feeding me information on her father for months. And I knew what kind of woman she was, she knew I knew. What’s in her f**kin’ head?”

“That episode didn’t, um… end well, did it?” Ralphie asked carefully and Hector’s eyes sliced to him.

“No,” Hector replied tersely then his teeth clenched, the muscle leaped in his cheek again and he looked away. “Fucking hell,” he hissed (again, to himself), sounding even angrier. “Fucking hell,” he repeated, looking up at Buddy, something dawning on him. “She didn’t know. We talked about it the other night. I told her I knew she was my informant and she didn’t know I knew. Fucking hell, I’ve been so wrapped up in all her shit, I didn’t put it together. I said something to her that night when she walked away and it wasn’t nice. I was pissed as hell, I figured she’d get that, understand why and get over it, like I did, because I thought she went cold on me, walked away, because she had to, to protect both of us. Jesus, if she didn’t know –”

“She’s confused,” Ralphie said quietly. “She thinks she’s marked by her father, less of a person because of who he is. She spent years enduring a life of fear, playing a role, hating every minute of it without a single person to turn to, to trust. She had a chance to become someone else but instead she was stalked by four crazy brothers and then interrupted in the effort of finding herself when she was raped by one of them. She doesn’t think like normal people, she’s never had a normal life. But now, she’s on the edge, Hector, she’s holding it together but she’s teetering. We can’t let her fall off.”

Buddy took over. “What’s happening with you two, it isn’t your normal boy meets girl, boy asks girl out –”

“I f**kin’ know that,” Hector clipped, interrupting Buddy, eyes narrowed and angry and clearly having had his fill of sharing.

Buddy pushed it. “I know you do, what I wanted to say was, in a normal relationship, it would be too early to ask this question but we have to know your intentions.”

“What are you sayin’?” Hector’s voice was still clipped.

Buddy kept at it. “I’m asking you your intentions. Far as we can see, Ralphie and I are the only ones she trusts. We’re taking that seriously. We figure you’re not in it for a casual –”

Hector leaned forward and, at his threatening posture and drawn brows, Buddy stopped talking.

“I’m gonna say this once, out of respect for what you’ve done for her, and then we’re done here. There’s nothin’ casual about this. Got me?”

Okay, it was safe to say, Hector Chavez was done sharing.

And Hector Chavez’s feelings were far from casual when they came to Sadie.

Buddy thought that was good to know.

“Got you,” Buddy assured him.

“I got you too.” Ralphie smiled happily then turned to Buddy. “I told you. I told Sadie too. Double H is –”

“Christ,” Hector muttered, interrupting Ralphie, tossing back the last of his third beer and standing. “I’m takin’ Sadie to bed, which room is hers?”

“Top of the stairs, to the right. She has her own bathroom. Are you staying?” Ralphie answered and asked.

“Fuck yeah, I’m stayin’,” Hector replied.

“You need to borrow some pajamas?” Ralphie offered.

“Ralphie,” Buddy said in a low warning

Hector stared at Ralphie a beat then two, finally he said shortly, “No.”

Ralphie flicked out his hand. “Our casa is your casa or however it goes. Make yourself at home.”

Hector’s glance cut across the both of them which Buddy figured was his way of saying “goodnight” and he started to move from the room.

He stopped when Ralphie called, “You know, some of that amazing ‘fuck me’ sex Sadie was going on about while she was freaking out this evening wouldn’t be amiss in this situation. Stress relief.”

Hector’s eyes slashed to Ralphie and Buddy could swear he looked like he didn’t know whether to throw something or laugh out loud.

“Ralphie, shut up,” Buddy said.

“I’m just saying,” Ralphie replied.

“Shut up,” Buddy repeated.

“I’m just saying,” Ralphie repeated too.

Hector gave up and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Ralphie gave Buddy a look and then he tiptoed across the room to the door.

“Get back here,” Buddy hissed and Ralphie put his finger to his lips, carefully pulled open the door an inch and peeked out.

Buddy wanted to be the better person but he couldn’t help himself.

He made it in time to peer out the crack in the door, bending under Ralphie to do it and he saw Hector’s back walking away, Sadie in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder, face tucked into his neck, her arms linked around his shoulders.

“Mm, that boy looks good from behind,” Ralphie whispered.

Buddy’s eyes rolled to the ceiling then, since they were there, he said a little prayer.

Chapter Seventeen