Death & Tequila [mxm]

2. Mixto

Jaiden lamented his slow-witted brain. He was normally a lot smoother when hitting on someone, but his mind short circuited. He never felt a pull from someone like that before.

"Fuck."

But then again, maybe it was for the best. After breaking it off originally with Billy, he made sure to follow a set of rules.

No men. No distractions. Focus on work.

It was what kept him going because the last thing he could afford was to fall apart. Again.

With a shake of his head, he took off to a coffee shop down the road before he called an Uber. He did not want to wait in that apartment complex in case Billy decided to chase him. At least Toni's trick worked, and Billy stopped calling.

Before calling for a ride, he grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down in one of the booths, trying to sort out the mess of his mind. His life was one disaster after another, and he seemed to be continuing that streak.

It all started early in his life when he lost his mother when he was six.

His memories of his mother were vague at best, and he could catch glimpses of her holding his hand while she was wearing a wispy dress covered in sunflowers at an amusement park. But unfortunately, he remembered the sound of the car cash that took her life more prominently than her face.

He was only a child, but for the longest time he believed that it was his fault. He asked to go to the amusement park.  He wanted to ride one more ride.  If he didn't, then she could still be alive. 

But accidents happen, right?

The truth was, he was lucky to have survived the crash and only did so because his mom shielded him. He still had a long scar on his leg because of the accident. It used to haunt him, but now it is partially covered by a sunflower tattoo to honor her.

However, since then his father had become emotionally distant. His pain and grief were palpable, and Jaiden had no way to reach him. However, when his father mentioned that he found someone that made him happy, Jaiden encouraged him. He remarried when Jaiden was about 12 years old, and he thought that they could have a good life with a new mother and an older brother. But it came crashing down when his father passed away only two years later.

His stepmother wasn't exactly nurturing and had troubles adjusting to being a single mother of two boys, especially when one wasn't her own blood. It wasn't an abusive household, but they were strained, so they both choose to ignore each other.

However, he was falling apart and like many young and angry children, he started to act out in school. His stepmother didn't know how to handle a child like him and was growing weary of the many calls from his teachers.  As a last resort, she sent him off to a school for delinquents. Luckily, that school was a blessing for him.

He had found good friends in high school, people who became closer than brothers to him. However, his friends knew exactly what they wanted in life and started to excel the moment they graduated. But Jaiden was lost and had no support from his home. He felt like he would drag his friends down so during the summer after he graduated, he left.

He traveled for almost a year, taking his motorcycle through the states.  Somehow, he found himself in Las Cruces, New Mexico. He wasn't there for a full 24 hours before he was caught in brawl with three other men.  He won the fight, but the reward for that victory was being tossed in a holding cell to cool off.

The entire time he was waiting behind bars, he made sure the cops knew how disgruntled he was about being in their presence.

He always hated the police. They were either corrupt or easily bought, at least that was how it was in his hometown. Never trust anyone with badge.