A Gambling Man // Ryan x OC

29

"Promise me," Beth started, basically sobbing, "Promise me that when you have the most beautiful babies in the world with Ryan that you'll be there and be the best mother ever to them. Promise me that you won't ever miss a moment of them growing up because you can't get that back." 

"You know I will, Beth. It's still far into the future but I promise I will besides if for whatever reason I don't, I know that their fucking awesome, Auntie Beth, will be there to kick my ass," Mae told her. 

Beth nodded as she pulled away from her and laughed: "Damn right I will." 

"Wanna get out of here and go get something to drink?," Mae asked, sensing that Beth needed it. 

"Hell yes." 

xxx

Mae and Beth sat at the bar of this small restaurant, both of them probably three drinks and a basket of fries deep, when Roarke walked in and joined them. Mae still felt the tinge of fear when he stood next to Beth but it was overthrown by the anger she felt towards him. 

"You know, it's five o'clock, shouldn't you be in a river somewhere?," Beth greeted and Mae smirked as she downed her drink and asked the bartender for another one. 

"Or shouldn't you be fucking off like we told you too?"

He ordered a drink before turning to the sisters: "There's nothing I would love more than to be in the river or to be fucking you, Little Dove, but instead I am here trying to figure out why your big sister is poking a grizzly." 

Mae scoffed and rolled her eyes at him muttering: "In your dreams." 

"You don't keep'em when you catch'em?," Beth asked, referring to the fish.

"No," he answered. 

"You throw them back?"

"Yes."

"I could respect you if you eat them. That makes sense to me but through all the shit a trout has to go through a day; eagles trying to eat them, raccoons trying to eat them, otters, bigger fish, hawks. It also has to wonder if every fucking dead insect in the water has a hook in it's mouth because you think it fighting you for its' life is fun." 

"It doesn't hurt the fish, they don't process pain the same way other animals-," Roarke's bullshit excuse was cut off by the two sisters laughing at him. 

"What fucking pescatarian told you that? It's fucking fascinating that the one vertebra on this planet that doesn't rely on pain as a survival device is the one you like to hook in the fucking mouth," Beth stated. 

"Oh no Beth, don't let him try to fool you, he doesn't care who he fucking hurts as long as he gets what he wants," Mae spat at him. 

 "To be honest, I don't give a shit if it hurts the fish, I don't like the way it tastes that's why I throw it back." 

"I wish you would have been that honest with me a couple of years back but oh wait you don't care who the fuck you hurt." 

Mae and Roarke were glaring at each other but it was broken off by Beth: "Well why didn't you just say that or tell the truth to my sister in the first place, huh? That I understand."

Roarke sighed before changing the topic: "Schwartz and Meyer shorting our stock is like a terrorist bombing a subway. It doesn't stop the subways and it doesn't stop the city the subways' serves, just hurts some people and not the people you want to hurt. It does make the people you want to hurt, wanna hurt you back."

"You're going to try and hurt me back? Is that what you're trying to say or what you were trying to say yesterday with my sister? Mmh? Because we have been down this road many many times  before, Buddy, and no one who tried it is alive to tell you how poorly that worked out for them. Especially someone who hurts my dear sister, Mae. She's got a small army at her beck and call that would give her the moon if they could, and you are on every one of their shit lists," Beth informed him.