Covet (14 page)

A
tlas Titan was
one of the few friends of Barrett’s who didn’t give a shit about his money or the trappings that came along with it. Mostly because Atlas was only slightly less wealthy than Barrett, though the means from which he received his fortune were decidedly different.

The two had forged an unconventional friendship when Barrett decided that after drinking himself into oblivion couldn’t change the past, couldn’t rewind his relationship with Scarlet, that he should do something with his life that was purely his. Something that no one was expecting him to do, and something that shocked the hell out of everyone who knew him.

Barrett signed up to become a Navy SEAL.

He had told no one, showing up at a Navy recruitment office one day, signing a contract with the United States government to “train for war, fight to win, and defeat our nation’s enemies.”

Atlas was one of the few people who knew Barrett’s hardest fought battle was the one within his very own heart. And Atlas didn’t judge him for that.

They’d gone through part of training together, so they were truly brothers in a sense. And Barrett sometimes needed Atlas’s cold logic to get him through his most difficult decisions.

“This better be good,” Atlas answered. “I mean it, Evers. I was dead asleep.”

“Sorry,” Barrett apologized. “I need your advice. Maybe more than I’ve ever needed it. And just to forewarn you- I’m drunk as fuck.”

“Great,” sighed Atlas. “What’s it this time? Dad didn’t let you borrow the plane you wanted this week? Or let me guess, Guy Savoy dared to say no to you for once about opening at 2 am. Seriously, what the fuck could be so important?”

“Atlas,” Barrett said. “I’ve been with Scarlet all week.”

That shut Atlas Titan right up. It had been a long time since he’d heard Scarlet’s name come out of Barrett’s mouth. And like any great friend does, Atlas immediately understood the seriousness of the situation.

“Okay, Evers,” Atlas said, reclining back in his bed, knowing it was going to be a long night ahead of him. “What’s going on?”

B
arrett hadn’t been
the most ideal candidate for SEAL training. From the moment he signed up, everyone around him was waiting for him to fail. To them he was the entitled, spoiled, rich kid who didn’t know the first thing about hard work or discipline. And there was no harder work than BUD/S training. But before that, he would have to complete boot camp in Great Lakes, Illinois, which is where Barrett found himself showing up, a little over a year after Scarlet had left him.

He’d woken up one morning tired of being a sad drunk. His brother Durham had finally told him he needed to do something or he was cutting him out of his co-CEO position at their new enterprise, Elixir.

“It’s been a year,” Durham said. “The mourning has to stop. You weren’t even with her that long. What’s wrong with you? Hell, we can jump on a plane right now, you pick the destination, and I can introduce you to models on whichever continent you choose. Well, maybe not Antarctica. I only know penguins there, but my point is, you’re Barrett. Fucking. Evers. And unless I want them first, you can have anyone you choose, bro. ”

“I don’t want just anyone,” Barrett said. “And I don’t fucking care about being a co-CEO. Fire me. As far as I know, it’s part of the reason she’s gone.
Because
I’m an Evers.”

Durham shook his head, “Well, brother, that’s not something that’s ever going to change. You can’t let her do this to you. We’re only as heartbroken as we allow ourselves to believe we are.”

Barrett looked at Durham, “What the fuck? You need to get a new yogi. That’s the stupidest bullshit I’ve ever heard.”

But Durham was partially right, which was a rare occurrence. Barrett couldn’t lay in his mansion forever and drink away the past. And as much as he wanted to, he also couldn’t change it or wish for a better one. His heart might never heal, but that didn’t stop the fact that it was still beating. He had to do
something
with his life. Barrett never wanted to be a rich kid who spent his days consuming and never giving back to the life happening around him.

But he also didn’t want to do it through his father’s companies any longer. His parents had been horrified when he skipped the LSAT and swore off law school for the foreseeable future. And even now, he didn’t want that life again. It’s where Scarlet still lived, in a way, because it represented the future he no longer had with her.

No, he needed to do something different.

And so, to everyone’s shock (and his mother’s dismay) he was now here in Great Lakes to start something that would take Barrett to the furthest depths of himself. He needed to be baptized a new man. Being that he wasn’t overtly religious, this was the best way he knew how to do it. To prove to himself, to his family, and to his country that he was more than a wounded heart and a big pile of money.

* * *

I
t had been explained
to him by his recruiter that to become a SEAL he would still need to go through Navy boot camp before heading to BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL school) in Coronado, near San Diego.

“First a sailor, then a SEAL,” his recruiter said. “If you can make it that far.”

Boot camp hadn’t been easy, but it also hadn’t been as much of a struggle as he thought it would be. He’d been in the 800 Division, with the other SEAL hopefuls. Their group had higher expectations placed on them than the other divisions and their days consisted of two-a-days (PT twice a day) and more swimming than Barrett had ever thought was imaginable for any living creature without scales, fins, and gills.

He’d immediately bonded with Atlas Titan since everyone in their division hated them for being the rich assholes. No one understood why either of them were there, and it angered both Barrett and Atlas that anyone would doubt their commitment to their team and their nation. Being loaded didn’t change their need to prove themselves as men. If anything it drove them to want to prove it even more; to their teammates and to themselves.

And prove themselves they did.

By the end of boot camp both men were at the top of their class in both PT and in academics. Barrett had given the Navy every ounce of aggression and heart he had left in him and they had given so much back in the way of brotherhood and loyalty to his fellow warriors who all longed to wear the Trident. They still had a long way to go, but they’d made it this far. They were prepared for Hell.

Barrett had never felt so alive, not since his summer with Scarlet. It still paled in comparison to his time with her, but it was a gift to get some of himself back from the dark hole he’d been in the past year. For the first time in his life he’d accomplished something completely on his own merit, without any influence from his family or people’s preconceived ideas of who he was.

They were shipping out for Coronado after graduation and Barrett had invited his family, not expecting any of them to show up besides maybe Durham. Clementine was in rehab again, and his parents hadn’t spoken to him since they found out about his naval ambitions.

On the day of graduation, Barrett was called into a special meeting with the captain and commanding officer of the entire recruitment training center. Not knowing that this was highly unusual, Barrett entered the office with high hopes.

Those hopes were quickly dashed when he saw his mother and father were present.

“What are you all doing here?” he asked. His father beamed at him, an expression on his face Barrett had never seen before. It looked almost like pride.

Patricia looked completely different. Her lips were pursed and her eyes were narrowed.

“Son, I can’t believe how great you look,” Rhett Evers interrupted. “You’ve clearly become a real man while you’ve been here.”

“Did you not think we would want to see you graduate?” his mother retorted.

“Actually, no. I didn’t,” Barrett replied. “You made it pretty clear how you felt about me doing this. If I recall correctly your exact words were ‘what a waste of potential. Throwing your life away for a common existence.’ But maybe I’m paraphrasing,
mother
.”

The captain glanced at Patricia, a flash of anger in his eyes for a moment that he let pass. He looked at Barrett, a sympathetic look on his face.

“Evers,” he said. “I’m afraid to tell you that you are ineligible to continue on with your division. You will graduate today but this will be the end of your Navy journey. I’m so sorry to break this to you, son.” Captain looked over at his parents. “I absolutely don’t agree with this but it is what it is, apparently.”

Barrett sat there slack-jawed.

“How can I be ineligible?” he argued. “Sir, I mean no disrespect, but haven’t I been exemplary? Haven’t I given my division my all? Was there something I missed?”

The captain cleared his throat and looked over at Rhett and Patricia Evers, a less than admiring look on his face, “Apparently it’s been brought to our attention that you suffer from a childhood medical condition we were unaware of before you began your training here. It has made you ineligible to serve.”

Barrett stood, angry, “Sir, that’s complete bullshit. I passed MEPS with flying colors. I have never in my life been to the doctor for anything other than a cold. What are you talking about?”

Patricia spoke, “Barrett, you must have forgotten. You were born with a hole in your heart. Very common, but still, worrisome nonetheless with the strenuous physical training you’d be forced to endure.”

“
Choose
to endure,” Barrett corrected her. “That’s what this is really about, isn’t it? I made a choice that you and Dad don’t agree with so you’ve come here and fucked everything up for me. There’s no medical condition. You two just love to prove you hold the cards. Well, this time it’s not going to work.”

Barrett looked back at the captain, “Sir, I apologize. I’m not quitting. I’m fine. I’ve made it through boot camp, which must tell you something.”

Captain looked Barrett Evers in the eyes, “Son, I have no doubt you’d have made a fine sailor and a great SEAL if you made it through BUD/S.”

“Not if.
When
,” Barrett corrected him. “I’ve got what it takes. Sir.”

“This is something that’s beyond my control,” the captain said. “Believe me, were it up to me, you’d be moving on with your team.”

Barrett sat back, allowing the realization to hit him. His parents had somehow bought his way out. Without his consent, because as usual, it didn’t matter. Their money could make anything happen, their connections reached the upper echelons of the most powerful people on the planet. Barrett knew that anything he said didn’t matter. It was wasted breath.

“You can still graduate today, Barrett,” his mother said, her voice chipper. “You still accomplished something that none of us thought you would.”

Barrett had no reply. He stood up and looked at his captain, offering his hand, “Sir. It has been my extreme honor to train here. I can confidently tell you this is one of the worst days of my life but also one of the greatest, because it feels good to have finished something that had nothing to do with the terrible people in this room. If there is any way that this can somehow change, I will forever be happy to come back and finish what I started. That being said, I think I would like to leave, sir. With your permission.”

The captain shook his hand, “I understand, son. I wish this was all different somehow. I’ve never dealt with anything like this. Would you like to say goodbye to your fellow sailors?”

“Just one,” Barrett said. “Atlas Titan.”

With that, Barrett saluted the captain, executed a perfect turn, and left the office with nary a glance back at his parents.

B
arrett spoke
with Atlas from his San Diego mansion until the sun started peeking through the small basement windows. Atlas had no great words of wisdom for him, he mostly listened quietly, taking in the entire tale of Barrett’s week in San Diego with Scarlet.

“Brother,” Atlas said to his friend. “There is more to this story. I’m sure of it.”

Barrett was surprised at his friend’s reply. When Barrett first shared the story of Scarlet with Atlas back in Great Lakes years ago, Atlas had been resolute with his advice to completely forget about her, that she was toxic and fucked up, a cancer on Barrett’s life.

“But you said she was toxic and it’s clear you were right,” Barrett said. “What have you always told me? ‘See things as they are and not how I want them to be.’ That’s your motto.”

“Exactly,” Atlas replied. “And you can’t see things as they are because you don’t know the entire story yet. Just like you didn’t know it then.”

Barrett sighed, “Fuck. I was hoping you would tell me something simple.”

“Since when are you and Scarlet simple?” Atlas said. “It’s just, after what your parents did to you after training, and her story about your mom- I’m beginning to think there’s a common equation to your misery. You need to talk to her. Give her a chance to explain what the fuck happened. No bullshit.” Atlas paused. “The best decision is an educated one. You need all the hard facts.”

“I can’t believe she was pregnant,” Barrett lamented. “I would have been so fucking happy if she’d told me that. She has to have known that. Something spooked her bad.”

“Yep,” Atlas said. “And its name is Patricia.”