Page 15 of Three Stepbrothers Save Christmas

“Why are you never that nice to me when I’m throwing up?” I hear Ryan ask as he hands something to Travis.

“Because you are an arsehole who should know better,” he answers, causing me to giggle. “Here, wipe your mouth with this.” Travis holds out a wet flannel, and I take it, giving him a small thanks you as he flushes the toilet. I see Ethan and Ryan looking down at me as I lean back against Travis.

“You were right; he probably wasn’t at work.”

Ethan squats down in front of me and takes my hand.

“I know; I saw him today. I was going to tell you tonight when you got home.”

“I saved you the job and saw for myself.” I look up to Ryan and feel my bottom lip quivering. Quickly, I blink back the tears, knowing if I start crying, I will never stop. “I’m sorry for shoving and swearing at you.”

“It’s okay, Little Kitten. We all have bad days. I think you have had the worst, from the sounds of it.”

I nod as I go to stand but don’t quite manage it.

“Come on, Sweetheart, let's get you into bed so you can sleep it off,” Travis sighs, helping me to my feet. He supports me as I brush my teeth and wash my face before helping me into bed.

“Close your eyes and get some rest. I’ll be right here, okay?” he whispers, running a hand over my head. I nod, closing my eyes and letting myself believe for just one night that they won’t be gone in a few days, and I will be all alone again.

10

Verity

I wake up at the crack of dawn to find a shadow sitting in the chair in the corner of my room.

“How you feeling, Kitten?” Ryan asks, standing from the chair and walking over to the bed.

“Like I drank half a bottle of vodka, threw up and made a fool of myself.”

Ryan chuckles as he runs a hand over my head.

“Yep, that about sums it up. What do you remember?”

I sit up and lean against the headboard.

“Everything,” I sigh as I take my pounding head in my hands. I hear Ryan doing something and look up in time to see him hold out a glass of water and two tablets.

“Take these, they will help.”

I thank him before swallowing the tablets, praying they will take away the pain. If only they worked on humiliation as well.

“Have you been there all night?”

Ryan shakes his head.

“Travis was here most of the night, but I sent him to bed just over an hour ago. He was worried you would be sick in your sleep and didn’t want you to be left alone.”

“Oh god,” I groan, hiding my face in my hands. Why did I have to get so drunk? This isn’t me; I don’t mess up this badly, not to the point others notice anyway. The only two times I have been that bad were the first time at a party with a drink and when my drink got spiked. But to sit in the car and drink vodka straight out of the bottle is ridiculous. I don’t even like the stuff.

I hear the bedroom door open and look up as Travis walks into view.

“I told you to sleep,” Ryan sighs as he looks up at his older brother.

“I couldn’t. Leave us.” Travis orders. Ryan stands from the side of the bed and heads for the door.

“Shout if you need anything,” he says before leaving me and a very annoyed-looking Travis.

Travis walks to the bedside cabinet and turns on the lamp, which instantly hurts my head, before sitting on the side of the bed and looking at me.

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