Page 40 of Jayce

He puts his phone away and hops up. I fall into his open arms as if it’s normal for my brother to hold me and comfort me.

Jamie doesn’t ask me to spill my guts. He just offers me another shoulder to lean on.

I’m all cried out for the night. Maybe for the week. Buckets—I’ve spilled buckets.

Shay and I haven’t even talked about what any of this means. Does Emjay want to be a part of our lives? Do we want her in our lives?

We drank. We cried. But we didn’t share our feelings. I don’t think either of us knows what we’re feeling yet.

My body stumbles. “Cill, let’s sit.” Jamie holds onto me while I pretty much fall onto the wooden planks. He slides next to me for support.

The old him might have told me I’ve had enough. The new him breaks the top of the wine bottle off with his knife because I forgot to bring a corkscrew.

I hold my glass out for him to pour me another.

“Are you hoping for a boy or a girl?” I’m really impressed that my words are coming out clear. At least, I believe they are.

“A former son of Theseus calling forth a son of Helios’ Minotaur. He’d have one hell of a story to tell.”

“So, a nephew, huh?” I push against his shoulder.

“A girl to wrap around my finger wouldn’t be so bad either.”

“And she’ll never hear from me about how mean her daddy was to me growing up.” I hiccup. Uh oh. Maybe I shouldn’t drink anymore, my brain says while I hold my empty glass out for Jamie to fill.

“I love you, Cill. Never doubt that.”

“Uh, huh.” Is what I think to myself. Did I say it?

My head feels too heavy as I lay it on his shoulder. “Th—ank you—for—com—ing.”

My brother presses his lips to my forehead. “I’ll always come.”

I’m not sure how much time passes before I’m lifted by strong arms. It’s not Jamie. They don’t smell like Jamie. Anjal. Uh oh. I hope I didn’t wake him.

Chapter 27

Shay

Anjal opens the door I tapped on. My heavy head wouldn’t let me knock any harder. I knew he’d hear me no matter how soft.

“You look almost as bad as Cill,” he thoughtfully whispers, opening the door wide enough for me to pass.

“Is she up?” I hoarsely ask.

“Sort of. I’m mixing her up some hangover concoctions if you’d like to bring them to her.”

“I didn’t think she drank as much as I did.”

I follow him to their kitchen.

“She got back out of bed after we laid down and finished two more bottles. I found her passed out on the pier in Jamie’s arms.”

“Really. She called Jamie.” I know they’ve been connecting, but why did she call him and not come find me again?

Anjal nods while pushing two glasses of red liquid in my direction, which he’d poured from a blender. I don’t even have to bring it to my nose to smell how awful it is. “What’s in it?”

“You don’t want to know.

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