Page 34 of Bear the Burden

A reflexive habit in times of stress, Wesley rubbed his leg, but today there was no pain. He had even noticed it was gone this morning when he woke up. Despite not touching Hyett for over an hour, the pain still hadn’t returned.

But Wesley wasn’t going to fool himself into thinking it wouldn’t come back.

He wasn’t that lucky.

Jackson’s drug use and gambling addiction were proof of that. Wesley had been completely unaware of both problems until they exploded into his life, along with drug dealers invading his home, one of them being a demon.

A freaking demon.

No wonder Seth had given off a creepy vibe. He may have been handsome on the outside, but there was something about him that made people instantly cautious and distrustful of him.

“Can we stop at the gas station? I have to use the bathroom,” Wesley pleaded, sounding like a child who couldn’t even last five seconds into a road trip without needing a pitstop. He wanted a moment to himself to freak out, and then he would pull himself back together.

Why on earth had he asked to know everything that existed in Hyett’s world? Wesley was convinced he needed to get his head checked. But ever since making that foolish request, he hadn’t had a single second to himself.

Just breathe normally, because if Hyett notices you panicking, he might not take you home.

“Right now?” Hyett asked. “We just left the house ten minutes ago. Why didn’t you go beforehand?”

“Because I didn’t have to go until now.” Wesley was even more desperate, almost forgetting how to breathe.

Hyett shot him a curious look, but didn’t say anything.

As soon as they parked in front of the convenience store attached to the island of pumps—Hyett’s dad and brothers pulling up on their motorcycles behind them—Wesley made a beeline for the back of the store. He passed an almost empty slushie machine and a coffee maker with empty carafes.

The place used to be much cleaner when Alex worked there. Wesley wondered what had happened to him as he locked himself in the bathroom.

“Pull yourself together.” He gripped the edge of the sink and extended one leg backward. “Who cares if you’ve been taking a lot of right hooks lately? You’re now heading back to the most terrifying moment of your life.”

Second most terrifying. Mustn’t forget the fire.

Great. Wesley really was losing his ever-loving mind.

After splashing some water on his face, he grabbed a handful of brown paper towels to dry off. He turned toward the toilet realizing he did need to use it after all.

At least now he didn’t feel so guilty for lying to Hyett.

“Ugh, gross.” Why were public restrooms always so disgusting? It was as if people had completely given up on basic hygiene habits and turned into nasty little pigs when the toilet belonged to someone else.

Now Wesley needed to wash his hands and keep from touching anything on his way out.

He used the bottom of his shirt to open the door, wondering if there was any hand sanitizer on the counter by the register.

“Shit,” Wesley snarled when he almost collided with Hyett standing directly outside the door. “We’re going to have a talk about boundaries, buddy.”

“I have to use the bathroom,” Hyett said as if Wesley was being ridiculous.

Wesley placed a hand on his mate’s solid chest. “Trust me, you do not want to go in there.”

“I don’t even want to ask.” Hyett kissed Wesley’s forehead.

“I didn’t do it!” he quickly defended himself. “And can we please stop talking about it?”

He walked toward the snack aisle and grabbed a bag of gummy worms, hoping the sugary scent would help clear his nose from the unpleasant odor in the restroom.

Hyett grabbed a large bag of chips, several chocolate bars, a mega-sized bag of beef jerky, and two bottles of water.

His brothers and dad had come into the store and were already at the counter paying for their haul. How were they not a thousand pounds each with the way they scarfed down food?

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