Page 99 of Unfix Me

“Sorry. Look, man, my response to shitty family members is to get in a heated argument, which usually ends in someone- probably me- getting a black eye or a busted lip.”

“That makes my problems seem trivial.”

“Nah. My dad didn’t used to be a dick and if I was gay, he wouldn’t be any angrier about that than he is about my general existence. Something about bigots… It’s a different kind of hatred that makes me angry.”

Adjusting so that I was leaning against the door, I took a deep breath. “This is shitty.”

“Yeah, it is. If you call Kai, he’ll find a way to get you out of there.”

“No. I have to do this. It’s part of my agreement with my dad.”

“It’s a dumb agreement, Sen.”

“Not for me. I can handle being here for a little while. Just needed to vent.”

“Sure. I still think you should tell Kai what’s going on. Even if you don’t want him to haul your ass out, the asshole is really good at making people feel better.”

I breathed a laugh and knocked my head back against the door. “He really is.”

“He’s still a dick sometimes, though. Did you know he replaced all of the soda in my mini fridge with La Croix? How do you even say that? I’m definitely saying it wrong.”

“You are.”

“Well, that shit tastes like TV static that a strawberry jizzed on. I’m gonna shove his face in the toilet for it.”

A loud laugh left me and I had to put a hand over my mouth to smother it. Kai and West’s antics were ridiculous. I wondered if he’d actually try to do that. I knew that Kai could usually beat him in a fight. He was fast and, from what I’d seen, threw a solid punch.

“Thanks, West. I’ll see you in Maine.”

“Don’t forget my present.”

After I hung up, I took a moment to prepare myself for what I’d walk into downstairs. If my mom cried, I was going to make myself choke to death on dinner.

Chapter 33

Kai

A squeal came from inside as soon as I opened the door. A head of raven hair appeared from the hallway. A moment later, her arms were around my neck and I had to grab her around the waist so that she wouldn’t fall.

“Willow,” I laughed. “I didn’t know you were here.”

“Surprise,” Mom announced from behind me. She closed the door and shivered dramatically as she took off her coat.

Willow clung to me for another moment before she stepped back. There was a sparkle in her eye that was identical to the one her brother had.

“Don’t,” I warned.

She grinned. “Has college turned you straight yet, Kai?”

I groaned and kicked off my boots. “You and West with the turning gay shit. Unfortunately, I haven’t been straightened out yet, but you know that if it happens, you have a claim on my eternal soul.”

She feigned a swoon, putting the back of her hand over her forehead. “We’ll have a spring wedding with an open bar. I can’t wait.”

“Okay, but I get West in the divorce.”

“No, I claim twin privileges.”

“That’s not a thing.”

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