Page 69 of Branson's Promise

“That’s debatable. You’re a right old pain, Mr Winters,” came a mutter from the other side of the room. Noel.

Sleep tugged at the edges of my consciousness but I fought against it, wanting to hear the voices that were a balm to the ache in my soul. Why did everything hurt so much? My memory was foggy and no matter how much I tried to recall details, I couldn’t even form a full picture. Flashes of Milo in the shower, Juliet curled up on the sofa and Noel carrying takeout bags came to me and I swallowed thickly, wishing I could reach for some water.

Wiggling my fingers, I felt cool, thick fabric beneath them as I listened to the three voices joking about a gift August had brought Caleb for Christmas that was wholly inappropriate for a family gathering but that he planned to put under the tree anyway. I swallowed again and this time managed to cough out a raspy, “Water.”

“Branson.” Noel’s voice came closer and I finally forced my lids up, revealing a bright, blurry room and three equally blurry figures crowding around me. I closed my eyes against the glare when I felt a straw at my lips. The cold water was soothing but sat unsettled in my stomach, so I stopped drinking, pushing a hand out to stop whoever it was that was holding it for me.

Groaning, I moved my head from side to side on the crisp pillow that smelled like chemicals and a strong laundry soap.

“How are you feeling, love?” A warm, strong hand rubbed against my leg, which was covered by a thick blanket. My eyes drifted open slowly and settled on Noel’s broad figure standingto the right of the bed. A quick glance around told me I was in a hospital bed, and the pain in my body was a sure sign that something had happened to me.

“Really fucking sore,” I said, coughing to clear what felt like grit from my throat. My tongue was heavy and I really wished I could brush my teeth and remove this nasty taste from my mouth. “What happened?”

“You got hit by a car,” Milo said, coming to the other side of the bed and brushing his hand through my hair. “What is the last thing you remember?”

“You in the shower, and Noel with takeout.” I squeezed my eyes shut then opened them again. “And something about cheesecake and Noel wanted….” Noel wanted to talk. It came back as clear as a movie playing in my mind. Noel’s father, the things he had kept from us, moving, Milo refusing, me running out upset because… because we broke up.

Oh.

That hurt. So much more than these physical wounds. My face chose that moment to itch and I lifted my hand to scratch at it, meeting gauze of some type covering parts of my skin. “You got a nasty cut there, try not to rub at it,” August said. His eyes were full of concern as he stood at the foot of the bed.

“Milo, Noel, can you leave please?” Looking down at my hands toying with the blue hospital blanket, I waited for them to leave but neither did. I was really fucking tired and I didn’t have it in me to relive our breakup, I needed them out of my space so I could think. Something I had been trying to do before becoming the victim of a motor accident.

“Kitten, it’s okay, we’re all okay.” Noel reached for my hand and I pulled it away, holding it against my chest. Tears welled in my eyes as I shook my head.

“Maybe you two should give Branson some space,” August suggested, though by the tone in his voice I knew it was more of a command than a suggestion.

“No, I’m not going anywhere, not until he hears us out,” Noel ground out. Crying hurt, it made the pain in my side so much worse but I couldn’t stop it. A little part of me said to let him talk but the bigger part of me said I was too exhausted to hear about how he was leaving and I was stuck in the middle deciding whether to stay with Milo or leave with Noel. The truth was, I’d pick neither of them, I’d pick me and I’d go back to being on my own. Or maybe I would leave with August, make a life for myself somewhere else. If I couldn’t have them both, I would rather be alone.

Not everyone gets a happy ending, Dad,I thought as August’s voice boomed through the room. “Noel, you’re upsetting him and the doctor said he needs to rest. Give him time.” Then Milo was moving towards Noel and I closed my eyes, rested my head against the pillow and let my tears trail down my cheeks. I registered the movement of feet, someone muttering and the closing of the door before I drifted off back to sleep.

When I woke up again, it was light outside the hospital room window. It had been dark earlier when a nurse had come to check on me and I had briefly glanced that way before falling back to sleep. The room was silent, save for the mechanical whirring of something in the ceiling and gentle snores. My eyes followed the heavy breathing over to where a second bed was lined up next to mine, a few feet away. It hadn’t been there earlier, so someone must have brought it in while I was asleep. On top of the bed, covered in a hospital issue blanket was Noel, his strong cotton clad arm wrapped around a peaceful looking Milo who had his head resting on the other man’s chest. They were both too big to be huddled onto such a small bed but they fit themselves in such a way that it worked. Studying them,blood raced faster through my veins as I mapped the lines of their sleeping faces, their strong jawlines covered in five o’clock shadows, the gentle fluttering of their eyelids and the way their bodies moved almost imperceptibly with each inhale and exhale. I wanted to pause this moment in time, lock it in a bubble or a snow globe and savour it. My perfect, beautiful men who each had one hand gripping my heart. Being apart from either of them would mean those same hands pulling me apart.

A tiny spark of hope ignited as I watched them, the way Noel’s hand lay protectively on Milo’s shoulder and how tightly Milo was pressed into Noel as though they were both keeping each other as close as possible. It was almost as if the last few hours hadn’t happened at all. Noel stirred first, his eyes opening slowly before latching onto mine and he pulled himself up, careful not to stir Milo.

“Hey,” I whispered then, reached over to take a sip of water.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” Noel whispered back, though I was not sure if he meant earlier at the hospital or earlier in the day.

“I’m sorry I ran out on the two of you. We should probably have behaved better and talked about it.” Noel smiled gently, creases forming at the edges of his eyes. “And I’m sorry about your dad. I should never have made this about me. I know first hand how hard it is to watch someone you love get ill.”

“Thank you, I appreciate that. I know I should have told you earlier, it was wrong of me not to. Given all we’ve shared and all we’ve come to mean to each other these past few months, I should have put aside my fear and confided in you.” Noel rubbed at the back of his neck with his free hand.

“Or you should have told us the truthandthat you were scared. You’re my daddy, Noel, my big, adorable protector but that doesn’t mean I can’t take care of you too.” His smile widened and my heart warmed at the sight before remembering everything else that had happened. Though I was already halflying down, my shoulders drooped and I sighed but before I could say anything, Milo rolled over, almost falling off the edge of the narrow bed. Noel caught him and pulled him backwards, awkwardly holding him on the bed.

Milo’s dark eyes met mine before he tipped his head back to look at Noel. “Have you told him we’re moving to London yet?” A playful grin tugged on Milo’s lips when he turned his attention back to me.

“We? As in all of us?” I asked, trying to tamper down the hope that was erupting inside of me.

Milo nodded, his grin turning into a full on, all teeth smile. “All of us. You, me, Noel, Juliet, Lena and Mia. Oh, and her cat - she won’t leave her, just like you would never leave ours.”

It was a lot to take in because a few hours ago the possibility had seemed so far out of reach. Hoping for it had been pointless, a fool's errand but it was exactly what I wanted: to move back to the UK, to be closer to my mum and August, and to have my new family - my boyfriends, sister-by-proxy, and pets - with me. “What changed your mind?”

Milo moved so he was sitting on the edge of the bed, his body bent towards me. I looked into his deep brown eyes, which made me think of hot chocolate on a cold night. Hot chocolate, comfort and home.

“Mia, for one. Or more precisely, her blunt honesty, which had me seeing how ridiculous I was being. Accepting the fact that I was wrong, I’d made presumptions that were untrue and it wasn’t doing anyone any good. I was stuck - still that sad, frightened little boy - and I couldn’t be him any longer. I may struggle with it, it’s not going to be a flick-of-a-light-switch change, but I realised that relying on people - emotionally and financially - doesn’t make me weak or useless or any of those words my father flung like horseshit at me. No one is controlling me, or even trying to. No one but me.” Milo stood, then leanedcloser and placed a soft kiss on my temple. “And because I could never give you up, either of you. You and Noel are my happily ever after.”

Tears - softer and for a different reason than before - clouded my vision as Noel stood to move behind Milo, wrapping his forearm around his chest. “I love you,” he said, his blue eyes awash with emotion as they collided with mine.

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