Page 58 of Xavier

That kind of shit sent me down into a spiral that I didn’t want to be dealing with. This world was already scary enough with the drugs, gang violence, corrupt government, and shitty healthcare. Adding predators on top of that was a layer of ‘fucked up’ that I really didn’t want to be thinking about.

Then again, was that a kind of privilege I was experiencing that Dexter didn’t have the luxury of?

My heart broke for him, absolutely. How this world could be so dark, I’d never know.

I held back another sigh, scrubbing at the leftover container with a kind of rigorousness that had my hands hurting. Whatever Xavier, and by default Dexter, needed in the future to help this transition easier on them, I would one hundred percent be there to help provide it.

Forget all of the bullshit surrounding my insecurities. That could all wait until Xavier got settled down into a good place again. And Dexter, too.

If they ever wanted to come back before the school year ended for a do-over of this turned-shitty vacation, my place had an open door and a warm bed waiting for them. No questions asked.

Hell, I’d pay for the goddamn plane tickets the minute Xavier called me to ask if it was all right to crash here again.

Hopefully, I wouldn’t be kept waiting for long. Because while I wanted Xavier to spend time with his family during this difficult situation, I also missed him, too. As selfish as that was.

“Gage?” Greyson hovered over my shoulder. “I think that thing is clean.”

“Oh shit.” Pulling it out of the water, the scrapper side of my poor sponge was mangled by how hard I’d been rubbing it against the lip of the container, cutting it up and shredding it into pieces that were now floating on the water’s surface.

“You good?” Greyson asked.

“Yeah, just got caught up in my thoughts.”

Like fucking usual.

He threw an arm around my shoulders, jostling me slightly to pull me close to him. “Hey, I know you’re sad about your boytoy leaving before the party, but at least you have me and Asher.”

Smiling, I set the container down and tossed the sponge onto the side of the sink. “Of course. I’m not complaining one bit. You two surprising me was the best Christmas gift you could’ve ever gotten me.”

He grinned. “Yeah? Just wait until yourrealgift.”

The shimmering mischief in his eyes told meexactlywhat I needed to know about the goddamn mystery box he and his brother had teased me with their first day back in the state. I supposed it would be a tradition to prank me after having been gone for so long.

I only hoped that it wasn’t another whipped cream pie this time around.

That shit was surprisingly hard to get out of your clothes.

“Uh huh.” Nudging him, I slipped out from under his arm to grab the towel hanging off the stove. “Listen, you two need to behave a little bit at the party. Some of my coworkers are a little on the reserved side.”

“What about Quinn? He seemed totally cool with Asher and I.”

Ugh, of course you think that.

I’d seldom brought the twins around the station when they were kids—mostly because emergencies could rarely ever bepredicted and having them be in the way of some kind of chaotic go-go-go was a scene out of my worst nightmare.

Sure, they’dprobablybe fine, but there was always the possibility that theywouldn’tbe. And I just couldn’t be taking that lightly. As they’d gotten older, they’d stopped by a little more frequently, but not enough to really know the newbies we’d gotten in recently.

Which tended to be a good thing sometimes.

“Quinn... will be preoccupied at the party.” Hopefully.

Knowing Quinn, though, both he and Jase would be getting roped into Asher and Greyson’s schemes in no time. Zander, too, probably.

Hopefully, Ellie didn’t put me on extra cleaning duty if the twins made a mess of the place.

“Well, either way, I’m excited to see all your coworkers. Asher, too.”

That really warmed my heart, even if I knew Greyson was most likely planning something ridiculous. “I’m glad. Why don’t you go change and we can grab a movie on the couch while we wait up for your brother to come back with his tales of his nightly escapades.”

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