Page 25 of Inked Obsession

That made me snort. “I don’t need you guys taking care of me. I don’t need you making all of my decisions. I just need help. And you know I hate asking for help.”

“We know,” they all said at the same time, and that made me smile. We were close, at least we had been when we were younger. There was a bit of an age gap between us since there were so many of us and only one set was twins. We were family. We were all that we had left.

“Have you thought about moving down with us?” Elliot asked, nearly bouncing in his seat.

“I thought it was a foregone conclusion,” Evan said, winking.

“Nothing is a foregone conclusion. I made my home here.”

“Even if that home might share the same space with a little girl that’s Marshall’s?” Eli asked, and I wanted to shake him.

“Thank you. Thank you for reminding me why I try my best to make decisions for myself and not growl when it comes to you guys.”

“You always growl, you’re our little sister. It’s what you do.”

“I don’t know how to take that,” I said, shaking my head. “However, I do need your help. I’ll figure the rest out. I don’t want to move. I’m finding my way. If I move down there, you guys will just take over like you usually do.”

“We don’t take things over,” Elijah said, and I snorted, along with a few of my brothers.

“Okay, fine. We do, but we love you. And we want what’s best for you,” Elijah added.

“What’s best for me is you guys helping me out with things I cannot do, like seeing if this woman is actually the mother of Marshall’s love child. Then, we’ll take it from there.”

“You need more sleep,” Eli said.

“Maybe, but I’m working. I go out. I have friends.”

The rest of my world may have shattered around me, but I was figuring it out. At least, that was the lie I kept telling myself.

“I’m doing okay, just let me be.”

“You say that, and yet you worry us,” Eli said, and my other brothers nodded. “I’m figuring it out. I love you guys. Just don’t take over. I’m asking for help, not for you to take over everything.”

“Okay,” they said.

“Now, tell me about your lives.”

Of course, they all clammed up. Because that’s what they did. They shut down and wouldn’t tell me about their love lives, their mistakes, or their future plans. Because they didn’t lean on me. Because they were the big brothers, and that’s not something they did.

That needed to change. I’d have to find a way to make it work. After all, that was the one thing we had left.

“I love you all,” I said, and we hung up. I looked at a blank screen, my to-do list growing with each breath and yet I had no desire to even begin. Should I work? Should I call my friends? Should I search Natasha’s social media accounts to see what she was up to?

No, that would be wrong. Because I did not want to see that little girl’s face. I didn’t want to see Marshall’s eyes. I needed a fucking drink.

I went over to the fridge and pulled out my bottle of wine, pouring myself a glass. As soon as I took my first sip, the crisp pear fruitiness settling on my tongue, the doorbell rang.

Of course.

I went to the front of my house and opened the door to see Brenna, Paige, and Annabelle standing there, wine, a cheese plate, fruit, and a box of cupcakes in their hands, and sad smiles on their faces.

“I know you said that you were fine over the phone and that we didn’t need to come over, but here we are.” Annabelle walked in, held me close, and then moved into the kitchen. Paige kissed me on the cheek, Brenna kissed me on the other, and they each walked inside, too. I smiled.

I might have said I wanted to be alone, and that everything might be a little too much for me right now, but I had friends. Iwasn’talone.

Of course, I hadn’t been alone when I sat on Beckett’s lap with him holding me. I wasn’t about to mention that. Or think about it. That would be wrong. I would not think about my friend’s brother. Brenna’s best friend. Not when I was trying to figure out what to do about my late husband’s love child.

And if I kept saying that in my head, maybe it would make sense.

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