Page 83 of The MC's Little Brother

Which proved he was a much better person than I was. I would’ve thought of it eventually, but telling my brother about my relationship was not high on my priority list when the guy I’d been pining over finally kissed me.

Wyatt grunted, sounding a lot like Mattias when he didn’t actually want to participate in a conversation. I poked his side and glared at him.

“Knock it off. I don’t need your permission to date and you should be happy that I’m dating someone you know you can trust. Just like I was happy that Maggie ended up with you, so I didn’t have to pretend to like her boyfriends. Stop being an asshole or I won’t invite you to our next game night with Xander.”

He sighed heavily, exasperated, but he needed the push. They needed to get past this because Wyatt was Mattias’s best friend and he needed someoneto talk to that wasn’t me. The new situation with Xander required a village, and I knew Mattias needed more than just me to support him.

After the awkwardness faded, we made tentative plans for bowling night on Saturday, since Zoey would be healthy enough to join by then. The conversation ended on a good note and Wyatt returned to his little family just as the doctor was coming to let them know they were being discharged. That gave me a few minutes to talk to Mattias, so I dragged him to the end of the hallway out of the way.

“Tell me those are what I think they are.” I pointed to the box in his hand.

He grinned, handing it over. “I figured you’d be hungry.”

“Ugh. If I wasn’t already in love with you, this would seal the deal,” I groaned, popping a donut hole into my mouth. He even got my favorite. Seriously. I was going to marry this man.

His fingers drifted along my temple, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “How are you? Did you get any sleep?”

I wrinkled my nose. “Not really. I made myself Zoey’s nurse since the IV scared her so much. She trusts me, so she lets me take care of it. Honestly, they wouldn’t have even kept her if her fever came down with meds. It was stubborn though, and the pediatrician is cautious with things like that.”

He hummed, stroking my cheek with his thumb. I leaned into the affection with a sigh. Working long shifts like this was hard, especially when the patient was someone I cared for so much. I knew she’d be okay, but I was still stressed when she was brought in. Having someone come out just to support me felt nice.

“What about you? How’d you sleep?”

His expression darkened a little. “Not great. I had a nightmare and woke up Xander. We ended up watching a movie on the couch and sleeping out there. I think he wanted to give me Thor for the night, but I didn’t want him all alone.”

Damn. I’d forgotten about his reaction to sleeping alone. “Have you considered talking to someone about it? Nightmares that bad aren’t something you should ignore.”

He mirrored Xander’s favorite move, lifting his shoulders noncommittally. Men. Seriously. How they survive without us is beyond me.

“How was Xander?” I asked carefully. I didn’t want to tip Mattiasoff that I knew something he didn’t, but I doubted he missed Xander crying by himself.

He shook his head. “We need another appointment with the therapist. He’s shutting me out again and I don’t know why. I feel like I upset him or something.”

Putting my hand on his arm, I rubbed it supportively. “I’m sure that’s not it. Just give him a little time. And another therapy appointment is a good idea. I’ll see what Addison has available.”

Leaning, he pressed a gentle kiss to my cheek. Very work-appropriate, but it still made me want to swoon.

“Thanks, Mel. I don’t know how I would’ve done this without you.”

“One day at a time,” I answered. “You would’ve been okay. You’re too good to not figure it out eventually.”

45

Wraith

Xander was avoiding me. It started slow, with him giving one-word answers or staring at his phone a lot. Then he started staying in his room instead of sitting in the living room or at the table to do his homework. When he said he wanted to start walking to school, I asked him if I did something, but he said no and left to take Thor for a walk, keeping his gaze averted. I wasn’t sure what the hell was happening, but it felt like we went six steps backward in the last week. Even at bowling night with Butch and Prez and their families, he sat as far away from me as he could and avoided talking to everyone but Mel.

She noticed the change too, but she just kept telling me to give him more time. More time for what? I couldn’t fix the problem if I didn't know what the hell it was, and he wouldn’t speak to me.

By the time we made it to our family therapy appointment, I was on edge. I asked Mel to join this time because she was the only one Xander seemed to connect to, and I didn’t want him spending the entire hour avoiding talking to me.

Addison smiled at us as we sat down, greeting Mel first since she was the only one who would give the woman eye contact. Xander and I sat onopposite ends of the couch, facing away from each other. Mel pursed her lips, shaking her head.

“I’m not sitting between you two and I’m not choosing sides.”

Addison raised her eyebrows at her. “Is something wrong?”

Mel’s gaze flicked to Xander and got sad for a second. I got the feeling she knew what was bothering him, but she promised he could talk to her about anything and she’d keep it to herself. It annoyed me because she was keeping secrets from me too, but at the same time, I couldn’t take away Xander’s comfort by demanding she choose between us.

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