Page 58 of Barrett

“Good god, Barrett. Reghan can handle it from now on. You won’t have to worry about it.” He left to go into the bathroom.

“Raiden won’t do it either,” Reghan said. “I’d rather have someone else give it to me and he refused.” For some reason, I didn’t like the idea of anyone injecting him. I couldn’t do it for Marshall, but I was irritated about someone else doing it to Reghan? Sure, that made sense.

“Who?”

“Sheldon.”

“I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“He does it like he’s ordering coffee. Doesn’t affect him one bit.”

“Does anything?” I asked.

“Forest.”

“That’s right. Hartley’s brother gets him all worked up.”

“Ready,” Marshall said when he returned. He took a seat at the kitchen table and pushed his shorts up, exposing his thighs.

“Do you want me to take care of it all?” Reghan asked.

“If you wouldn’t mind. I can watch so I know for next time.”

Reghan nodded and sat opposite him. “Did you let the medicine sit out for a bit?”

“An hour.”

“Good. I’ll give you one in each thigh.” Reghan took the alcohol wipe and swabbed one leg, then reached for the pen injector, twisting off the bottom cap, and turning the top. “Don’t tense, okay? It’s going to hurt worse than other shots so don’t try to pull away either. It will be done before you know it, then we’ll do the other side.”

“I’m willing to do anything to not feel this pain anymore.”

“You’ll probably still get migraines but much less frequently and not nearly as severe. At least, that’s how it works for me. Okay, stay still.”

I watched as Reghan gently pressed the base of the pen injector to my brother’s thigh. He offered his free hand for Marshall to squeeze, which he took, and Reghan pressed the button. My brother’s face pinched in pain but only seconds went by before there was another click and the shot was done.

Reghan reached for the cotton ball to carefully blot away the small amount of blood on my brother’s leg then capped the pen. “How was it?”

“Didn’t feel good, that’s for damn sure.”

“No, but it’s done now. Seconds of pain for what will hopefully be much less every day. Let’s do the other side.” He repeated what he did the first time until the other shot was in and cleaned up.

My brother… Fuck. He looked at me with a smile that was so big I wanted to hug him. This could be a game changer for him, and I had Reghan and Alton to thank for it.

I was so damn pissed at Reghan last night, but seeing the smile on Marshall’s face, it was worth letting Reghan help. When Marshall went to pick up the medicine, the pharmacist said it was taken care of. For all I knew, they worked for Jordan too. Nothing would surprise me.

Marshall stood and, without hesitation, leaned forward to wrap his arms around Reghan. “Thank you,” he whispered. “For Alton, for help with the medication, and for making my brother smile.”

Reghan embraced him back. “You’re welcome.” It came out a bit rough. I bet if I looked, he’d be a bit choked up like I was.

Seeing the two of them this way meant a lot to me. It made my heart twist and my breath catch. Reghan was so much more than I ever gave him credit for in the past.

Marshall cleaned up and put everything where it belonged before retreating to his room.

Staying in the chair, Reghan had his eyes on me as he leaned back and spread his legs a little, getting comfortable. I walked to him and straddled his waist, sitting on his lap. My fingers ran from his temple to his cheek, where he had a bit of dark scruff, to his mouth, where I brushed my thumb over his bottom lip.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“For what?”

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