Page 21 of After Hours

My eyes shot wide. Finn’s guess was eerily exact for my thought process earlier that day. This time, I managed not to blush. “Yeah.” We shared a smile. “I need my own place so Ican…” A sudden thought invaded my mind, and I frowned. “Do you know Declan? I mean, do you know he exists? He’s my youngest brother.”

Finn frowned and shook his head. “No, I only know you exist because you showed up here. Colin didn’t exactly share anything else about the family when he barged in.”

“Declan texted me the other day. Seems dad told people I went away to school, but he knew it was a lie. Dec told me he’s LGBTQ+ too, and he’s just waiting to finish his degree before he gets out of there like I did.” I turned over a striped stone with a heart shape scratched into one side. “I thought maybe I could be his safe landing space like you were for me.”

“That’s a really good goal, Oscar.” He stepped closer and tapped the back of my hand next to my bracelet. “You have talent. I think you can make something of this if you want to.” He turned away to wash out his glass and give me a moment to recover from the sudden choked-up feeling that swamped me.

The Oscar that shoved a box of random stones into the car and left home without a word to anyone held on to nothing but a wild hope that a man I didn’t even know would take me in. The idea that I could be that type of steady rock for Dec someday gave me another reason to accept the change in my life. The future looked brighter than it ever had with purpose and love alongside the hope.

Thoughts of love and the striped stone heart brought Zane to mind. Did I love him? Thoughts like ‘too soon’ flooded me, but even if I wasn’t there yet, I was on my way. Maybe I could be something steady and strong for him, too. Someone to keep him grounded and give him a safe place to land whenever he needed one.

I flashed a smile at Finn and bundled up my rocks and pencils in the mat to rush them back to my borrowed bedroom at the top of the stairs. I had a plan and a future to work toward.

Chapter 12

Zane

My fingers tucked into Oscar’s waistband, and his hand rested on my ass when Wy barged into the apartment a few days later waving his arms in the air and whooping. Oscar jumped back like we were doing something wrong, but I held on and kept cuddling him half on my lap. I raised my eyebrows at my brother.

“What’s up with you? Why are you acting like that?” I hadn’t seen him so happy since the last time we were drunk together, but I knew that wasn’t the case. Wyatt had really committed himself to his sobriety, and I couldn’t be happier… unless he never interrupted my make out sessions ever again.

He pushed Oscar’s feet onto the floor and plopped down on the couch next to us. “The settlement came through.” He grinned and fist-pumped the air. It was good to see his shoulder completely healed, too, but I had no clue what he was talking about.

“What settlement? What are you talking about?”

Wyatt sighed dramatically and shook his head. “Bro, the trucking company and insurance settlement for when that guy ran me off the bridge.”

Oscar gasped – he hadn’t heard the whole story – and Wy went on, “I know! Horrible, right? But they were totally at fault, and they settled out of court and my lawyer said I should take the deal, so… I took the deal.”

“You had a lawyer?” It sounded something so uncharacteristically responsible, that it was hard to wrap my head around my brother doing it. The instant I had that thought, I scolded myself for judging him based on old-Wyatt’s behavior.

“Well, yeah. Of course. You need a lawyer if you get in a car accident like that. The insurance company’s not going to pay up unless you put the pressure on, you know? Dad asked the one he used to recommend someone up here. I wasn’t about to call one of those ambulance chasers on TV. Can you imagine? You’ve seen that one with the monobrow? With the hawk mascot and that cheesy jingle?” He hummed a few bars.

I would’ve expected the old Wyatt to call a slick daytime TV commercial lawyer. The smarter choice and asking Dad’s advice was another sign that he’d truly changed for the better. “So, what does this mean exactly?”

“I paid off my medical bills and PT, can get myself a replacement car, and I’m moving out, bro. You and Oscar can now get busy on the couch all you want.”

My sweet boyfriend blushed, and I couldn’t help but smile. Having full control over my own place sounded great, but…“What about work? You didn’t win one of those five-million-dollar pain and suffering lawsuits, right?”

Wyatt shook his head like he honestly thought I believed that. “Those aren’t real, bro. That’s just for the advertisements. I highly doubt Mr. Monobrow ever got his clients five million. No, now that I’m healed, I got my job back at the warehouse.” He jumped up and headed for the kitchen. “I have enough for the security deposit and an emergency fund, though. A nice cushion. You guys want a drink or anything?” He yanked open the fridge and grabbed a Coke.

“No, no thanks.” Oscar shook his head and shifted off my lap, which I hated but understood. It was a little weird to chat with my brother while we were still all over each other.

Instead of leaving, Wy came back and sat down again. “I’m thinking of getting a two bedroom and finding a roommate. It’d be cheaper and, I don’t know, maybe being alone all the time’s not such a good thing. Can you help me pick a good one? I can’t get stuck with someone who wants to party all the time or who has stinky feet or something.”

Oscar sat up, his eyes wide and smile growing. “Ooh, I have an idea!”

Just when I thought he was going to suggest that I move in with my brother, he said something even more shocking and unbelievable.

“I got the call back from Rafael Milton, the mosaic artist. He offered me thirty hours a week. And Holly asked if I wanted the job at the camp permanently. That one’s super part time with flexible hours, but together, it’s enough to let me move out of Finn and Carter’s cabin.” He grinned at my brother. “Maybe I could rent the second bedroom from you?”

My mouth dropped open, and I was one second away from asking if he was nuts. Luckily, I managed to stop the rude question in time. My boyfriend living with my twin brother,though? It felt weird, really weird. “But…” I didn’t have anything to follow that up with that didn’t sound ridiculous.

But what? What if he saw Wy coming out of the shower in a towel and thought he was attractive? That was the first thought that came to mind. Curse of being a twin, I guessed.

“Oh wow, Oscar. That’s…” Wy tilted his head and put on his thoughtful face. “That’s actually a cool idea. And when Z comes over, we could all hang out.” He paused again and scowled at me. “You guys would have to keep it down when you get busy, though. I don’t want to hear that shit.” He shuddered dramatically.

Oscar blushed, and I got distracted from my doubts. “I could still see Zane over here.”

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