Page 9 of Valentine's Daddy To Go
I don’t really want to walk downstairs in nothing because I’m not comfortable like that, so I look around for something to wear, but then see my skirt and top folded neatly on a chair. My lingerie has been hung on the side, so they’re dry.
Picking them up, I inspect them, and everything looks good. I guess Nash must have brought them up for me. I pull my clothes on and then look behind me. He’s still fast asleep. I had considered saying goodbye, feeling kind of bad that I was just going to bounce, but he looks so peaceful. From his hardened stare, I got the impression he doesn’t get a lot of peaceful moments, so it’s probably best to leave him be.
The last thing I do is slip my shoes on and head for the door. I peek behind me one last time at the man who gave me such a great night. I guess this is the end of that. I’m not sure if he’d evenwantto see me again. He didn’t make a comment about next time, so I have to assume he doesn’t.
Softly, I close the door behind me and steal out of the house. It really is quite huge. I kind of noticed it last night, but seeing it in the sun, it’s so much more prominent. It honestly astounds me that people manage to live like this.
The amount of money Nash’s boss must have must be astonishing.
I get outside and breathe in the fresh air. I feel like a new person.
Pulling out my phone, I call an Uber. It’s going to be an unexpected expense, but last night was one hundred percent worth it. While I wait for my car to arrive, I check my texts and emails. Nothing important came through. Not even from Amy. She was probably just as busy as I was.
I send her a quick check-in message, letting her know I have a lot of things to tell her and that I am a-okay.
My Uber pulls up shortly, and I hop in, a little sad to go home, but ready to take a shower and snuggle into my bed.
The car gets me back home in no time, and I sneak into my apartment. I don’t know why I’m tiptoeing. Maybe the adrenaline from last night hasn’t totally worn off.
I close the door behind me, and rest my hands on the wood, breathing in and out.
“Home sweet home,” I whisper to myself.
“Nellie?”
“Holy shit!” I scream as I turn around.
I hold my purse up, ready to throw it at whoever has decided to sneak into my apartment and attack me, but then I realize the intruder knows my name, and that it’s my brother.
“God dammit, Brian! Can you warn me next time when you’re going to be hanging out in my apartment? It’s seven a.m. and still dark outside. Jesus Christ!”
I clutch my heart, willing it to slow down. I do not need this much excitement in less than twenty-four hours. Sometimes I really regret giving him that spare key. Brian looks sorrowful.
“I’m sorry, Nells. I just needed somewhere to go. Everything is falling apart.”
I really look at my brother and notice that he is not good shape. He’s plopped down on my couch, slumping into it like he wants to be absorbed by the thing. His clothes are messy and wrinkled, and it looks like he hasn’t shaved in at least a week.
This isn’t the first time Brian has showed up at my doorstep looking like a hot mess. It’s kind of our routine. He fucks up in one way or another, and then it’s Big Sis to the rescue. And I always come in, guns a-blazing because he’s my younger brother, and I can’t stand to see him hurting like this.
I put my bag on the counter and tamp down on the initial anger I was feeling. Now is not the time to start going off on him.
“How long have you been waiting?”
He smiles morosely. Oh god, are those tears in his watery blue eyes?
“Vivica kicked me out last night. I didn’t know where else to go, so I just came here, and I’ve been on this couch ever since.”
I don’t want my disappointment to show, but I’m feeling it so strongly. It’s not like this is surprising. Brian always manages to do something that pisses his wife off, and then he comes crying to me.
It’s just that it’s exhausting.I’mexhausted by this merry-go-round, but I never turn him away. He’s the only family I got which means protecting him with everything in my power.
“So, you’ve been here the entire time?”
He nods his head.
I stare at him, willing him to have an epiphany and find a way to fix this himself. Like that’s going to happen. Clearly, Brian hasn’t slept at all. The dark circles under his eyes almost extend past his cheeks. He really did just sit on my couch waiting for me all night.
“Do you want to tell me what happened?”
