Page 21 of Better Daddy
“Why is that thing out here?”
“He needed a walk.” Lo rolls her eyes. That’s code for Cal killed another fish. Seven down, and according to Madame E, three to go.
“Again?” I step closer to the bowl and examine the blue beta fish. This one is much more bug-eyed than the last. How in the bloody hell does my sod of a brother not notice how often Lo changes them out?
She nods and mouths, “We’re almost to lucky number ten.”
Straightening, I put my hands on my hips. “So how do I fix this?”
She chuckles, scanning the dreary room. “There is nothing you can do to fix this place. Absolutely nothing.”
“Yet you stay,” I point out.
With a shrug, she sits back. “Because your brother is here.”
That simple phrase is like a knife to the chest. Sloane and I used to feel that way too. Once upon a time, we were happy just because we were together.
From the beginning, we were inseparable. That’s how I went from just getting by to really putting in an effort at school. Sloane didn’t love the library, so when I suggested she could study with Brian and me at our place, she was more than willing.
Very quickly, she created a study schedule for the three of us,building in time not only to get our work done but to enjoy a few beers and watch movies. My GPA jumped almost a full point when impressing her became my motivation. The best part of our nightly study sessions was curling up with her on the sofa after. It took three movie nights and a whole lot of shite from Brian before I worked up the nerve to wrap my arm around her and tuck her against me. The small smile she sent me that evening will be forever locked in my heart.
AnotherDammitfrom the kitchen pulls me from my revery. I swallow past the lump in my throat, my heart sinking. These days, experiencing a simple night like that with Sloane again feels implausible.
Lo stands, head tilted, like she’s waiting for me to speak. I can’t find the words. Sometimes I think it’d be easier to stop breathing than to live another day like this.
“Brian,” Cal complains. “Stop with the Dammit.”
With a chuckle, Lo skirts around me and follows the sound of the guys.
A massive cat, dozens of plants, and a bug-eyed fish. At least we’ve eradicated the mice and most of the bugs. And the place is clean.Ish.
Hands on my hips again, I take in the peeling paint. Lo is right. There’s no fixing this.
A loud thud downstairs startles me, and I pinch the bridge of my nose.
Murphy, my nephew, pokes his head out of his bedroom. “Guess Sebastian is messing around with the law books again, huh?”
I wince. Make that an oversized cat, forty plants too many, the fish, and a ghost with a heavy foot.
I scrub my hand over my face. This can’t be a disaster. I have to have hope.
Chapter 7
Sloane
Iturn in a slow circle in the middle of my bedroom, rethinking every decision I’ve ever made. Today is move-in day, and I still haven’t broken the news to T.J.
I’m afraid of getting his hopes up. What happens if he thinks this means we’ll be one happy family again?
Do I tell him that I’m moving into the apartment so his dad can save the business? Should I prepare him now for the inevitable? That we’ll eventually go our separate ways?
What I won’t mention for now is the baby. I’m still in the first trimester, and because of my age, as well as the complications I experienced during my first pregnancy, I can’t help but worry.
With a deep breath in, I shake the thoughts from my head. Instead, I remind myself of how fortunate I am to have T.J.
As the only child of two career-driven people, I was often forgotten about. An afterthought. And I vowed from an early age that I would never treat my child that way. It’s why I wanted another baby so badly. So he’d never experience the loneliness that was my reality as a child. I wanted him to have the kind of sibling bond that Cal and Sully have.
Sully was uninterested, not only because T.J. was a difficult baby,but because my pregnancy was almost as hard on him as it was on me. He missed a lot of work while I was on bed rest, and when he was working to make partner not long after T.J. was born, that kind of time off could have been detrimental to his career.
