Page 23 of Bear
Really, how much more am I supposed to take?
We pull up to the house, and no one makes a move to get out of the vehicle right away, all of us lost in our own thoughts. My eyes flick from Bear to Mason, and finally to Duke. All three are mentally exhausted, that much is easy to pick up on. I glance at my phone. It’s almost midnight. We have classes tomorrow. How the hell does Bear do this so often and not completely wear himself out? And tonight, in particular, we obviously left more quickly than he normally would have.
I blow out a breath. “Well, that was fun.”
Mason peers into the back seat at me, his dark eyes glinting at me with what I sense is amusement. He huffs out a laugh. “Kintsukuroi, you worry me sometimes.”
“Just trying to lighten the mood.”
He nods, his jaw twitching. “Yeah, I get that. I’m too fucking tired to rehash any of this tonight. I might go up to the attic for a bit, but maybe not. I’m ready to crash.” I don’t miss how he’s keeping a careful eye on Duke in the driver’s seat. My eyes flick back and forth between them, trying to figure out what the hell I’m missing.
“Ditto. I’m—” Duke abruptly stops speaking as his eyes glue to the fancy touchscreen display at the center of the dashboard. “Fuck.” He rubs his hands over his face, a hard exhale leaving him. “Fuck,” he bites out again, the sound of it harsh and full of ache. “I can’t deal with anything right now.” He grasps the handle, opens the door, and launches himself from the SUV.
Mason clenches his teeth together as he points to the date in the corner of the screen. “It’s September 5.”
“Oh. Oh, no.” My heart gives a violent tug as my eyes follow Duke’s retreating figure as he bolts into the house. I hadn’t forgotten. It’d simply been in my head that tomorrow would be difficult. It hadn’t even hit me that technically the anniversary of Juliette’s death arrived the moment the clock struck midnight.
I scramble to unbuckle and follow, as do Mason and Bear. Up ahead of us, the door to the house slams shut behind Duke. One shared, disturbed glance later, and the three of us charge up the front steps together. I’m desperate to get to him, though what I’d do or say if I caught him is beyond me. This can’t be fixed. Dead girlfriends are just that—dead.
Mason reaches the door first and throws it open for us. As we enter, I spy Duke turning the corner at the top of the stairs. My heart sinks, a tiny fissure opening because of the pain that emanates from him. It vibrates in the air all around us, stealing my breath and making me ache for him.
I’m about to tear up the stairs after him when Mason clamps a hand on my shoulder. “Wait. Probably better if only one of us goes.” He shrugs, taking a deep breath with his eyes focused on his hands. He works his jaw to the side, finally meeting our gazes. “I can talk to him.”
My brows pinch together. It’s probably not even my place so say a damn word, but I can’t help myself. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah. He needs the straight truth right now. We might not always get along, but I know what’s in his head. It’s fine.” He glances from me to Bear, who is still in his skintight compression shorts looking like he’s in need of some serious de-stressing himself. Surprisingly, in this moment, Bear would be my last choice to send up there to talk to Duke even though he’s usually the most even-tempered of us.
Proving my point, Bear rakes a hand through his sweaty hair, making it stand on end. Unlike anything I’ve seen from him before, he’s a horrifying mix of pure frustration and absolute wreckage. His lips pinch together for a moment, as if he’s waging an internal battle with himself over not being the one to take control. Finally, he nods at Mason. “Okay. If you’re sure you can handle him.”
Interestingly enough, I’m picking up on some big irritation from Mason. Like he’s pissed Bear is uncertain of him right now. Less so with me, but it’s still there.
Mason throws us a bitter smile through clenched teeth. “I’ve got it. Bear, you don’t need this right now. Not after dealing with your dad. And frankly,Stella,I’m a little unsure how Duke’ll handle being around you today.” Mason’s usage of Duke’s nickname for me grabs Bear’s attention.
“Why are you calling her Stella?”
Mason’s lips quirk into a twisted smile. “Because it’s an important piece of the Duke-and-Lennon puzzle, that’s why.” He winks at me, ignoring Bear for the moment. “Baby sis, it really hadn’t occurred to you that his issue with you was never solely about your mother marrying his father?” Mason cocks his head to the side as he studies me. “I mean, there’s a bit of that thrown in, the whole disgust at Nikki Bell, but… yeah. I don’t think that’s really it.”
Bear’s brow furrows in a very definite what-the-fuck kind of way. “This is too much for me right now,” he growls.
“Yeah, I know. That’s why I’m asking you to trust me with him.” Mason shakes his head, shooing us away as he turns to mount the staircase. “It’s fine. We can sort everything later. I could swear you two have some unfinished business, anyway. You can ruminate on it while you have a good soak or something.”
I look up at Bear to find his gaze already on me, but I could swear, behind those beautiful golden eyes, he’s worrying over something big on top of everything with Duke. I’m betting it’s something to do with his dad. He keeps making a fist with his right hand, then straightening out his fingers, testing them.
Oh, hell. Did things get physical between them? Shit.I swallow hard.Shit, shit, shit.
Mason tugs me close before whispering, “Make sure he’s not being too hard on himself.”
My throat goes dry at his earnest tone. I shoot him a perplexed look, momentarily setting the Duke drama aside. Whatever happened back there at the warehouse, it wasn’t good either.
Quietly, he murmurs, “He’ll tell you about it if you ask… and I’m sure you can figure out how to take his mind off it once he’s spilled.” His lips brush over my cheek, but then he eases back to look into my eyes. “You can handle him.” A smirk tips his lips and his eyebrows wriggle. He leans in, brushing a kiss over my surprised mouth, then takes off up the stairs without a backward glance.
Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly before facing Bear. I slide my hands up his biceps, my tongue darting out to wet my lips. “Letting the jets in the spa soothe your muscles doesn’t seem like a bad idea, actually. And you seem tense. Maybe it’ll help.”
Bear arches a brow. “Yeah?”
I nod, grabbing his hand and threading my fingers through his. “Come on. Lemme take care of you for a change.” I flash him a grin.
He tilts his head to the side, searching my eyes. Slowly, he rasps, “Yeah, okay. Let’s go.”
