Page 39 of Healed
The slight bunching of Daniel’s brows let Brandt know that Daniel had heard him, but instead of digging for answers, Daniel chose to let Brandt reveal whatever he’d come to talk about in his own time. “No baby yet?” Daniel asked.
“No, and she’s about ready to go jogging to get something to start happening!” Brandt said.
“It’ll happen soon enough,” Daniel said.
“Mind if I come in and talk to you and Aunt Avaleigh for a bit?”
“No, come on in. You want something to drink? You hungry? You know Avaleigh’s got food for an army in here.”
Brandt chortled a little. “Nah, I’m alright. Thank you, though.”
Daniel waited for Brandt to walk past him, then closed the door. “Avaleigh! Brandt’s here!” he called out.
Brandt could hear the clank of a spoon or a spatula against a pot coming from the kitchen.
“I’ll be right there,” she called. And true to her word, it was only a few seconds before she was breezing into the living room to hug Brandt. “Hey, baby! You good?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am. I’m alright.”
Avaleigh looked at Daniel, who gave her a little shrug. “Everything okay?”
Brandt sighed as he began to shake his head. “No. No, it’s not. That’s why I’m here.”
“What’s going on?” Daniel asked.
“I came here first because I owe it to the two of you to tell you what’s happening in private rather than spring it on you in front of everybody else.”
“Alright…” Daniel said, putting his arm around Avaleigh’s waist, the two of them standing together to face whatever it was that Brandt had to say.
“Is Remi alright?” Avaleigh asked quietly.
“He’s not injured, but he’s far from alright,” Brandt said. The expression on his face clearly conveyed the anxiety he was experiencing from being in the position he was in, but there was nothing he could do for it.
“What’s happened?” Daniel asked.
“He’s left the clan,” Brandt said.
“What?!” Daniel half-shouted.
Brandt raised his hands to signal that everybody stay calm.
“I don’t understand, Brandt! He was always proud to be a member of this clan! Why would he leave?” Avaleigh asked.
“He’s been struggling, Aunt Avaleigh. He’s found coping mechanisms that are just off the charts, and directly in conflict to the rest of us.”
“Like?” Daniel demanded.
Brandt sighed. “I didn’t come here to tell you all about his behavior. I just wanted to let you know before everybody else found out.”
“Brandt, I appreciate that. But I’m thinking you better start from the beginning and tell us everything. I don’t want anything glossed over to spare our feelings. I want to know what the hell has happened and why our boy isn’t a member of our clan anymore,” Daniel said.
“Let me just start by saying that I hope it’s temporary. I hope he pulls his head out of his ass and makes things right, but until then, I can’t have him the way he is.”
“Tell us,” Avaleigh said.
Brandt sighed and launched into the facts that brought him and Remi to have a face off. “He’s drinking cases of anything he can get his hands on daily. He’s only been to work a handful of times in the last month and when he does show up, he’s half drunk and gets there in time for maybe a half a day. Tried to tell me that he’s been doing accounting instead of being at the work site, which is bullshit, I had Angelle pull up the sign-in log for me, and he hasn’t worked in the books for weeks.”
“Do you have any idea how much alcohol it takes to get a Dragon drunk and then cause a hangover?” Daniel asked.
