Page 86 of Wretched Soul
Reid finds me where he left me on the couch when he staggers into the apartment in the early hours of Sunday morning, thankfully alone. This time last week, I’d been sitting at Lily’s bedside, praying I wouldn’t lose her. I hadn’t dared imagine what that felt like. Now I know.
“You scared the shit out of me,” Reid exclaims when he turns the lights on over the kitchen island. “What are you doing in the dark, man?”
“Thinking.”
My brother comes over and hands me a bottle of water. “Always overrated. Go to bed.”
“You go to bed.”
Reid stands firm, even if he does sway a little. His eyes are slightly glazed, and while it appears he didn’t strike lucky with a girl tonight, he’s clearly enjoyed the chase. I used to enjoy that too. How the fuck do I move on from Lily?
“You could try one of Mom’s guided relaxations to help you switch off.”
Lisa was a yoga teacher and had used her relaxation techniques to get us to sleep when we were little. But hearing her voice right now would only tip me over the edge. “No.”
My annoying, little brother huffs out a sigh. “If you don’t go to bed, Mace, I’m calling in reinforcements.”
I tilt my head. Reid is the only one I’ve been able to pull the big brother card on. I’m screwed if I can’t stand up to him anymore. “You wouldn’t dare be saying that if you weren’t so drunk,” I growl.
“Probably not, but I am,” he says smugly. “Now, do as you’re told.”
“Did I ever tell you how much I hated you when I was a kid?”
The idiot just gives me an inane grin. “That wasn’t hate, Mace. It was trapped love. A bit like trapped wind. You still suffer from it. Do you want me to rub your back?”
“Fuck off, Reid,” I say, but I get up. “And I’m only leaving because I don’t want to smash up that pretty face of yours.”
Reid makes a stupid martial arts pose. “I dare you to try.”
I pull back my arm and send the water bottle flying. It hits my brother right in the face. He staggers back and lands on his ass, expletives falling from his lips.
“I’ve told you before,” I say. “Don’t get into a fight when you’re drunk.”
“This isn’t over!” he yells back as I close my bedroom door.
I should have taken Reid’s threat more seriously because I’m lying in bed the next day when I hear doors slam and footsteps in the entrance hall. Lots of footsteps. It’s three in the afternoon and I had every intention of staying in bed all day, but my door opens and one of my brothers sticks his head into my room. It’s Ash, although I’m under no illusion that he’s alone.
“Get up, or I’ll drag you out of bed myself.”
He doesn’t wait for a response. Whatever I’d say would only escalate the situation. I don’t want to face them all, and I’m notin the mood to comply with my big brother’s commands without some kind of fuckery. I don’t move, and it takes thirty-two minutes for Ash’s patience to snap.
I wait until I hear his approaching footsteps, and I’m through the door before the first expletive is out of his mouth. When I reach the open concept living room, there are containers of Chinese take-out littering the kitchen island. Hunter hands me a plate loaded with egg rolls and chow mein.
“I’m not hungry.”
“Eat.”
I hold Hunter’s glare as I set the plate down on the kitchen island.
“I could make you some breakfast,” Maddie suggests. “Connie showed me how to make oatmeal the way you like it.”
I turn in her direction, but don’t give her the same withering look. She’s trying to mother me. I should hate it, but I don’t. What the hell has happened to me? I could fucking cry. “Sure.”
Forced to sit around the island with my family, I wait for the inevitable cross-examination.
“I’ve had a cease-and-desist email from Barrett,” says Ash. “It looks like he’s figured out we’ve screwed up his project plans. Nothing specific, obviously. He can’t pin anything on us, and he isn’t stupid enough to put his accusations in writing.”
“Good work, Mace,” Reid says, shooting me a smile. There’s no trace of the hangover he deserves, just a good dose of guilt. He staged this intervention.
