Chapter 30
Hugh
Linden and I spent the entire evening trying to reach Atlas. All our messages and texts were left unheard and unread. Eventually, our calls went directly to voicemail, which meant he’d turned his phone off.
Linden and I decided to go over to his apartment, but no one was home, or he wasn’t answering the door. We’d only recently returned to my house to bang our heads together and figure it out. The longer we didn’t find Atlas, the more he would slip from our grasp.
“Dammit!” I hissed for the hundredth time after hanging up after my last attempt to reach Atlas.
“We need to find him, Hugh.”
“I know!”
“Atlas belongs to us.”
“I know!” I snapped again. It wasn’t directed at Linden, and he knew that, but it was certainly directed at Atlas for stressing us out. I was sure I could bring him back to us, but we had to fucking figure out where he was first.
“Do you think he’ll show up at work tomorrow?”
I paced my living room, chewing on my thumb. “I have a feeling he’ll at least call in sick. He works too hard to just up and abandon us. He wouldn’t leave work hanging like that, no matter the circumstances.”
“If he still ignores us, maybe we can ask his friend Ryder. He bartends over at Legends, right?”
“That’s a good idea.”
“If that doesn’t work, we can talk to his roommates, if we can catch them at home.”
“Good. Good. Yes.”
He stopped me from pacing and wrapped his arms around me. “We’ll find him. He didn’t just vanish into thin air.”
I nodded and held him back. None of it seemed weird.
Linden and I should’ve fucking done this a long time ago.
We should’ve been honest and open with our feelings.
We also should’ve told Atlas how we felt about him.
There I was, touting the need for communication, when we’d all dropped the ball on that one.
We were all at fault. But once we found him, I aimed to remedy that by any means, and at any cost.
As predicted, Atlas called in sick. Linden and I spent our day scrambling to stay caught up with work, while stressing the fuck out about him.
I didn’t believe for a second he’d leave us hanging out to dry, whether it was at work or in this relationship.
He’d reach out to us eventually, but I was too fucking impatient.
I didn’t want him getting lost in his head, believing, even for a second, that we didn’t want him or care about him.
Linden and Atlas were the two most important people in my life, and I planned to keep it that way. One way or another, we would fix things between the three of us.
My cousin was on the couch in my office, working on his laptop because we hadn’t wanted to separate, sharing our stress and worry. I was lost in an email I was writing to one of our clients when there was a knock at our door.
“Atlas,” I whispered.
Linden looked up expectantly, too.
“Come in.”
But I was sorely disappointed to see my father instead of Atlas. Dammit. What now?
“What can I do for you, Dad?”
He sat down across from me and crossed his legs. “Your mother and I want you both over for dinner tonight. We have business to discuss. Chloe will be there, too.”
“Chloe? She has nothing to do with the business.”
“This is family business.”
Fuck. I really didn’t want to. What I wanted was to find Atlas, dammit. This couldn’t have happened at a worse time.
“Dad, I’m wrapped up—”
“You and Linden will be there. This is not a request. Do not be late.”
“Yeah, sure. We’ll be there.”
When he left, he took all the fucking air with him. My father was good at that. Shit, as if I didn’t have enough stress.
“What do you think that was all about?” Linden asked.
“With bringing Chloe in? And she’s willing to come? I have no idea. We’ll just have to hit Legends a little later than we wanted.”
He closed his laptop and walked over to me, sliding between my legs and squatting. He rubbed his hands over my thighs as he looked up at me. “Hugh… I want a change.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m… going to quit. If we’re having a family meeting tonight, I think it’s a good time to announce that.”
Honestly, I wasn’t surprised by this revelation. I knew he’d always wanted to put his woodworking to the test in a business.
I grabbed his face and leaned forward to kiss him before resting my forehead against his. I would never again hold him back. “You should do what you need to do. I’ll back you up. In fact…”
He held onto my wrists and met my eyes. “What?”
“I want to leave, too. I’m not happy here, Lind. You and Atlas are the only ones who make it bearable.”
“You’ve bent over backwards for Uncle Hanley. You’ve been an amazing son, and he can’t even fucking see that. I love him, but he’s damn entitled and demanding. He’ll be mad at me for leaving. He’ll be even angrier with you leaving. But you know what?”
“What?”
“He’ll get over it. He’ll find people to replace us, people who want our jobs.” Linden kissed my nose, and I closed my eyes. “He’ll never see you as an equal, Hugh. I think deep down he cares about us, but I don’t think he’s ever uttered a word about how proud he is.”
“You’re right.”
“I’m going to start my own business, remodeling and house-flipping.
I want to focus on historical homes and bring back their original beauty.
But I’ll work on other homes to bring in extra cash.
Would you… like to help? You’re amazing at organizing and implementing.
It’s why you do what you do here at Cross Corp.
You get shit done. Uncle Hanley doesn’t appreciate it because he expects it, but I will appreciate you. ”
My heart beat so hard with love for this man. I tried not to dwell on how many years had passed before we said or did anything. I tried to remind myself that it happened this way for a reason.
“You’d want me there?”
“God, Hugh… more than anything. When we find Atlas, we’ll bring him with us, if he wants. We can call the business ‘Cross I was over being my father’s doormat, and I was not about to be forced into some marriage.
“I’m out, too,” I said softly, feeling strangely at peace for the first time.
My sister’s jaw dropped before her hands rushed to her face to muffle her laugh.
“Now see here—”
“No, you will listen,” I said, standing, my appetite suddenly lost. “I’m tired of you all controlling our lives.
My life has revolved around trying to please you, and do you know what I’ve finally come to realize?
I never will. I will never be good enough.
Fuck it. I should’ve done what Chloe did, and just left to venture out on my own…
I quit. I quit this job and this family.
If you want me in your lives, you need therapy to work on the damage you caused your kids. ”
Linden stood with me, and as much as I wanted to grab his hand, I stayed still.
“I’m leaving, too. I am forever grateful you took me in when my parents died.
You took care of me and met all my needs, but like Hugh and Chloe…
they’re hurting. I love them both and want to see them thrive.
And I want to thrive, too. I only took this job at Cross Corp to pay back everything you did for me, but I’m tired.
There’s no joy in it. I’m a creative person, and I want to have a creative career. ”
Mom started crying, which was odd, since she never cried. Was it a manipulative tactic, or was it genuine? It was hard to tell. She wasn’t nearly as bad as Dad, but she followed his suit in everything.
“So that’s it? You’re just going to up and leave everything? The money? The job? Your family?” Dad snapped.
“Yes. I don’t care about the money or the job,” I explained.
“But I’ve cared enough about you and Mom to try to make you happy.
You never were. If you want me as a part of your lives as your son, with love and care, then I will be.
But if you keep controlling our lives, I want no part of it.
I’ll get the projects in order and give you time to find my replacement before I leave the company.
” I stepped away from the table and pushed my chair in, trying to hide my shaking hands. “Thank you for dinner.”
With that, I walked out with Linden close behind. Dad and Mom said nothing. They didn’t call us back, apologize, or fucking anything. They were probably in shock. And I was fine with that. I had to be.
As soon as we reached the corner out of sight, Linden dragged me into the parlor, shoved me against the wall, and slammed our mouths together. It was risky as fuck, but I didn’t care as I melted into him.
“That was fucking hot,” he said, his breath ghosting my lips.
“I think I’m going to be sick.”
“You’ll be fine. I’m so damn proud of you, my love. Yes, you’re my love. You’re my first love. You and Atlas will be my last loves, I hope.”
“A-hem,” someone said, forcing Linden and me to jump apart.
We turned to face Chloe, who was leaning against the doorjamb, arms folded, smiling smugly at us.
“I knew it. Well, I’ve always known Linden had a thing for you, brother.
Hugh, you may be oblivious, but I’ve been watching you two for years now, and how Linden looked at you when you weren’t noticing. ”
“Please don’t say anything,” I begged. “I think our parents have had enough dissent for one day.
She rolled her eyes. “As if. You should know me better than that by now.”
Linden leaned into me, and I wrapped my arm around his shoulders. “Yeah, you’ve hinted here and there, now that I think about it,” I said.
She scoffed. “Took you long enough. But it’s okay, I love you dumbasses, anyway.”
Now it was my turn to eye roll.
“Thanks for accepting us, Chloe,” Linden said, pulling her into a hug. “Not many will, so any allies we can find will help.”
“I’m here, and I’m proud of you both.”
I peeked around the corner to see if anyone was noticing us or eavesdropping. “You should know that Linden and I have a relationship with our PA, Atlas, too,” I whispered.
“Well, aren’t you two full of taboo love? Bro, I don’t care. If you all are happy and honest with each other, I’m here. You live your life as you see fit.”
“You’re the best, Chloe,” Linden said, kissing her cheek.
“I know.”