Chapter 40 Drunk Brother
Drunk Brother
Maddison curled up on the sofa, hair damp from her shower, laptop balanced on her knees. The apartment smelled like cinnamon and sandalwood, Lucas’s scent woven into the walls. The hum of running water upstairs marked him in the shower.
The knock at the door wasn’t polite. It was heavy. Sloppy.
“Lucas?” she called.
No answer.
Barefoot, she crossed the hardwood and opened it.
Logan. Shirt half unbuttoned, whiskey on his breath, eyes red-rimmed.
“Mads.” His voice was gravel, loose. “Your doorman sucks. I just walked in.”
She stepped aside. “You reek of a distillery.”
He dropped onto the sofa like it had betrayed him. “Maybe I do. Nice place. Not tacky like the Tower.”
“You’re drunk,” she said flatly. “Why are you here?”
“Because my brother’s upstairs. And you’re the only one who doesn’t flinch when I breathe wrong.” His hands dragged down his face. “And because Penny hates me.”
Maddison sat across from him. “Did you actually apologise?”
“I don’t apologise.”
She rolled her eyes. “Then what the fuck did you expect? That she’d keep covering for you forever while you sneer at her?”
His head snapped up. “Covering?”
“Don’t be an idiot. You think your secrets stay buried because you’re that good? Penny’s been protecting you for years. Keeping the wolves off the Tower steps while you drink and bleed and pretend you don’t care.”
Logan froze. The whiskey haze flickered, something raw breaking through.
“She…” His throat worked. “She didn’t tell you that.”
“She didn’t have to,” Maddison said softly. “It’s obvious. To everyone but you.”
Silence stretched. Upstairs, the shower is cut off.
Maddison leaned in. “You’re terrified she’ll see you. Newsflash,she already has. And she stayed.”
He dropped his head into his hands, groaning. “I’m fucked.”
“Yeah,” Maddison allowed, almost smiling. “But not hopeless. Go to her. Sober. Mean it. Stop pushing away the only person who actually gives a damn.”
Lucas’s voice floated down from upstairs. “Mads?”
Logan stood too quickly, nearly stumbling. Maddison crossed her arms. “Go sober. Then go find her. If you don’t…” Her voice sharpened. “You’ll regret it more than anything else you’ve ever done.”
His jaw flexed. He didn’t answer. But when he left into the night, Maddison saw it, not hope. Not yet. But resolve.