Chapter 45
Dean
As we got out of the car, I breathed in the scent of the city. It wasn’t really any different from Seattle, but I still felt it in my bones.
The way Oli looked around at the bustling airport told me I wasn’t the only one who was sad to be leaving. He’d started to blend in, becoming a natural piece of my family home. Dad teased him and Mom fussed over him, making sure that he ate and felt comfortable.
For someone who had never had a family, he sure fit into mine perfectly.
We each hugged my parents, and I was pretty sure we were both sniffling a little. When Blake got out of the back and stood in front of me, he gave me an approving nod.
“You’ll be coming back?” he confirmed.
I glanced quickly at Oli. “That’s the plan.”
“If the market’s good out here . . .” He rolled his lips thoughtfully, then shrugged. “Maybe I’ll check it out too. An hour or two from the city might not be bad.”
I pushed back a smile. “Well, I think it’d be a good business move. What’s in New Mexico anyway?”
“Nothing that matters to me anymore.”
“When are you heading home?”
He looked over his shoulder at Mom and Oli, who were talking about the school he was considering in the city. “I’ll stay another week, I think. There are some things for us to figure out.”
Throwing my arms around his shoulders, I hugged him tightly. “I’m only a phone call away. Or a text.”
“What about an email?”
“Then it’ll probably be five to seven business months before I respond.”
He laughed as he pulled back. “That’s a terrible way to be successful, D.”
“For now, I’m just a lowly college student. When I enter the professional world, maybe I’ll change my bad habits.”
“I’ll start making a list of things I learned the hard way.”
Oli came up beside me and bit my shoulder. “You ready?”
I nodded. He turned to my brother, and a beat of awkward silence passed between them. I sucked in a breath when Blake held out his hand. With a satisfied smile, Oli shook it firmly.
“You did more than me,” Blake said softly.
“I was resentful, but instead of looking for a way to fix it, I left and didn’t look back.
Forget all the other things right now. You changed our lives before we’d even met you.
So, yeah. You did more than I ever tried to do. You fixed something that we couldn’t.”
Oli laughed a little, shaking his head. “I didn’t fix it. I just pointed out what’s broken. Everything else has been you guys.”
With a nod, he stepped back. “Have a safe flight. Love you, D.”
“Love you too,” I replied. I looked at each of them one more time before I took Oli’s hand and headed into the building. “Are you going to be okay on the plane?”
He grimaced. “I survived the first time.”
“Well, let’s hope your luck holds out, right?”
*****
“Home sweet home,” Oli announced as he threw open the door to the apartment.
“Thank fucking God.” I tossed my bag to the side, not caring about messiness or anything of the sort. I sure as hell wasn’t unpacking tonight. That was for the responsible adults on this spinning rock.
As soon as I flicked on the living room light, I knew something was off. It had been a week, which meant the place should’ve felt at rest. Dead. Peaceful.
Oli looked around, his brow tight. His reaction was enough to confirm my own suspicions.
“Stay here,” I said.
Instead of doing that, he followed me further into the apartment. “I can take care of myself, Broku.”
“Fine.”
He pointed two fingers at the bathroom, then at himself. I nodded and headed for the bedroom. We opened the doors at the same time, and when I heard him mutter something, I almost backtracked, but I saw someone sit up in the bed.
“What the hell?” I said as I switched the light on.
Remi rubbed his eyes while he yawned. He moved slowly, like he wasn’t in a rush. Even though he was in our home. In our bed.
“Rem,” Oli sighed from the bathroom doorway. There was a soft edge to his voice, much different from the way I wanted to react. Throwing him out was at the top of the list.
“I forgot you were getting back today,” Remi explained casually.
“No, you didn’t.”
A smile formed on his face. “Prove it.”
“Why are you here?” I asked.
“What happened?” Oli added, moving closer to the bed.
It was probably the jet lag, but I wanted to bitch about that compassionate tone he was using.
I was tired and had been looking forward to dropping into that bed without a care in the world.
I wasn’t even going to shower. Now, I had to change the sheets, and that was after we got this guy out of here.
“My place is . . .” Remi paused and thought for a second. “Not ideal right now.”
“Maintenance emergency?” I guessed sarcastically.
“Yeah, totally. Big flood, shit everywhere. Smells like a sewer.”
I snorted and looked around the room. It seemed to be in one piece. There were no new messes aside from a cup on the nightstand and a pair of shoes on the floor.
“Spill,” Oli demanded. When Remi looked away from him, Oli pulled his keys out of his pocket. “Alright, I’ll check it out myself.”
Remi growled and dropped onto his back. “It’s Cole.”
Oli was spinning his keys around his finger, but he froze when Remi said the name. I saw the gears turning as he considered something in his head. After a minute, he set his jaw and nodded.
“I’m done with this fucking guy.” Oli tried to pass me, but I blocked the doorway. When he turned to walk through the bathroom, I wrapped an arm around his waist, feeling the way his entire body was vibrating.
“Wait,” I said. “What’s even going on?”
“Assuming it’s like the other times, that piece of human garbage is hanging around. But—” He turned, setting his gaze on Remi, who refused to look at him. “That means you invited him again. What the hell are you thinking, Rem?”
“It was supposed to be one night,” he muttered.
“It’s never one night! And then you end up with your face—” Oli stopped, drawing in a deep breath. “Why? Seriously, why?”
“I’m goddamn stupid, that’s why!” Remi shouted. A second later, his shoulders slumped. “It’s just . . . I see you two together, and I think—Oh, never mind.’”
Oli deflated, and I could see that this was much bigger than my desire for sleep.
My eyes rose to the ceiling. “It’s not safe at your place?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. I’ll just go home.”
Shaking my head, I let go of Oli but kept a close eye on him. “We’ll go tomorrow.”
“Go where?” Remi asked.
“Your place, obviously. This Cole guy will leave, then we’ll pack your shit.”
“But . . . Where am I supposed to go?”
“For now, you’ll take the couch. Then you’ll find a new place.”
“And you won’t tell him where that is,” Oli added, more firmly than I thought he was capable of. After Remi nodded, Oli’s demeanor shifted back to his usual softness. “Good. Now get out of my bed.”
Remi got up and hobbled sleepily over to Oli.
He threw his arms around him in an embrace that reminded me of how I hugged my brother.
Even though I was annoyed with him, I knew he’d be a permanent part of our lives.
He was struggling, and I didn’t loathe the guy anymore, so I’d have to get on board with dealing with whatever the hell he got himself into.
“I need to know you’ll be okay if I’m not here to save you,” Oli said quietly.
A crooked smile slid onto Remi’s face. “You’ll always be here, Oli.”
“I wasn’t this time.”
“But I knew you would be. That’s why I came here.”
As Remi headed into the living room, Oli’s eyes met mine.
Our plans had seemed simple before, even if they were still a bit far-fetched.
Maybe we were being fanciful from the start.
The fact remained that it wasn’t only us that we needed to consider.
If this was going to happen, we had to find a way to make sure all of our ducks were in a row.
It was a good thing I was a planner.
Families weren’t neat. They weren’t easy. But maybe this was ours now. And I’d fight like hell to keep it together.