29. Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chris doesn’t come back to the house all week.
Cole avoids me all week.
Tuesday went by like a whole year as I imagined Cole banging mystery date woman over his office desk. I don’t even know what his office looks like, but I sure painted a pretty picture of it in my head. I’m considering a career as a porn director after what I imagined they were doing.
When he came home on Tuesday and got to work on dinner, like he always does, I didn’t attack him and go at him with a million questions like I wanted to.
I can’t.
He isn’t mine.
And my dick is fine. There’s nothing weird growing on it. Nothing discolored coming out. It isn’t itchy. So that’s something, I guess.
But now it’s Saturday evening, and Cole is in his office working. The TV is on in the living room, but I’m barely watching it. The only reason I’m down here was because my body was getting sore from lying in the same position on my bed all day. Figured a walk downstairs and sitting on the couch for a while would do me good. When the front door opens, I’m shocked when Chris walks in.
We hold each other’s gaze for a few seconds before he finally says, “Hey.”
“Hi.”
He drops on the couch beside me, resting his head on my shoulder. A moment later, Cole comes in, but doesn’t say anything. He stands there, watching us with a frown. He looks like he wants to say something, but his face softens, and he goes back the way he came without a word.
“I’m sorry,” Chris mutters after a long time. “I know I was a dick, and I know you didn’t take my shit. I don’t even know why I said that. I’ve been so stressed out, and tired, and drinking too much.”
“So you admit it?”
He groans. “Yes.” He rolls his head off my shoulder and rests it against the couch. “The fight we had really made me realize it. And that”s why I’m done.”
“Done with…”
He looks at me. “I’m done drinking. For now. At least until I can figure out when I’ll be able to drink casually and not rely on it, which I know may be never.” He puts his arm around me and pulls me into a hug. “You’re my best friend, Bryson, and I don’t ever want to lose that. I’m so sorry.”
I hug him back, but I’m thrown off guard. This isn’t like him. At all.
“Did you visit Tibetan Monks while you were away?”
He huffs out a laugh, letting me go. “You are such a nerd.”
“That’s why you love me.” I grin at him.
“Ew, it is not.”
He gets up, running his hand through his hair, and glancing down the hall.
“You going to talk to him?” I ask.
“No,” he answers way too quickly. “Not there yet.”
“Thank you for apologizing.”
“Thank you for not killing me.” He smiles.
I get up and stop in front of him, putting my hands on his shoulders. “I need you to do me a favor.”
“Fuck, I hate when you’re serious.”
“I know you don’t want to talk to your dad, and that’s fine. I won’t push it. Do it on your time. It’s your business. But Chris, you cannot blow off breakfast again. I’ve never seen him look so torn up over something before.” I gesture down the hall to where his father is.
Chris grits his teeth, looking away for a long moment before nodding. “Fine. But I need you to do me a favor.”
“Anything.”
He shifts on his feet, bringing his gaze to mine. “I need you to let him know that I need space, and that I’ll do Sunday breakfasts, but if he pushes me too hard, I’m going to snap.”
Fuck.
“You can’t tell him that yourself?” I ask carefully.
“I don’t want to talk to him. This is his fault.”
I don’t argue with him about that because I don’t want to push him away. None of this is Cole’s fault. The way Chris reacts to something isn’t anyone’s fault. It’s just who he is as a person. If he needs to blame Cole for this for now, fine. Maybe once he gets his shit figured out, he’ll see more clearly and realize Cole isn’t in the wrong here. The last thing I want is for Chris to think I’m against him, but I won’t agree with him if he’s wrong. I’ll just support him as best I can.
So I relent and say, “Fine.”
He wraps me in a hug. “I love you, bro. Seriously, best friend ever.”
I hug him back even tighter. “Yeah, yeah. Stop being so mushy. It’s gross.”
He chuckles. “I’m going to shower. Then bed. I’m fucking beat.”
I glance toward the windows. “It’s not even dark.”
“It’s been a long week. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Chris heads upstairs. I stare down the hall, knowing I need to talk to Cole and not a single part of me wants to, regardless of the reason. I don’t want to be in the middle of this, of them, but I have to. For Chris.
With my head held high, I move down the hallway and knock on Cole’s open office door.
“Everything okay?” he asks, brows furrowed.
“Can I come in?”
He turns the chair to face me and nods. So I walk inside and stop a few feet from him, knowing distance is the best thing. His scent is my weakness.
“Chris is fine. Guess he’s staying here again, but he wanted me to let you know he isn’t ready to talk yet.”
Cole nods but doesn’t look happy about it.
I continue. “I convinced him to go to breakfast on Sunday mornings. I know how much that means to you. And he said he would, but he still needs space. Oh, and he’s going to stop drinking.”
“Seriously?” he blurts, eyes going wide.
“That’s what he said,” I say with a shrug.
He blows out a breath, shaking his head. “Fuck, that is relieving.”
I nod awkwardly and take a step back because I don’t want to be here. “All right then. I’ll see you later.” I turn, but he grips my wrist. I pause, sucking in a breath, hating the way his hand feels on me. So warm. So comforting.
“Thank you, Bryson. You don’t know how much this means to me. I swear you’re the only person who can get through to him.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, taking a long inhale through my nose before letting it out slowly. I glance at him and smile, but the emotion coursing through me has me wanting to throw up.
Mystery date. Fucking her on the desk. Big tits. STDs.
I pull my arm free, harder than necessary, and Cole frowns. He looks hurt, which guts me. But it has to be this way.
“Well, that’s what best friends are for.” I force another smile and leave. And as I head upstairs, I feel both proud of myself for not falling into Cole when I had the chance, but also really fucking stupid.
…for not falling into Cole when I had the chance.