50. Caleb
Chapter fifty
The last few days are starting to catch up with me. Every night, we’ve gone to my grandparents’ house to see Gage. The grumpy bastard just scowls and grunts at anything we ask. Unless Grams, Mum, or Tiny are in the room.
As predicted, he hates being there, hates being seen as an inconvenience to anyone.
The upside for the rest of us, however, is that Grams has never spent so much time in the kitchen.
Every afternoon, there are cakes, brownies, slices, or cookies on offer.
On the nights Lex isn’t at Hallucinogens, she goes to help at The Wayside.
Mason tries to help as well, but he mostly just lets Keeley do her job as head bartender.
He told Gage to promote her to assistant manager since she was handling everything fine.
My brother struggles to let go of control, but truthfully, I think he was relieved to hear that the bar was managing just fine without him.
Isabelle has been just as quiet since the accident. She has a few bruises and scratches, but nothing that couldn’t be treated by the paramedics. That hasn’t stopped me from checking in on her several times a day to the point where she finally yelled at me to leave her alone.
It’s hard, though. Isabelle is someone I’m closest to outside of my family. She feels like a sister to me. I’m worried by the absence of her normally upbeat disposition, but she’s determined to put everything behind her. Including the reason she was with my brother that night to begin with.
There’s a knock on my office door, and Isabelle waits in the open doorway.
“Hey,” I say.
“Hi. Are you ready for our meeting?” The wide leg blue jeans and black mock neck sweater she wears are the most unlike her I’ve ever seen. At least her golden curls are still tied on top of her head with a scarf, the cream and aqua blue pattern keeping her softness present.
“Of course. Take a seat.”
I push my glasses back up my nose and lean back in my seat, ready for her to update me on her current projects.
She runs through her projects with Tenley, Legacy Malt, and finally, for Smoke and Barrel.
“So, everything is going well.”
“Good. And how are you, Izzy?” I ask.
The mask hiding her pain slips for just a moment before she shakes it off and shoots me a weak smile. “Fine.”
“You’re not in pain? No headaches or anything?” I push.
“No.”
“You ready to tell me why you were with Gage that night?” At the mention of my brother’s name, her lips tremble before she purses them, like she’s banishing the feelings away.
“He saw me walking home from a restaurant and offered me a ride.” She shrugs.
I throw my hands up, gaping at her. “Why didn’t you just tell me that before?”
She looks down at the floor. I wait until she gives me more. Anything.
“How’s he doing?” she whispers.
“You haven’t spoken to him?”
She shakes her head. “He won’t accept my calls. Won’t respond to my texts. ”
Stupid, stubborn bastard.
I pick my phone up off the desk where it sits beside the framed photo Lex gave me for Valentine’s Day. Putting it on loudspeaker, I call my brother.
“What?” He sighs.
“Just checking in. How are you today?” I ask, watching Isabelle. She quietly leans forward in her chair, watching my phone like a hawk.
“Mase just took me for a check up with the doc. He showed me some exercises to do to keep mobility.”
“But he’s happy with how it looks so far?”
“Yeah,” he grunts.
“How’s Keeley handling the bar?”
“Fine.”
“Have you spoken to Iz?”
I’m met with nothing but silence on the other line.
“Gage?”
“Is she okay?” When I look up at Isabelle, her blue eyes are glassy, and she’s chewing on her thumbnail. I lean my open palm over the desk, and she takes it willingly, putting her small hand in mine and squeezing.
“She’s not physically hurt, if that’s what you’re asking.” I shake my head when he just mutters back at me. “Why won’t you talk to her?” I push, not hiding the irritation in my question.
“Did she tell you that?”
“I’m taking a wild guess.”
“She could have been hurt,” Gage says, the confession quiet and raw.
“She is hurt.”
“You just fucking said she wasn’t,” he snaps.
“I said physically. You ignoring her is something different.” And Jesus, when did I start wanting my brother to talk to Iz? A few months ago, I was warning him away, and now… now I don’t know wh at I want to happen. But it’s not my brother and my best friend hurting.
“I didn’t look after her.” The line goes dead, and Isabelle’s hand slips out of mine.
“Just give him some time, Iz. The accident. It brings up part of his past that isn’t healed.”
She nods her head as she stands. “Thanks, OG.”
Once Isabelle leaves, I pick up my phone to text Gage.
ME:
I’m here for you if you want to have a real conversation.
GAGE:
Okay, be real with me. Did you just have me on speakerphone?
Oh shit. No way could he know that. I’m pretty sure. Before I can bluff, he sends me another text.
GAGE:
I heard her earrings. Those long pendant ones that clink every time she moves.
ME:
Just answer her. Please. I don’t like seeing my friend so down. Or my brother…
I get a thumbs-up emoji. I don’t know if that means he’ll talk to Isabelle, or he’s just acknowledging my feelings on the subject, but hopefully both my friend and brother get back to their normal selves soon.
This whole situation has made me so grateful to have Lex by my side.
Having someone to lean on for big and small things reminds me of those moments I would see my parents share.
Growing up, those in-between times when they confided in each other and downloaded their day, shared passing thoughts or niggling concerns .
Lex has become my everything. I didn’t think I was capable of having a love so sweet.
I bring up the search engine on my computer to find a florist who can deliver as soon as possible. It takes a phone conversation and a two-hundred-dollar tip, but that’s a drop in the ocean compared to what I’d give for Lex.
I spend another hour online shopping, wondering how much of a dork I am for buying matching pyjama sets, especially when I demand Lex sleep naked next to me every night.
She’s working at the nightclub tonight, so I don’t mind staying back a bit longer in the office until I go down to see her later with some dinner. I love our routine, this new life we’ve slipped into. It feels like she was made to perfectly co-exist with me.
My phone beeps and then beeps again beside me. Picking it up, I see a picture of a huge bouquet of red roses.
SIREN:
Awww, Honey, you’re so sweet. I had to take these through the back door, they wouldn’t fit through the front. I love you 3 see you later xx
ME:
Love you more xx
And I do. I love her more than I ever thought one person could love another.