Chapter 24
Dean
“Here you go, sir,” the young woman says skeptically while handing me the three bags worth of food I ordered.
“Thank you,” I say with a nod before stepping off to the side to double-check everything is there.
After the fiasco that happened two weeks ago when Ari was craving burgers and fries, only for the French fries not to be in the bag…
I’ve made it a habit to ensure everything she wants, and more, is there before I leave the restaurant.
“Everything okay?” the lady working behind the counter asks, a hint of annoyance in her tone.
I flash her a grin. “Oh, I’m sure it’s all good. I would just have one very upset pregnant girlfriend on my hands if there was anything missing.”
Her features soften and I almost roll my eyes as she stares at me like I’m her idol.
“Stop right now! You are just the sweetest! My husband wouldn’t even get me a glass of juice when I was pregnant, let alone go get me the food I was craving.” She gushes, and her praise leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
I will never understand how some people act like getting your pregnant partner a drink or whatever food she’s craving is an inconvenience.
While she’s out there literally growing a human, her body working overtime to support both her and the baby, the least anyone else could do is make things easier.
Is it always feasible to go out and get whatever she’s in the mood for at all hours of the night?
No, some things are out of our control, like restaurants being closed.
But there’s almost always a way to find the next best thing.
Like when Ari was craving a very specific milkshake at one in the morning last week, but the place that makes them was closed.
It literally took me fifteen minutes to find an open gas station that had similar ice creams, whip out her blender, and make her a knockoff version that she claimed was better than the real thing.
It’s seriously not that hard to be a decent partner.
Not wanting to insert myself into her life and tell this random woman to go find a better man, I offer her a small smile and finish going through the last bag. Once I make sure I have everything, including the guacamole that was missing from the bags, I head back home.
Home.
Just the fact that I get to end each and every day with Arianna beside me makes my heart beat like a kid with some teenage crush. I always hoped that things with us would head in this direction. That she would continue to let me in, to let me love her in every way possible.
And now that it’s here? That I have the honor to show her what she means to me, day in and day out? Fuck, I am the luckiest man alive.
Eagerness to get back to Ari thrums through me and I don’t waste another second after making sure the food is secure before starting my drive home. Thankfully, tonight’s craving was only five minutes away.
I’m humming to my favorite pop song when I pull into the driveway, mindlessly parking beside Ari. Only to freeze when the sound of a dog growling echoes through the silent night.
I glance around, expecting to find a stray lingering close by, only to come up short.
Slowly, I close the car door and look around at the houses to find where it’s coming from.
The homes in the neighborhood are far enough apart that we’re not all up in each other’s business, but close enough to be friendly.
I know a few dogs live on this street, so if one of them got out…
A vicious bark snaps from somewhere behind me and ice pours through my veins.
I turn around, finding the front door to our house wide open, and am moving before I fully process it.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, things start piecing together enough for me to pull my phone from my pocket and dial the police.
I hesitate on pressing call, wanting to make sure that Ari wasn’t just trying to do something on her own, like take the trash out.
When another warning growl, from my dog, greets me as I approach the front door, I know something is wrong. Cora is the friendliest dog ever, always excited to meet new people and even having more patience than I would around kids who want to cover her in glitter.
I spot the guy in a hoodie at the end of the hall, blocking the way to the kitchen, before I hear him.
Quickly, I duck out of the doorway, staying outside while I tell the operator my address and that there’s been a break-in.
Faintly, I hear her trying to tell me to stay outside, but the chances of that happening fall to absolutely the fuck not when I hear Arianna groan in pain.
Concealing my phone in the waistband of my shorts, I slip into the house and immediately turn into the living room.
My pulse throbs in my ears, making it hard to make out what the guy is saying, but I notice he sounds young.
Shaking it off, I tiptoe through the room toward the secondary entrance to the kitchen.
Once I get to the doorway, there will be no hiding my presence, so I cross my damn fingers that the reason Cora is growling like I’ve never heard before is because the guy isn’t actually close enough to them.
Sucking in a deep breath, I take the final step and am hit with a mix of relief and the need to hurl.
Just as I suspected, Cora has placed herself between Arianna and the intruder. Her hackles are raised, tail pinned between her legs, and ears trying to stand straight. It’s the first time I’ve ever actually seen her fully resemble a purebred German Shepherd.
How is this guy not shitting his pants?
Ari’s eyes widen when she spots me, tears streaming down her face as she clutches her stomach.
“My water broke,” she whimpers. Her words combined with the look on her face are enough to make me forget about my own safety as I beeline for her.
The guy finally moves then. Stepping closer to intervene and I hesitate just as Cora snaps at both of us. Even though she’s trying to keep me away, I can’t help but be proud of her for protecting Arianna.
My teeth grind together as I’m forced to stop. I’d only made it halfway around the kitchen table, but I didn’t want to risk this dude getting closer to Ari. Keeping my eyes on her, I speak up to the guy.
“The police are on the way, and my girlfriend is in labor,” I say loudly, hoping the operator on the other line hears me. “If you want money, here. Take it and go.”
I reach for my wallet, but the kid laughs hysterically. The fact that it’s such a young sound makes my head snap in his direction.
And then everything I thought I knew up until this moment falls out from under me.
“Tristan?” My stomach churns when he lets out another manic laugh.
“Trying to throw money at a problem. Must be nice not to worry about trivial shit anymore.”
My face scrunches at his words. “What are you talking about?”
That snaps all humor from his face completely and he turns his attention fully to me, knife now pointed in my direction instead. Which probably shouldn’t be a relief, but it means he’s less likely to hurt Arianna now.
“I’m talking about how, now that you have money, you can easily forget about everything you went through. You don’t even care who you left behind to suffer.”
“Tristan, I didn’t leave you.” There’s no hiding the emotion from my voice. All the guilt, the heartbreak, and loneliness I’ve felt ever since my aunt left with him all those years ago hit me tenfold.
I look at him, really studying my baby brother.
Standing before me, it’s easy to recognize him, since he looks so much like me it’s almost painful.
He’s tall but thin, the hoodie he’s wearing practically swallowing his frame.
Brown eyes that mirror mine appear sunken, framed by dark circles under his eyes and pronounced cheekbones that show how skinny he is.
His hair is shaggier than mine, reminding me of how I used to have mine at seventeen. The realization hits like a low blow.
Seventeen.
I try to do the math quickly to make sure I’m right. It’s been ten years since I last saw him. He had just turned seven when my aunt disappeared with him, which means that the young man before me is about the same age that I was when I lost everything. And he thinks that I left him.
“I promise you, whatever you think happened, isn’t the full story.”
He rolls his eyes, glaring at me while stepping closer. Cora barks at him in warning but doesn’t move from her spot in front of Ari. Which is perfectly fine by me.
For as much as it pains me, I don’t know my brother. There’s no predicting how he’ll react or what will push him over the edge.
“Save me the sob story about how hard your glamorous life as one of the top goalies in hockey is. How can you enjoy any of this”—he motions around the kitchen, turning his seething glare back on Ari before looking back at me—“knowing you abandoned your only brother?”
Ari sucks in a deep breath, groaning in pain and finally sinking to the floor. Every fiber of my being aches to go to her side, to get her out of here and to a hospital.
But I can’t do that with a knife-wielding teenager blocking my exit. So I turn my focus to him.
“I didn’t abandon you, Tristan. You were taken. When Mom was arrested, Aunt Marie took you in. She didn’t have enough room for both of us, so I couldn’t go with you guys. But once I finished high school, I moved out to California to be close to you again.”
He shakes his head, some of that anger morphing into confusion. “No, you…you left me with her.”
The way he refers to our aunt makes me pause momentarily, but I push on.
“I got into college out there, and on every Wednesday, you and I would play in the front yard, or get ice cream, or—”
“Go to the comic book store,” he adds on, confusion lining his voice. “No, that was before.”