Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
ANDREI
Colby carried Lottie into the bedroom after drying her with a fluffy towel. She'd barely made it ten minutes into the steaming bath before her eyes drifted shut and she completely relaxed back into Colby's chest.
"Guess Kaleb wore her out more than she thought," Colby laughed, putting her beneath the sheets. Lottie curled onto her side and clutched the pillow. Her lips curled up into a smile as she murmured something unintelligible.
"She's so fucking perfect, it sometimes just slaps me across the face."
Kaleb clasped a hand on my shoulder. "I know what you mean."
Colby crawled into the other side of the bed and pulled Lottie into his arms. "Anyone else staying in here with us?"
I shook my head. "Nah, man. You enjoy your night with her."
"Night."
"Night."
Kaleb followed me out of the bedroom and we made our way to the office.
We sank down into our respective chairs and the silence stretched out between us.
Finally, Kaleb spoke. "I don't think my mother will stop this time." His elbows rested on his desk as he dropped his head into his hands. "Things have been progressively getting worse. She's blowing through money even faster. New cars. Lavish trips. Says she has to keep up with the lifestyle."
I snorted and crossed my arms over my chest as I leaned back in the chair. "You need to cut them off."
"Fuck, I know."
He sounded so utterly defeated that it made my teeth grind together. "Talk to your sisters. You need to finally come clean and tell them just how bad things have been over the years."
Pain was etched on his face, making the signs of age more pronounced. We may not be in our 50's yet, but we were rapidly burning through the 40's and time hadn't always been kind to us.
"I'll call them tomorrow. I need to tell Lottie the rest too." He laughed bitterly. "She was horrified and I had barely even scratched the surface of how insane my mother is. We hadn't even gotten to my stepfather yet."
Kaleb had gone through so much, and his pain was a mirror of my own. Our rage similar. A burning inferno that we had to keep contained at all times.
But while my past had been redeemed, I didn't think his could be.
I rose and made my way to the bar in the corner. "When in doubt, get shitfaced."
Kaleb lifted his head and smirked at me. I handed him the nearly full glass of scotch and I clinked my glass against his. "Nostrovia."
"Nostrovia."