Chapter 39 Tate
thirty-nine
Tate
The night we found out about Mrs. Harris, Fletcher held me while we both cried.
It didn’t feel real; it still doesn’t.
Zeke doesn’t even leave his room anymore. He’s drinking himself into oblivion, and none of us knows what to do.
I can’t blame him. This is a kind of loss you don’t expect until you’re grown up and have a family of your own to lean on. No one deserves to go through this at twenty-one. And even though we’re his family, we don’t know how to help him at the moment.
He even broke up with Avalon.
I think that was the moment we realized he officially hit rock bottom.
She was by his side through his mom’s last days, and then he threw her away like it was nothing.
“Have you guys talked to him?” Avalon tugs at the strands of Brinley’s rug.
“Declan said he’s been doing a little better since his dad stopped by. He came out of his room today.” Ember smiles. “Actually ate something.”
“Good.” Avalon forces a smile. “Is it weird to miss him? Like I hate him, you know, but I miss him.”
“I knew when we went to Greystone, and you were angry with him, that it was coming from a place of love.” Ember reaches out, pulling Avalon into her.
“I can’t believe her funeral is in two days.” Brinley pulls her knees up to her chest. “It still doesn’t feel real.”
“I only met Zeke’s mom a couple of times when I was in high school, but she seemed like an amazing woman.” Maia wraps an arm around Brinley, scooting closer to her.
“I can’t stop thinking about her,” Ember sighs. “And I didn’t even know her as long as you guys did.”
Our minds are all preoccupied; this doesn’t feel like our usual get-togethers at Brinley’s.
Even when we were here a couple of days after his mom passed away, we were able to find a lightness in our conversation.
I think the closer we get to her funeral, the closer we get to goodbye, the more real it all feels.
“Fletcher and I are dating.” The words fly out of my mouth before I have time to lock them inside.
“What?” Brinley’s body flies toward me as if she’ll be able to tell I’m lying if her eyes are only inches from mine. “When did this fucking happen?”
“In February,” I mumble.
“I’m sorry… February?” Ember asks, and suddenly, all of the eyes on me feel overwhelming. “When were you going to tell us?”
“Everything just got really crazy. I mean, your brother found out about you and—”
“Wait, are you telling me you and Fletcher were together before Valentine’s Day?” Brinley falls back onto her butt. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Actually, it was on Valentine’s Day.”
“I don’t know how I haven’t seen it. I mean, maybe we were just focused on the fact that things seemed back to normal,” Brinley responds.
“Maybe that’s just proving the point they were basically dating without all of the benefits of dating,” Maia scoffs. “You guys haven’t been any more touchy-feely than usual, and the look in your eyes hasn’t changed.”
“I just can’t believe you were able to keep this a secret from everyone.” Brinley shakes her head.
“Jere’s known.” I bite my lip.
“You told him and didn’t tell us?!”
“I didn’t tell him, Brin; he kind of just figured it out. I guess he’s more observant than you,” I tease.
“No, no one is more observant than me.”
“You also didn’t realize Zeke was in a relationship, and we were seeing each other a lot longer than—”
“Okay, but I wasn’t seeing the two of you together, so that’s different.”
“Is it?” Maia leans back on her hands. “Shouldn’t you be able to observe the change in Zeke’s behavior and realize why he was acting differently?”
“Well—”
“I knew he was seeing someone before I found out for sure,” Ember adds. “I guess I’m also more observant than you.”
“I’m over this conversation. I’m going to the bathroom so I can get a moment of peace from the people who are supposedly my friends.”
She hops up from the floor, brushing her hands off on her pants before walking to the bathroom and slamming the door.
“Shit.” There’s a loud thud on the opposite side of the bathroom door.
“Brin?” I stand up and walk over to the door. “Are you okay?”
“I’m stuck.”
I glance over at Ember, Maia, and Avalon, who are standing up and walking over to me.
“What do you mean you’re stuck?”
“My door’s still broken. I can’t get out.”
I grab the doorknob and try to push it open, but it doesn’t even budge.
“Oh my god, you’re really stuck.”
“I already said that.”
I stifle a laugh, but then another comes, and before I know it, I can’t stop. It’s giving me Déjà vu from when Brin had to pry the door open so Maia could use her bathroom a couple of weeks ago.
And it sure beats the crying I’ve been doing over the last few days.
“Are you fucking laughing?”
“No.” I lie.
“Tate, this isn’t funny. I was stuck in here for nearly an hour one day because Declan had to drive over here and help me out. I don’t want a repeat of that. It was embarrassing.”
“I mean, it’s his fault the door is broken in the first place.” Ember leans against the door. “The least he could do is help you out of there.”
“No.” Maia shakes his head. “We don’t need her brother. She has four capable women standing on this side of the door. We can definitely get it open.”
“How?” Avalon whispers, watching as I try to push it open again.
“Tate is going to turn the knob, and then on the count of three, we are going to run full force into the door and hope it swings open.”
“That sounds like a stupid idea.” Ember’s eyebrows furrow.
“It’s the only one we got.” I get into position, moving away from the door just enough so my momentum is also added to the equation. “Brin, move as far away from the door as you can.”
She doesn’t respond, but I hear the pattering of her feet against the tile.
“Ready?” I look at the girls, who are all set on running into this door. This could either work… or be an absolute disaster.
I guess we’re about to find out.
“In three,” I take a breath, “two,” I brace myself, “one.”
May
How is Stella doing?” I glance over at Fletcher, but his eyes are on the road, one of his hands resting perfectly around mine, the other on the steering wheel.
“Relieved to finally have that baby out of her.” Fletcher chuckles.
Stella and Chase had their baby boy a week after her due date and the day after Zeke’s mom’s funeral.
It was kind of poetic, in a way. Saying goodbye to one life and hello to another.
“She was ready for that baby to be out of her when we saw them a few weeks ago. I can’t imagine having day after day pass you by with no baby.”
“I can’t wait to meet him,” Fletcher gleams. “Like, I have a Godson, that’s crazy.”
“He’s going to love you.”
“He’s going to have me wrapped around his little finger. I haven’t even met him yet, and my heart is so full of love for him.”
“I don’t think that’s abnormal. He’s your nephew; of course, you love him.”
“That’s fair. I guess I’m being a little too overly excited for this, aren’t I?”
I shift my body in the passenger seat to look at Fletcher, even though I know he can’t offer me the same attention while he drives.
“You aren’t too excited. You’re perfectly reasonably excited. He’s your Godson, Fletch, that’s a huge deal.”
“You’re right. It is.” He smiles, looking over at me just long enough to admire me, and this moment before his eyes shift back to the road.
We pull into Chase and Stella’s driveway, and the car is off, and Fletcher is up to their door before I even have time to undo my seatbelt.
He has other nieces and nephews, but I know this one is different, and not just because he’s Fletcher’s Godson.
Fletcher, Chase, and Stella have always been close; he’s looked up to Chase in a way I know he hasn’t looked up to his other siblings.
Knowing that Chase trusts Fletcher enough to give him this title means the world to him.
I join Fletcher by the front door just in time for it to swing open. Chase looks like he’s on cloud nine as he motions for us to come in.
“Stels has the little guy in the living room. He’s very excited to meet his Uncle Fletcher.”
“His Uncle Fletcher is very excited to meet him,” I whisper. “It’s all we talked about on the drive here.”
We walk into the living room to Stella, bouncing the baby in her arms. She looks beautiful. There’s a glow I’ve never seen before, and her smile is even brighter than usual.
Being a mom already suits her.
“Hi.” She goes to stand up, but Fletcher shakes his head.
“Don’t get up.”
“Do you want to hold him?” she asks, motioning for Chase to come grab the baby as Fletcher nods.
He does just that, bouncing the baby as he walks over to Fletcher.
“Fletcher,” Chase hands him the baby, “I’d like you to meet Theodore Fletcher Reed.”
My hand grabs my chest as Fletcher’s eyes fly up to meet Chase’s.
“You’re lying.” Fletcher takes a step back, staring down at his Godson and then back up at his brother.
“No. We may have been indecisive about a first name for baby boy Reed, but we always knew what his middle name would be.”
Fletcher’s eyes begin to swell with tears.
“You named him after me?”
“It was a no-brainer.” Stella stands up, wrapping her arms around Chase, as they watch Fletcher hold their son.
“Hi, Theo.” Fletcher bounces him. “I’ve been so excited to meet you.” He brushes his hand against Theo’s cheek, a mixture of emotions forming on his face as he holds Theo closer to him.
My stomach drops as I watch them.
Fletcher’s a natural.
Theodore didn’t even stir when Chase handed him to Fletcher.
I may not want kids, but Fletcher deserves to be a dad.
If a part of me didn’t feel that way already, I would feel that way now. Seeing him with Theo is proof that no matter what he says, this is something he wants.
I just don’t know where that leaves us.