8. Ari
EIGHT
ARI
“Are you going to tell me where you were yesterday? Or are you going to take it to your grave?” I asked Warren as soon as we sat down with some pizza and beer.
It had been a really busy day at the outreach van, and I needed to unwind. If only I didn’t have my stupid friend to worry about.
“I told you, it was nothing. My battery dropped, so I couldn't message you to tell you I was going to be out," he replied.
"Hmm," I said, and stared closer at him.
Considering most phones used the same charger nowadays and the world was full of outlets, that sounded a lot like bullshit.
What was he hiding from me and why didn't he want to tell me?
It wasn't like him to keep secrets. He had always shared about his conquests and his one-night stands, though never in excruciating detail.
I didn't need to know the ins and outs of a straight situationship, but he had never been like this before.
I wondered what the hell he was doing that he didn't feel like sharing with his best friend.
“I'll talk about it when I'm ready. Why are you so pressed?” Warren asked.
I shook my head and took a bite of my four-cheese pizza, sighing.
I didn't know why I cared. It wasn't as if I’d been fully honest with him either. It wasn't as if I shared everything with him. Like a certain silver fox he was related to.
Gosh, what was it about Wyatt Goodman that I couldn't take my mind off him? Every waking moment, every second I spent not doing anything physically, my mind drifted to the handsome man who looked at me as if he wanted me.
No.
As if he needed me.
I couldn't be thinking like that. My heart wasn't available; it couldn't be. I'd spent so long in solitude, committed to Evan’s memory, that I'd never allowed myself to even flirt with the idea of being with another man. I had never even been tempted.
And yet now, all this time later, I managed to feel something, and it was for my best friend's brother. Yeah, maybe it was best if Warren didn't tell me where he was yesterday and the night before, because then it would mean I would have to tell him my secret.
“I’m not pressed. I just worry about you. You know I’m a worrier.”
He put his hand on top of mine and patted it a couple of times with casual comfort that had become so commonplace between us since Evan died.
“You don’t need to worry about me. You know I can take care of myself,” he said.
I rolled my eyes. “Isn’t that what your brother always says, and it annoys the hell out of you?” He nodded. “Where did that get him?”
Warren pulled back and glared at the table for a moment. “You do have a point.”
“I always do.” I smirked and picked up a slice to devour. “Any news about the investigation? Wyatt said the detectives wanted to talk to him yesterday.”
"Actually, yes," Warren said. "They've dropped the charges. They couldn't match the ballistics to Wyatt's weapon, and it turned out his watch had monitored his sleep. So they've cleared him—for now, anyway. But I don't think this is over. I don't think any of this is over.”
I dropped my slice of pizza and took a swig of my beer, pondering over his words before I said, "If what you've told me about this island and the criminal organization is real, then I'm not surprised. I just hope Wyatt is okay. He's already got so much shit to deal with. Poor guy."
What was I doing? Why was I talking about Wyatt's well-being? Why was I talking about him, full stop? I shouldn't care. I was a married man. For fuck's sake, what was wrong with me?
"Yeah, I know. He’s taken the whole world on his shoulders. I don’t know how he does it sometimes. How he gets through each day.”
I licked my lips in thought before I said, “Maybe I should check up on him, huh? See if he needs some extra support.”
Warren laughed. “The guy is a closed book. You think he’ll open up to you?”
“Sometimes people tend to be more vulnerable with strangers than their friends and family.” I shrugged.
It was worth a try, even if I was anxious about being anywhere near Wyatt. The way this man was haunting me was unreal. I shouldn’t have been trying to spend more time with him. I should’ve been running the other way.
“Do what you feel is right. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, though. Wyatt is a very private person. And he’s gone even more into his shell since the murder.”
I pressed my lips together and nodded. “That’s understandable. It’s a lot to take in and process for anyone.”
Warren shrugged. “Yeah, well, he’s only going to get worse until this ends. And something tells me it won’t end well. I have a very bad feeling about all this.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You do? What kind of bad feeling?”
Warren towered over his plate and inhaled deeply. “This thing my brother started is a war. A full-fledged war. I can’t help but feel there’ll be casualties.”
A shiver coursed through my spine. These were terrifying words to say out loud. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how it felt to experience them. What Wyatt must’ve been going through living through this…mess.
If there was one thing I knew about war, it was that they always had innocent victims. That was the scariest part. I might not have had experience with battlefields—that had been Evan’s territory—but I knew that much.
“Do you think we can help somehow?”
Warren rubbed a hand over his mouth and beard and sighed. “I don’t know. I don’t know,” he mumbled. “I just know I need to be here for my brother. I know that much."
I couldn’t even fathom the idea of the scale of this conflict. Of who could get hurt and the extent of this Wilson guy’s power. Was everyone in danger, or just Wyatt’s little team of men. What about my patients? Was everyone on this island in danger? Were Warren and I?
"This might be a stupid thing to say, but…can't we go to this man and tell him—promise him—that we’ll drop this whole thing, this investigation, if he leaves everyone alone?”
Warren smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.
"I don't think so, Ari. Maybe before he revealed himself, but now he has—and he knows that Wyatt is thirsty to bring him down—I don't think that’d be wise. Or that it would achieve anything. He's a dangerous man in a dangerous position who wants to keep doing dangerous things so that he can make more money. He’s unstoppable, especially now he’s got the key to the island. "
He put his beer down and looked at the ceiling as if searching for answers. "I just hope nothing happens to Wyatt. He doesn't deserve this. He's a good man trying to do good in this world. I hate what is happening to him. I hate what's happening here and that I didn't come sooner. Maybe if I had—"
I grabbed his hand and squeezed it, searching his eyes. “Don’t beat yourself up about this. You couldn’t have known what was happening. You said it yourself. You two don’t have the closest relationship, so how could you know?”
He looked at me and pressed his lips together. “Which is exactly why I need to be there for him now. I’ve already lost my parents. I can’t lose him too. I…I…just can’t.”
“You won’t.” I squeezed his hand again.
“You don’t know that.”
I nodded. “You’re right. I don’t. All we can do is be there for him to help him in every way we can. A burden shared is a burden halved.”
He laughed and pulled his hand back. “He’s used to being the one helping. He will never admit he needs help.”
“He doesn’t have to admit it. We know he does, and if we’re there for him, then he’ll have no choice but to lean on us.”
Us? Where the hell had that come from? We were talking about how Warren could be there for his brother.
“Sorry. I meant you. Lean on you.”
He nodded, and his eyes narrowed. His lips turned into a thin line that curved to the side.
“What?” I asked.
His left eyebrow rose. “Is it me, or do you have a thing for my brother?”
“Me?” I choked a laugh and pushed my chair back. “Why would you say that? I don’t even know the guy.” I could barely articulate my sentence without scoffing.
Good job, Ari. That must be so convincing. Losing your composure at the mention of liking Wyatt.
“I don’t know.” He shrugged and leaned back on his chair. “You seem very attached to him for someone you don’t know.”
I opened my mouth to answer when Warren spoke again.
“Besides, since when does one need to know someone to have a thing for them?”
I laughed again. I was really good at this, wasn’t I? Hiding my attraction for Warren’s brother.
God, I’m so out of practice.
I needed to pull myself together. This was so unlike me.
Deep breaths, Ari. Deep breaths.
“I don’t have a thing for him. I’m a doctor. I’m attached to everyone. I care about people, you know.”
Warren rolled his eyes, and I couldn’t blame him. Even I didn’t buy that.
“He’s your brother. Of course I care about his well-being. That’s all it is.”
Who cared, anyway? It wasn’t as if being interested in Wyatt would lead to anything. The man was probably straight, and if not, it didn’t mean he’d be interested in me. Even if he was, I was off the table. My heart was already spoken for and that was that.
Warren didn’t say anything. His gaze lowered to his plate, and he tried to pick up a slice but dropped it straight away and grabbed his stomach instead.
“I’m hungry, but I can’t even eat anymore,” he said. “I’m so worried.”
I got off my chair and walked the short distance behind my friend and put my arms around him. “It’s perfectly understandable,” I whispered.
Warren grabbed one arm and leaned on it. “I just…I don’t want to lose my brother. And it feels like I am. I feel it in my gut. This isn’t going to end well for him.”
I didn’t say anything. What could I say that wouldn’t be a lie? I couldn’t guarantee Wyatt’s safety no more than I could guarantee my cancer patients were going to beat cancer.
“I feel so helpless,” he said.
“I’m sorry,” I exhaled and kissed the back of his head.
I wished I could say more. Make a promise. Reassure him that it was all going to turn out okay, but I was helpless.
Not as helpless as Wyatt probably was, but helpless, nonetheless. Which was why we needed to make an effort to be there for him.
He.
Warren.
Warren needed to be there for him. Not me. I was no one when it came to Wyatt. Even if, sometimes, I got carried away and wanted to be everything to him.