Chapter 15
January
“I don’t know why I let you drag me to this shit,” Adam grumbles, as the three of us exit Jace’s car.
My older brother winces as he starts moving, his gait a little off with his prosthetic.
Thankfully, the walkway has been cleaned and salted, so it’s not slippery.
I would never point it out; my older brother just recently began using his prosthetic more, but he looks so much healthier.
He’s put on some weight. Last year, he was almost skeletal, drinking constantly, refusing to go to physical therapy.
His cheek has filled out more, and I’m honestly proud of him.
His accident rocked our world, my world.
To this day, there is still this distance between us that wasn’t there before, as if he feels like he doesn’t belong with Jace and me.
Physically, he looks very much the same as I remember him before he came home from the accident.
Tall, wide-shouldered, thickly muscled. Brown hair.
Dark brown eyes. Emotionally, that’s where he’s changed the most. He’s no longer the funny, charming older brother I remember.
I couldn’t tell the last time he smiled or laughed or even shaved now that I’m looking at him.
Jace grins and shrugs. “I don’t know why you show up.”
Adam sighs. “Because you begged like a little bitch.”
Jace laughs. “Sophia says that to me when I want to eat her—”
“No sex talk right now, Jace. God. It’s barely 10 a.m.”
“That just goes to show how inappropriate your mind is, Cam. I was going to say, ‘When I want to eat her empanadas.’”
“Fine. Sorry I jumped to conclusions.”
“But now that you say it, I do beg during sex. Especially when she gets snarky and bitchy and wants me to—.” He smiles like the man in love that he is.
“When is this oversharing going to stop?” Adam sighs as we reach the wide, wooden double doors.
“Never. I’m marrying the love of my life. Sharing all goddamn day.” Jace replies with another grin.
Out of the three of us, Jace is happy. He and Sophia are officially back together and expecting their first child.
I wish she were here today; she’s always ready to spar with our father, but she’s working at the diner and flat-out told me.
“My heartburn is at 10. I can’t deal with a burning esophagus and your father, Cam.
I’m sending prayers and Hail Marys your way. ”
And we will need it. My father is not speaking to me at the moment.
Not since the day I told him I quit medical school.
The set of doors opens, and we spot our father’s nurse.
He smiles and gives Jace one of those side man hugs.
The fist bump, and I realized Jace knows Father’s live-in nurse well.
Another layer of guilt is added, but then I remind myself for the hundredth time.
He doesn’t want you to know about his life.
I’m surprised to see that it’s not the butler opening the door.
In all our years of growing up, my father lived to show the world our wealth, his wealth.
We had housekeepers and nannies, gardeners, chefs, and drivers.
Looking around the house, it does feel quieter, more like a mausoleum than the bustling mansion it used to be.
No Maria is humming in the kitchen or her husband speaking Spanish as he tells her about his day. Jace and Adam no longer roam the halls.
“How’s Ebenezer Scrooge?” Jace jokes, pulling off his coat.
I laugh at the moniker. Ebenezer Scrooge fits my father to a T. I do the same, removing my thick outer coat.
“Is that a man’s jacket?” He frowns, looking at the jacket I have under my coat.
Fuck. I forgot how I was dressed. I’m wearing Stone’s suit jacket.
It’s become a go-to outfit paired with tights or my paint-splattered wide-leg jeans.
The smell of his cologne is faint, but I don’t care.
I love how it drapes on my body. I don’t know if Jace will recognize it or not, and I panic slightly.
I don’t know why I’ve kept it. Liar, a taunting voice whispers.
Fine. I do understand why I kept it. It smelled like his cologne and like a cat in heat.
I rub my face on the inside cover when I’m alone.
It’s not like I could call him to drop it off.
The man hasn’t been around in weeks. I could have given it to Jace, who certainly has his number, but I kept it like the little kleptomaniac that I am.
His ring is also on a chain around my neck, one that I keep hidden under my clothes.
It hangs between my breasts, and when I’m in the shower, I imagine what it would be like for him to run his hands over my body, covered in tattoos and those bulky silver rings inching down towards my pussy.
What would it feel like for him to finger me with those rings on his knuckles?
I shiver thinking about it and realize that Jace is still watching me, a frown on his face when he looks at the suit jacket.
He’s not stupid. One of the smartest men I know.
Quick. Think, Cam. “Yeah. I got it from a vintage shop.” The lies roll off my tongue easily.
Jace stares at it for a long time, longer than I feel comfortable with. I let out my pent-up breath when he doesn’t say anything more and collects my winter coat, still bundled in my arms, hanging it in the hall closet.
I notice Adam takes his off too, but drapes it over his arm.
He looks ready to leave. Oh boy. Our first monthly brunch is showing all the signs of a shit show.
Our last one was at Christmas, where the only person who talked was Sophia.
My father was irritated, and Adam was angry.
Jace was resigned to it all. Sophia was confused by the dead silence while we ate.
She comes from a very loving Italian Puerto Rican family, where talking is a main meal.
I was wary and nervous to tell my father about medical school.
Everything figuratively caught on fire once I confessed that I dropped out of Medical school, but it really turned to ash once my father started in Adam, abruptly left the table, and stormed out of this very house.
“He’s himself,” Randy quips. “Radiation took a lot out of him yesterday, but today he’s up. Barking orders, demanding answers.”
Adam scoffs, “Sounds about right.”
My only hope is that my father doesn’t start his usual badgering and insulting until after dinner.
I’m starved, and I didn’t sleep well. Last night at the studio, there was another creepy moment that made me freak out a little.
This time it was my car. The seat was all the way back when I slid inside to the point that I couldn’t reach the pedals despite my 5’8 height.
And there was the faintest smell of cherry candy.
The Jolly Rancher type stuff. Tart and sweet.
I could smell smoke too, but not cigarette smoke.
It smelled like incense. Something floral and licorice with a pungent undertone.
Someone had been in my car.
Someone pretty fucking tall had been in my car.
Someone who liked fruity candy, apparently.
I approached Jace and asked him if he had driven my car. He looked at me like I was nuts, asking why he would do that? “I’d just get you a new one. That thing is a vintage piece of junk.”
I couldn’t figure it out. Who the hell had done it?
And how the hell had they gotten in? The door was undamaged.
The windows were intact. And that’s when I noticed my gas tank was full and the crack in my windshield was also fixed.
But the weirdest part was that when I started the engine, it didn’t make the gurgling, rumbling sound like it usually did.
Someone had fixed my car. A stranger who had gained unauthorized access to my car had fixed it.
What were the odds? I debated going to the police, but with what? I couldn’t exactly walk into the precinct with, “So I think my car was broken into, but nothing was stolen. I think the person ate candy and smoked some sort of cigar.” Yeah, that would give the police a lot to go on.
Of course, when I thought about it, I had to admit that the break-in helped. Right?
The sound of a cane thumping on the tile floor drags my focus away from my helpful criminal.
My father approaches, pulling his IV pole with one hand and using a wooden cane with his other.
The old rolling casters sound eerie in the cavernous hall.
He looks older than his 65 years, pale with tired eyes.
His body is stooped, frail. A dark beanie covers his balding head, and a thick sweater hangs off his lean frame.
Dark pants and a pair of shiny loafers cover his feet.
He stops and looks at all three of us. His eyes scan, searching for what I don’t know, probably some flaw he finds distasteful.
His eyes settle on me, pausing and then focusing on the two of his children he finds less offensive, and I wilt a little at the dismissal, but then straighten my spine, not letting him see how it bothers me.
“You’re late.”
“Nice to see you too, Father. If we are too late for brunch, we can leave.” Jace ignores the statement, raising a brow. I hide my grin. Sophia is rubbing off on him more and more.
Jefferey interrupts and heads to my father. “You were supposed to stay and not move the IV.” He checks the bag, and I wonder if it’s medication or hydration. My medical school skills come back.
Tae Park frowns at Randy, “I didn’t know I had to sit like a lap dog and wait.”
Randy laughs, not taking offense. He’s probably used to my father’s caustic disdain. His skin would have to be thick. “Let’s go. The food is waiting and you need to eat.”
My father doesn’t say a word, walking away as Randy follows, rolling the IV alongside him.
“Remind me again why I’m here?” Adam grumbles, the tendon in his jaw pulsing.