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I nodded. I was okay now that he was here. And even more okay with Theo and Thomas being here, too, even if I was nervous as hell about my parents’ reactions. I knew Thomas and Theo would never let anything happen to me. And if my parents didn’t like what we were doing, they would protect me from their animosity.
Thomas carded his fingers through my dark curls. “You okay, Noah baby?”
“Noah baby?” Dad asked, looking between the four of us. He set his spatula down, frowning at us. I swallowed thickly, and sensing my distress, Thomas circled his arms around me from behind, swallowing me up with his much larger frame.
“Noah is our boyfriend,” Thomas said coolly. His tone practically dared my dad to say something he didn’t like. “Is that a problem?”
“Wait—the four of you are together?” Mom asked, her eyes flicking between us. Excitement lit up her features, which was not the reaction I’d been expecting. “Oh, my God, it’s like those romance novels except it’s real! Go you, baby!” she gushed, giving me a thumbs-up.
Could a hole open up and swallow me whole now? My cheeks were on fire, and I couldn’t meet her eyes anymore.
Thomas chuckled and pressed a kiss to the top of my head, making my blush deepen. “Is this what had you so worked up?” Dad asked, setting a plate of eggs and pancakes in front of me. Thomas released me so I could sit up, but he grabbed the syrup bottle from my dad and smothered everything on my plate with it, just how I liked. Then, he proceeded to cut up my pancakes for me.
“Yeah,” I murmured with a sheepish shrug. I should’ve known my parents would’ve seen right through my mask to the mini-freak-out session I’d been internally having. “I wasn’t sure if you two would be supportive, and it was making me panic.”
Dad sighed. “As long as it’s not drugs, prostitution, or jail time, kid, we support you in whatever,” he reminded me. “Always have. Always will.”
I smiled at him then, his words meaning more to me than he could ever know.
Danny’s phone went off in his pocket, and he pulled it out. His jaw clenched, and he took a step back. “I need to take this.”
“Danny—” Theo started, gripping his arm. I set my fork down, worry tightening my chest. Something was wrong—really wrong.
Danny shrugged him off, a steely glint in his eyes. “I need to handle this.” Theo clenched his jaw but let him go, knowing when to push and when to just let things be when it came to Danny. And right then, he needed to just let things be.
I frowned after Danny as he left the room. When I looked at Theo, he sighed. “His mom.”
Oh, no.
I looked at Mom. “Did you text his mom?” I asked, no longer hungry. Danny was about to get ripped apart.
“Of course, I did,” she said, confused, her brows furrowing and her lips tugging down at the corners. Dad pressed a hand to the small of her back. “I wanted to share the good news. Was it not good news to share?”
Theo clenched his jaw. He knew that Danny’s parents wouldn’t be accepting of us. I didn’t know how he knew, but he did. Maybe Danny had told him.
“No,” Theo said quietly, his eyes staring after where Danny had disappeared into my room. “Not for them, it wasn’t.”
I slid off my barstool. Thomas gripped my shoulder, bringing me to a halt. “Let him have his space to deal with this, baby,” Thomas said gently.
I shook my head, shrugging off his hand. “Danny is going to need someone.”
With that, I headed into the bedroom. Only I was too late, and my heart broke at the sight of him.
Danny was leaning against the side of my bed, tears streaking down his face, his phone dangling from his fingers, the call ended. When he saw me, he sobbed, his expression crumbling. I rushed forward and sank to the floor beside him, curling my body around his as much as I could.
“I’m here,” I whispered, burying my face in his hair. He sobbed. “I’m here. You’ll always have me.”
He twisted his fingers in my shirt and proceeded to cry his broken heart out.
CHAPTER 15
Theo
“Are they okay, do you think?” Noah’s mom whispered, worry etched into her eyes. She wrung her hands. “I didn’t—I thought?—”
“I know you didn’t mean any harm,” my brother soothed her. It was best if I kept my mouth shut because I was fucking feeling volatile. My boy was no doubt hurting because people just couldn’t be fucked to keep their mouths shut. That hadn’t been her business to share. “But I think we need some time to take care of Danny. Would it be possible for you two to come back tomorrow?”
“Of course,” she rushed out. “Please tell Danny I’m sorry. I didn’t know I was doing something wrong.”
