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Standing, I pushed away my plate and headed outside.
Chapter 28: Ethan
Present Day
"What’s up, fucker?"
"Jack, good to see you too," I chuckled as I settled into the chair across from my brother in his office located within the luxury real estate business my father had founded. "What’s new with you? I haven’t seen you since I got back from Ireland."
"You mean the trip where you left and didn’t tell me where you went, causing me to call a wellness check on you and the police to break down your apartment door?"
I chuckled as he walked to a cabinet in the corner and grabbed a bottle of whiskey, pouring two glasses to the brim. "Yeah, that one. You know I had to pay a locksmith to fix my door. I thought I could do it myself, but the cops jacked it up.”
I took the glass of amber liquid that he handed to me but didn’t take a sip. After my night of binge drinking when I found Jake’s letter, whiskey, and any alcohol for that matter, caused my stomach to churn and me to remember the pain I’d felt reading his final words and the regret I’d felt ending things with Sasha.
Sasha.
I willed my mind not to think of her. It’d been a brutal week and a half since I saw her last. The look of pain and heartbreak in her eyes when I’d stopped by her condo to end things replayed in my mind like a horror movie. And though I’d driven past her condo a few times since, I’d forced myself to not get out of my car and knock on her door. It wasn’t fair for me to drag her back into things. Not when I was still a broken mess.
“You deserved that. You should have told me you were leaving,” Jack stated.
“You’re right. I’m sorry for that.”
"Work has been busy, the usual. Devonna and I are talking about marriage and kids," he waved his hand nonchalantly.
"Wow, I’m happy for you, bro. That’s a big deal."
He smiled, and I could tell though Jack played things cool, he was excited too.
"So, what’s new with you? I know you didn’t stop by here just to see me. We could have done that outside of the office like usual where you wouldn’t chance a run in with dad."
Jack was right, I had avoided my father’s luxury real estate business since returning from deployment at the chance of running into him. Things between us had never been the same since he avoided my graduation and evaded Jake’s funeral. The hurt and rejection I’d felt at the lack of his support had not been something I’d been able to recover from. I’d missed holidays, birthdays and any other situation that would have required a potential run in with him. Holding on to my bitterness and anger.
"I was actually hoping to see Dad."
"Shit," Jack let out a low breath as he sipped from his glass. "What happened?"
"Got an undelivered letter from Jake a week ago. It resurfaced some old wounds, and I realized I needed to deal with this stuff instead of running from it since it sabotaged my new relationship. The more I let it fester, the more it starts to control my life."
I pushed the letter I’d been carrying around with me since the day I received it across the table to Jack, who took it, opened it, and read it. When he finished, he placed it back in the envelope and passed it across his desk.
"I’m sorry, Ethan. You know I never understood why Mom and Dad hadn’t been more supportive of your decision to enlist. It was an honorable one. And though I’d thought it would be fun to work with you, not everyone has the same dreams and goals. I’ve always been proud of you."
"Thanks, Jack."
“Dad’s not here today, but I bet you can catch him at home. He took the day off because the weather was nice."
I nodded.
"So, what are you going to do?" he asked.
That was a good question.
"I think I’ll go pay our parents a visit."
Chapter 29:Ethan
It had been well over eight months since I’d seen my parents last and as I made my way downtown to their familiar row house, my mind reeled at what I would say.
