Page 114 of Gravity

“I said. Sit. Down.”

Doing as he’s told, Asher sits, and I head on over to Mom and pull her in for a hug. “You okay?”

“Fine. He’s not been here long, but I can’t look at him, Nora. I can’t look at my own son.” Her words come out in an unsteady breath as she tries to control her emotions. I’m about to respond when Asher’s disapproving tone filters around us, sounding drunker than he was this morning.

"Mom, are you really going to let him in our house knowing how he's betrayed us? Knowing that he's fucking your daughter?" He laughs, yet everyone around him just watches as he gets off on his amusement.

Looking at him now, it becomes clear that I no longer recognize the brother I once knew. Everything about him seems broken. He’s a mess, and my heart aches for him because all he has to do is say the words, and we’ll get him the help he needs.

But the part of me that is still mourning my father, the part that is broken beyond repair due to the way Asher has behaved, is the one that is stronger than anything right now. And as much as I want to try and control that for Asher because I know he needs the support, I can’t help the way I feel.

Call me selfish.

Call me a stupid girl.

I don’t care.

My heart is fractured too, and right now, I don’t think I will ever be able to move past the damage he has caused without expressing to him just how much he has shattered me with his behavior.

Before I have a chance to say anything in response to his remark, Mom moves past me and replies.

"First of all, this is my house. I choose who is allowed to step foot through the door. Second, that man there”—she points to Grayson— “loves your sister like she is pure gold, and his love for her shows more and more each passing day. But most importantly, Asher, how dare you have the audacity to say he's betrayed us when you're the one that has been elsewhere when we needed you. Your father would not be proud. And right now, neither am I."

He studies her for a moment, and there’s a slight shift in his eyes. She’s hit a nerve and he doesn’t like that. Maybe that’s the way we need to proceed—hitting him where we know it will hurt—but what good will that do other than drive him to drink more?

I’m so confused. My head is pounding.

“So, you’re telling me that you’re happy about this, Mom? He’s older than me. Why can’t you see how fucking wrong this is?”

“When two people care and love each other as these two do, then nothing else matters. Age means nothing. I see no wrong in Grayson and Nora’s love, and neither should you.”

Taking another swig of his vodka, he shoots Grayson a glare. “You promised me once you’d always be there for her.”

“I have been.”

“By getting your dick wet?” He sits forward. “Why her? Why, out of all the women who are out there, did you have to bed the one closest to home?”

“Because I love her.”

“Because you love her?” He mocks, finding that more hilarious than anyone else. It’s like he’s oblivious to the reality—the fact we are all mad with him—and is trying to get us to crack a joke with him. Suddenly, he regains his composure, taking a long pull of his vodka and almost finishing the bottle.

His bloodshot eyes fix on mine, and a cold, hard look of disapproval stares back at me. “I don’t know who I feel more betrayed by. Him or you.”

His comment surprises me, not because of the words he has spoken, but because of the one person he’s still not acknowledged. It’s like Dad never existed to him, or he’s trying to avoid the questions and the answers we are all waiting for because it will open up wounds he’s trying to seal closed with a poison that will only kill him should he continue. From the corner of my eye, I can see Grayson is growing more and more uncomfortable with watching Asher pour the neat alcohol down his throat. I can see he is itching to reach out and help him—to voice his concerns to his friend once more, yet knowing it will be a waste of time.

Something needs to change, and it is down to Asher to make it.

But as my brother stares at me, trying to point the blame in anyone’s direction but his own, I can’t hold back over this any longer.

I step closer to the table, my heart racing because he’s unpredictable. "What did you expect, Asher? For years, you've wrapped me up in a band-aid I never needed, dragged me away from situations I needed to experience, and let every man in Chesapeake know who I belong to. Grayson is the only man you've ever allowed me to be around, and because of that, I fell in love with him."

"Enough!" he roars, slamming the bottle on the table, causing me to flinch. Grayson comes up behind me, lacing his fingers with mine. The support makes me feel stronger than ever, and I’m thankful that he hasn’t stepped in. He’s had his fight with Asher, Mom has had her words with her son, and now—regardless of the slap I gave him—it’s time for me to get everything off my chest. Grayson knows this, and I believe Mom does too.

The words that come from my brother next change something inside of me, and I suddenly don’t care what he’s going through when he brings up Dad.

"You know what, Nora,” he grumbles, tilting his head at me and giving a look that tells me he’s going to try and break me down with whatever falls from his mouth. “By going with Gray, you've destroyed everything that Pop thought of his precious daughter."

I detest the fact that I inwardly smirk at his comment. This is not the time to score points, but the fact that I can shut him down on this one makes me feel so much better. “You’re wrong, and do you know why you are?”