It wasn’t as a brother.
It was as that soul’s connection based in love.
The wrong kind of love.
“I’m sorry,” Callen whispered.
Gene peeked his head in.
“We have a second room. It’s across the hall, so you can make sure he’s okay. Need my help?”
Oh, he could say that.
Ethan didn’t know how to deal with this, and in that moment, he swore he’d take this to his grave. That his half-brother was sexually attracted to him was a huge problem. That in his youth, he’d felt those same things, and would have explored them…
More problems.
Only, now, he was in a relationship, and what Callen had told him…it was something that couldNEVERhappen.
Ethan didn’t cheat.
And he couldn’t be that taboo.
“Yeah, help me get him to bed. I’ll get him dressed,” he said.
And they did.
Together, they got Callen into clothes and bundled into a jacket. Then, Gene hoisted him onto his shoulder, and that was no easy task.
Callen Whitefox was a big man, height wise.
Somehow, a drugged up Gene managed to get him into the back seat of their rental, and they got on their way.
And this was a circus.
Oh, what a hot mess express this night had become.
As Ethan drove, he knew this was ridiculousness times twenty. Here he was, back inDamascuswith his drunk brother confessing his love for him, his gay significant other, and while working a case.
Oh, how could this go wrong?
As Callen was fully passed out in the back seat, they pulled into the parking lot.
And Ethan began laughing.
And laughing.
And laughing.
Oh, well, this was problematic for Gene. He wasn’t sure if Ethan found this funny, or he was having a mental breakdown. It was a damn bad time to be as high as a kite on pain meds.
His brain was slow and he wasn’t able to rationalize a whole lot that he’d seen and overheard.
“And this is why I avoid this town,” Ethan stated. “This isEXACTLYwhy I can’t keep coming back here,” he admitted.
Gene started laughing too.
“It’s like a telenovela,” he said, wiping his eyes. “Is it the meds? Is that why I’m living this?” he asked, snorting. “Because I think all of this has to be the meds. Right?”
