“He’s up there sleeping off his latest obsessive...” She trails off and waves a hand around like that will explain it.
It does—his beautiful brain needs time to recover.
“Oh.” I shouldn’t feel bad that that means he probably won’t make it to lunch, or to the game later. I really shouldn’t care about my fucking games at this point.
Fuck, I’m only twenty-three and already jaded. I have to snap the hell out of this funk.
“He’ll wake up in time for the game, honey, don’t worry.”
“Yeah, no. I’m not worried.” She plops down on the sofa and the look on her face tells me she’s about to start a conversation I definitely don’t want to have, so I deflect. “How did it go last month when Wolf and CJ came to visit?”
Getting Mom to talk about my oldest cousin is a surefire way of distracting her, and it’s not like I’m uninterested in what Wolf got up to while he was here.
“It was so nice having them here for a couple of weeks. I’m still butthurt that they won’t come for Thanksgiving, but we’re thinking Christmas since Vinny and Si are coming to play against Brooklyn on the twenty-third. And you’ll be down in DC, won’t you? I checked your schedule. I think we can get the whole clan together.”
“Dad, Ally, Uncle Paul, and Aunt Elle too?”
Keep talking about other people, keep talking about other people.
“Yes, they’re all making plans now. Lottie’s team is playing a home game on the twenty-third, so she can hop on a quick flight with Colin too.”
“That’s great. What about Derek and Hawk?” I ask about my other cousin and his professional footballer husband—the last few years Derek has had to play on Christmas, so it’s a real toss-up, and I don’t keep up with the NFL, even the team I share a city with.
“The Warriors aren’t playing on Christmas this year!” Mom cheers.
“And she won’t stop smiling about it.” Michael’s voice comes from behind us.
I turn with a smile ready—much more genuine than it was those first few months after I met him. He rounds the couch and I stand to give him a quick hug.
“How’s it going?”
“All good,” he assures me and claps me twice on the shoulder. “You?”
“Same.”
And with Michael here as even more of a buffer, it’s easier to keep Mom’s worries at bay.
“I’m thinking about spending a few weeks in California in the new year. I want to check up on Hawk and Wolf, you know? I don’t think they call your father enough, and you know how he is, never wants to be a nuisance.” She rolls her eyes fondly, but I actually know Dad’s not like that at all, cause he won’t stop being on my ass about the team.
I’m not going to tell her that, though.
As I listen intently to her plans—which I’m sure will include checking on me again—I focus most of my energy on staying relaxed, on not showing in any way how much I need to go up a flight of stairs, how much I want to make sure with my own eyes that Eli is resting.
I make it through the two hours of catching up, and hearing all about their day-to-day lives, then I also survive our very late lunch.
I thank Sam for the food, and soon enough Mom and I are standing by the front door.
“Good luck tonight, baby. We’ll see you after the game. And call your brother, yeah? He won’t tell you but he’s worried about you.”
Oh, he’s told me.
I definitely don’t tell her that.
“He and Si have been extra busy with the build of their house, and of course I’ll make a pit stop in Vegas to help out in January, but he does miss you, you know?”
“I know, Mom. I’ll call him. See you later.” I kiss her cheek, and before I can book it out of there, she grips my arm, too tight to be casual, and suddenly I know whatever she’s going to tell me, I’m not going to like it.
“He’s been doing worse, Lex. This weekend he barely ate, didn’t sleep at all on Saturday and Sunday. We know it’s just the way he is, but I know he misses you.” There’s no way to play stupid here.
