“Wait out here with them, okay?”
As I start to pull back, his hand darts out and grabs my wrist. “North…”
I can tell he wants to say it, those three words, but I don’t want to hear them now. I don’t want that first time to be part of all this. “Later.”
He nods, squeezes my wrist, then lets me go.
It doesn’t take long to get to the apartment, but right before I step through the door, I get a whiff of something intense, like orange oil. Then, when I turn the corner to the living room, my breath catches in my chest.
It’s a total disaster. She’s pulled all the photos and books off the shelves, ripped the cushions off the couch, and broughtout her blankets from her bedroom. She’s standing over the small mountain of fabric, shaking what looks like a small vial of essential oil over everything.
“Mom.”
She doesn’t look over. Her movements are ragged and almost frantic.
“Mom!”
She doesn’t look over, but she does mutter something about matches and cleansing fire, which makes me realize I can’t fix this on my own. And as guilty as I feel, I have no choice but to make the call.
Luckily, I don’t need to use the main emergency line and instead tap the contact of the one person who can help fix this without making a big scene.
“Camilo,” I breathe out when I hear his voice answer.
“North?”
“I need help. Uh…it’s my mom. And it’s bad.”
“Tell me where you are and who I need to send.”
I think I love him for more than just being a good boss right now. “Is Axel on call? I think this is something for psych, and an ambulance might be best. But, uh…you might want to come along too. She might fight them, and I don’t want her to get hurt.”
“Text me the address,” Camilo says. “And don’t leave the scene.”
“Don’t worry,” I answer with a sigh, watching her rearrange a few cushions. “I’m not going anywhere.”
My attention is on the SUV with the station logo that’s pulling up in the emergency lane. Camilo isn’t alone. I see Easton’s curlsbefore I see his face, but he’s out of his door and rushing toward me before I really have time to react.
I don’t know why I’m expecting a punch, but he drags me into a hug instead, holding me tight enough that some of the tension leaves my body.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers, voice ragged. “I’m so fucking sorry. I didn’t mean to be such a dick. I had no idea this was going on.”
“It’s fine. I didn’t actually know this was happening until she called,” I say as I pull back from him.
Easton nods, then looks over his shoulder, where Leo’s sitting on the curb with Westin and Henry. “This is a real thing, isn’t it? You and my brother?”
This isn’t the time or place for this conversation, but it’s going to be a minute before the ambulance gets here, so why the fuck not. “Yeah. It is.”
“Like…”
I pass a hand down my face and groan. “Like I’m madly in love with him, okay? And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but it also wasn’t your business while we were trying to figure out what we were doing.”
“Enough canoodling,” Camilo says before Easton can answer me. He sets a hand on my shoulder. “Tell me what’s going on.”
It takes me a moment to get all of it out, but once I do, I feel a bit more unburdened. “Do you want to go talk to her?” I ask.
Camilo’s face shutters, and then he nods. “Yeah.” He looks over at Easton. “Go check on North’s sister and make sure she doesn’t need transport.”
Easton nods and squeezes my hand before letting go. “I’ll take care of her.”
