Page 28 of Eddie

“Did you call him?”

Eddie glared. “I got up late because I barely slept last night, so no. I didn’t have time.”

Valentine hummed as he took a sip of coffee. It was clear there was something he wanted to say, and Eddie was pretty sure he wouldn’t like it, but also that he needed to hear it. He didn’t want to, though. Valentine would be smug about it, but Eddie would know he was right, and right now, he wanted to wallow.

He sighed and took a sip of coffee, letting its warmth comfort him. “What?”

Valentine grinned. “I’m glad you asked.”

“I’m already regretting it.”

“Well, it’s too late to pull back now. It’s just that you’re complaining that Matthias has been focused on his family instead of you and that he hasn’t called you.”

“I’m not lying.”

“I get that, but you also said that you didn’t call him. Relationships are two-way streets.”

“I agree with that. My problem here is that I feel like I’m making him my priority, but he’s not doing the same.”

“Because he’s dealing with his family. You’re his mate, so he knows that you’re not going anywhere, or at least you’re not supposed to. That’s probably why he’s so relaxed.”

Eddie blinked. He hadn’t actually thought of that, but he should have. “He asked me to wait for him, though. If he already thought I would, why did he do that?”

“To reassure himself. Look, I don’t know what’s going on with his family. I have even less details than you do. I do know that families are messy and complicated, and that sometimes, you can’t see beyond what’s happening with them. They’re the people Matthias grew up with. They’re the people he’s been taking care of for years.”

“They take advantage of him. He’s their bank and their parent rolled into one.”

“Someone should put a stop to that, but I get why it’s not easy when it’s what he’s known for so long, especially since his parents are involved. Have you offered to help him with them?”

“What could I do? As you just pointed out, I don’t know them. I don’t think Matthias wants me anywhere near them.”

“Okay, but have you asked him? Have you told him that you could go to him if he needs you to? That you’re willing to help however you can? Because that would probably make him come here faster.”

“What can I do, though? I doubt his brother will listen to me if I tell him to stop being an idiot.” Eddie thought back to when he’d met Jenna. Well, he hadn’t really met her. They’d been standing in the same parking lot, and he’d felt Jenna watching him, but that was about it. The way she’d reacted had unsettled Eddie. She’d been dismissive when it came to Matthias. It had been obvious that she wanted Eddie, or at least what she could see of him, even though it was clear that Matthias was involved. She hadn’t gotten far—Eddie wouldn’t have let her—but it had been far enough. Eddie had felt a little like a toy between two siblings. He was sure that if the situation had been different, Jenna would have hit on him, no matter what Matthias said.

And those were the kinds of people Matthias was worried about and cared so much about. Valentine was right, though. Families were messy and complicated, and Eddie barely knew anything about this one. He barely knew anything about Matthias. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t be willing to help him.

But he hadn’t offered, had he? Matthias had said he’d come back to Green Hill, and Eddie had been waiting for him. He wasn’t sure there was anything he could do, but he could at least offer. He could ask more questions and find out more about what was going on. Eddie wanted them to be together, but he wasn’t doing anything that would help with that. He was letting Matthias deal with all of this on his own, and while that made sense because it was Matthias’s family, maybe there was more that Eddie could do.

“I don’t know what you can do,” Valentine said. “But I know that you can at least try to do something.”

He was right. Eddie had needed to hear that, and while feeling like he’d been lectured made him grumpy, he was also glad for it. He and Matthias weren’t out of the woods yet, but at least now, Eddie had an idea what his next step would be. He didn’t have to sit at home and wait.

MATTHIAS FELT LIKE killing someone this morning, but no one would blame him after the night he’d had, and if they did, well, Matthias was willing to trade places with them. He would like to see someone else be woken up at two in the morning because his brother was blackout drunk and needed a ride home. When Matthias had told Noah to figure it out himself, Noah had cheerfully announced that he’d found his car keys. That had been enough to scare Matthias and send him running out of bed.

By the time he’d picked up Noah, dropped him off at home, and gotten back to his apartment, it had been almost five. He’d tried going back to sleep, but his mother had called at seven, asking him why Noah had been sleeping on the porch. Apparently, Matthias should’ve taken him inside and put him to bed, something Noah should be able to do by himself, considering he was in his twenties. Matthias had hung up, something he knew he’d pay for, but he hadn’t cared. He still didn’t care as he parked in front of the house he’d grown up in and stared at it.

This was it. What had happened last night, especially after his conversation with Eddie, was the straw that broke the camel’s back. He’d always known he needed to set boundaries and make sure his family respected them, but he never had before because he’d known they wouldn’t. He knew that this time, too, but it wasn’t just him anymore. It was him and Eddie, and even though Matthias wasn’t willing to fight for himself, he was willing to fight for Eddie. Eddie wanted him, so he would have him. If that meant that Matthias had to cut contact with his family, he would.

But he’d give them one last chance before he did that. Maybe they’d understand. Maybe they’d finally realize how badly they’d been treating him and would change.

Matthias snorted at his thoughts. Sure they would. Even if he told them he was going no-contact because they were assholes, they’d argue and find excuses, especially his mother. She’d want to know who would help Jenna and Noah if Matthias wasn’t there. She’d want to know who would give her money for groceries when she gave everything she earned to Noah and didn’t have enough to feed them. Matthias didn’t want his family to go hungry, but he also didn’t want to lose Eddie. If he had to choose between the two, well, he’d already made his choice, hadn’t he? He hadn’t been behaving as if he had, and that was why he was here today.

He glanced at his phone. He hadn’t managed to call Eddie this morning between the night he’d had and the argument with his mother. He’d texted Eddie before leaving home, but Eddie hadn’t answered. He was at work, but part of Matthias wondered if Eddie had reached the end of his patience. Last night, he’d told Matthias he’d wait for him, but maybe he’d changed his mind. If he had, Matthias would have to get him to change it back because he wasn’t giving up. Hearing how badly Eddie felt about all of this had made Matthias’s priorities clear. Eddie came before anyone else, even though they’d only met a few weeks ago. Their bond was too important for Matthias to allow his family to win this.

He didn’t text Eddie again, even though he wanted to. He wanted to tell him what he was about to do and get some support, but this was something he needed to do on his own. It was his family, his mess. He was sure that Eddie would be happy to help him pick up the pieces once this was over, but for now, this was Matthias’s problem to solve.

He was sure that everyone was home. It was still early for his mother to go to work, and Jenna had to be sleeping after her shift last night. Noah didn’t have anywhere else to go, and as for their father, well, he hadn’t worked in decades. Where else would he be? It was too early to go to the bar.