Page 43 of The Sound of Him

There’s a pause before he makes a soft sound in his throat. “Dammit, I just made a second touchy-feely moment by calling you my brother, didn’t I?”

“Yeah. Yeah, you kind of did.”

“Can we skip over that one too?”

I laugh, relieved. “Yeah, we can.”

“Thank fuck.” He releases a sharp hiss, something he rarely does after taking a drink. He must have tapped into the strong stuff tonight. “I’m going to run for president.”

That’s… random. “Oh?”

“I’m going to make a law where you’re allowed to lock up little brothers to keep them safe.”

I fight another smirk. “That’s a very specific law.”

“I’m going to be a very specific kind of president.”

That’s… fair. “Well, I’ll vote for you.”

“Gee, thanks.” He sighs. “Alright. Okay. He can go with Travis. You’ll track them, right?”

“I will track the shit out of them, don’t worry.”

“And remind him that if he dies-”

“You’ll kill him,” I finish. “I doubt he’d forget, but I’ll remind him again anyway.”

“What about you?”

I frown. “What about me?”

“You know - your feelings or whatever. You doing okay?”

It’s not the first time he’s ever asked me how I’m doing. The man raised me, after all. He’s also incredibly good at pretending to be normal when he has to be. He’s probably only asking now because he knows he’s supposed to.

Still, it’s nice.

“Ellis Woods hit me hard, too. And I’m worried about Maison and Travis and Carter and-”Matt, despite barely even knowing him. “-the rest of them. I’m worried about Keaton, too.”

“This is when Adam would say something annoying like ‘but I asked aboutyou’,” he points out.

“Which is exactly why I’m avoiding Adam like the plague.”

“Ah, I’ve taught you well, then.”

“Just about everything I know.”

“Jesus. The fact you’re not more fucked up is a miracle, you know that?”

“Um. Thank you?”

“Just… get some rest kid. You’ve never been good at that.”

I don’t make eye contact with the empty coffee mug to my left, or the energy drink I’m halfway through. I don’t think about the bottle of pills in the top drawer, or the broken deal with Keaton.

“Do you want me to tell Keaton that you said he can go?” I ask instead.

Someone else would call me out on changing the subject. Kellan’s likely just relieved the emotional stuff has been dropped. “Did I say that?”