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Gritting my teeth, I cross my arms over my chest. “Yeah. I do. You all got more important shit than me. I know. No one needs me anymore.”
“That's not it, asshole.” He plants his palms on my chest before shoving me backward. “You're my best fucking friend in the entire world. Closest thing I have to a brother. You will always be important to me, but Huck and I need our own space. It's just part of growing up. Logan and Owen are apartment hunting, too.”
“What? Why the fuck didn't they tell me?”
He raises his brow, a gesture that reminds me so much of his boyfriend. “Probably because you act like this instead of using your words?”
“I use my words,” I mumble like a whiny shit.
“No you fucking don’t. You either fight about it or fuck about it and then stuff the rest way down.”
Devon snorts behind us, and I whirl on him. “Keep laughing, asshole. I’ll fight you next.”
“I’d prefer the fucking,” he quips with a smirk.
My dick twitches at that, but I ignore it. “In your dreams, maybe.”
“Look, man…” Taylor steps forward, redirecting my attention. “None of us are abandoning you. We’re just… building our own lives. It doesn’t mean you’re not part of them.”
Suddenly feeling defeated, I sigh heavily. “I know, cariño. I know. I'm just… a lot's been going on.”
“Like what?” He frowns, tilting his head. I study his face as I contemplate how to tell him that our entire business is in trouble. Fuck, I should have said something sooner, but I'm a dumbass.
What if this is it? What if telling him how I royally fucked us over is the tipping point where he leaves me behind for good?
Scrubbing a hand over my face, I bite the inside of my cheek silently.
“Christian,” Taylor presses. “Just tell me.”
A shaky exhale leaves my lungs. “TOT is nearly broke.”
He blinks, caught off guard. “What do you mean broke? Broke how?”
“As in,” I grit out, “the account’s almost empty. I used five thousand dollars to…” My eyes dart over to Dev, too quick for Taylor to notice. “...Win a bet. I lost.”
Don't ask me why, but spilling Devon's secrets just doesn’t sit right with me.
The color drains from Taylor’s face. “You… you gambled away our company money?”
“I know, okay? I know it was dumb. I know I should’ve told you. I know I shouldn’t have touched the fucking account.”
“Christian, why didn’t you call me?”
“I don’t know!” The words rip out of me as I push both hands through my hair. “Because I was trying to fix it myself? Because I fucked up and I was…”
Devon moves behind me, his attention like a spotlight, so I whisper the last part in Spanish.
I was scared you'd hate me.
Tay's expression softens, though he still looks seconds away from throwing up. “Dude. How could you think that?”
“Because I didn’t want you to see me like this.”
“Like what?”
“Like I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing. You’ve always been the reckless one. I’m supposed to keep our shit together.”
He scoffs at that. “Says who?”
