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Tobias is the last one to come face-to-face with me. His face is stoic as he studies me and then he slowly extends his hand for me to shake. I have to wonder if he would bother if it weren’t for all the people in the room currently watching this all go down. I take his hand anyway and shake politely before I withdraw.
I’m itching to go to Tasha, but when I glance behind me, she’s gone. Shit. Her sister is gone too, but I notice Dominic is still standing at the edge of the room near the doorway which means they can’t have gone far.
“Paxton.” Tobias stops me as I turn to seek out my woman. “What have you gotten us all mixed up in?”
I didn’t do anything except demand Tasha not bring them here. But Tobias and I never got along that well as two of the oldest boys. Our parents loved to pit us against each other as kids. They claimed competition between us would make us work to be stronger. Looking at his flabby arms, the theory only worked for one of us.
“Cut that shit out. We’re not kids anymore, Paxton. No one cares which of us would win in a fight.” Tobias waves his hand dismissively.
“I didn’t do anything.”
“You think we can’t see you sizing us all up? Judging us?” Tobias’ voice grows progressively louder, drawing the attention of our siblings who look at me with the same disdain I see in his eyes. Fuck.
It would be a lie if I tried to claim I wasn’t judging all of them. Even Callie, who has stayed on the edge of our group and avoided making direct eye contact with me. She put my mate in danger and would rather hide than own up to her mistake.
Leah steps between Tobias and I. I straighten as I wait for her to say something to defend me. “We can all tell you don’t actually want to be here, Paxton.” My chest deflates. “You might as well go stay somewhere else until we have this mess sorted out. I’m sure Tasha will come back to you once she’s helped us figure out the right thing to do.” Her gaze slips to the mark at the base of my neck. She might as well stab me in the chest with the spiked heel of her shoe for the way she glares at me.
I was the one who checked in on Leah when she decided she needed to live alone in the middle of nowhere. So much for loyalty.
“It’s unbelievable how you’re all ready to turn on me first. Remind me again how many of you kept in touch with each other? Tobias, when was the last time you saw Kaya?” My brother looks guiltily toward the twins. “Leah? Have you called Gabe recently?” They exchange their own guilty looks. “Right, that’s what I thought.”
I start to leave the room when Poppy clears her throat.
“What?” I snap, exasperated.
Her mouth is pinched as she narrows her eyes at me. “Don’t you dare leave this room, Paxton Anthony Glass.”
“The full name treatment—really, Poppy?”
“You want to taunt us about who’s stayed in contact? There’s only one Glass in this room that I haven’t spoken to, and it’s you. And that’s not formylack of trying. Do we all have plenty of room to grow closer? Absolutely. I’ll be the first one to say it because all I wanted was to see this family back together. But don’t you dare walk in here and speak down to us; because when Tasha called on us to come together, we all showed up except you.”
“I’m here.” What more do they want from me?
“Hours after everyone else, and only because you know you’ve pissed off that thoughtful woman you don’t deserve. You didn’t come here for us. So you can stick your judgement up your ass.”
Poppy doesn’t give me a chance to respond, not that I even know what to say. She’s right; I didn’t come here for them. She storms past me, shoulder checking me the best she can considering her slight build.
Of all the people in this room I could piss off, Poppy makes me feel the most guilty. I already know, thanks to Tasha, that my baby sister is trying to find the younger kids my parents allegedly left behind. No one’s ever found proof they even exist, and I’m pretty sure it might only be a fucked up rumor at this point. But of course, Poppy can’t let it go. Poppy has a softer heart than the rest of the family combined.
And she kept in touch with all of them. Every single one but me. Fuck.
“Poppy, wait.” I quietly follow her out of the room. I can hear everyone else gossiping like a bunch of pricks about me, but I need to deal with one nightmare at a time. Making my sweetheart of a sister cry tops the list.
“Just leave me alone, Paxton. That’s what you want anyway.” She sniffs, swiping angrily at her cheeks as she tries to disappear through a door across the hall.
“What is it with women running away from me?” I mutter.
She manages to choke out a laugh. “Maybe you should take the hint.”
“Look, I’m shit, okay? I really thought all of us being split up was the best thing for us. How were any of us supposed to heal if we were constantly in each other’s faces? How would we ever move past the knowledge that we only exist because our parents wanted to build their own personal army?”
“Did you? Did you get over it, Paxton? Did all your years of refusing to build anything meaningful or stay in one place help you outrun our history?” She raises her chin, challenging me.
“No.” No, there’s no outrunning where we came from.
“If what you’re doing hasn’t been working, maybe it’s time to admit being apart hasn’t done any of us any favors. Look around, Paxton. No one has kids, and you’re the only one living with a mate bond—not that the two of you seem that peachy at the moment. We’re all wasting away, miserable, because we’re scared of what might happen if we’re together. But honestly, I don’t see how things could get any worse. Aren’t you fucking lonely? Because I am.”
Was I lonely?
