AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“In your house that used to be her house,” Rumi pointed out. “Rethinkin’ that one yet?”
“No,” I said stubbornly. “I like this house. I’ve done a hell of a lot of work on it. It’s mine.”
“You had to do a hell of a lot of work to it, considering the state it was in when you bought it.”
“You here to bust my balls or what?”
“Nah.” Rumi shook his head. “Just checkin’ in. Knew you’d still be awake. Today was a complete mindfuck.”
“Understatement.” I reached up to rub the back of my neck where a tension headache was starting. “This was not how I’d thought my day would go when I woke up all fired up to paint that Dyna.”
“How’s that goin’?”
“She’s fuckin’ beautiful, man,” I said with a sigh. “Thought I’d deal with rust, but not a speck. It’s been a fuckin’ dream.”
“Can’t wait to see it finished.”
“Should only be another week.” I finished the last of my beer and leaned back in my chair. “Assumin’ I get into the garage.”
“Why wouldn’t you?”
“The fuck am I supposed to do with them?” I asked, jerking my chin toward the stairs.
Rumi looked at me like I’d grown two heads. “Well, considering that Emilia is an adult and has been a parent for a couple years already, I’m guessin’ you can just leave them to do their thing?”
“I just go back to normal?” I said incredulously. It didn’t even seem possible.
“You gotta work, man,” Rumi replied with a laugh. “What did you think, that you’d just retire at twenty-one and live off your good looks?”
I threw a bottle cap at him. “Asshole.”
“Not sure your old normal is ever gonna be your normal again,” Rumi said, catching the cap. “But yeah, you’ll find a new normal. You gotta go to work, man.”
I nodded, but the thought made anxiety pool in my gut.
“You got the rest of the weekend to get them settled, yeah?” he said, watching me closely. “By Monday, you’ll be itchin’ to get outta the house like always.”
I nodded again, but I wasn’t so sure about that.
“Mick,” my brother said quietly, almost gently. “She wouldn’t have come all this way if she was just gonna take off again, yeah?”
“Wouldn’t have thought she’d take off the first time,” I replied. “Know her even less now. I got no fuckin’ clue what she’d do.”
“Alright, well take it from me, your younger but smarter brother—”
I scoffed.
“She didn’t come all this way to leave again, and you’re not the eighteen-year-old kid that she left the first time. It’s all good, man. Instead of worryin’ about what could happen, try just enjoyin’ gettin’ to know your son.”
“He looks like me,” I said, a grin pulling at my mouth.
“Fuck,” Rumi said, drawing out the word. “He’s a fuckin’ clone. When I saw him, it was like bein’ transported back in time. Hopefully he won’t be a little asshole like you were.”
“I wasn’t an asshole!”
“You were.”
“I always let you play with me,” I argued. “I was always nice to you.”
