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Remy narrowed his eyes. “Bullshit.”
“It’s a little hard to talk about right now. I’m basically estranged from my parents. They’re so obsessed with the business…” I thought of how I could tell parts of my story without lying and chewed on my lip as I ripped up more grass without paying attention to it. I guess it was challenging at times. I have two younger brothers and my parents just stopped parenting at a certain point. I didn’t want them to be left to nannies or babysitters, so I decided to take care of them myself. Knox is five years younger than me and Jackson is seven years younger.”
“Seriously? You were so close to their age. How’d you take care of them?” Boone dropped his hands to my thighs. “Also, your mom really did love the location names, huh?”
“Yes, she did. You can tell that I once lived in Tennessee and Mississippi by their names.” I smiled. “I was a mature kid. I aged fast. So, five years felt more like fifteen. I fed them and made sure they were bathed and ready for school. I walked them to school before going to my own school each day. I fought the people who bullied them. When they were big enough, they fought the people who bullied me. It all worked out.”
Wells sat up. “Where the fuck were your parents?”
“Who bullied you?” Remy growled as he put his hand over my knee and squeezed.
“Working. Building that wealth they care so much about.” I looked out across the yard and sighed before looking back at Remy. “A lot of people. I was different and that’s a target when you’re young. I’ve also heard that I looked like a bug until I grew into my eyes and mouth, so there’s that, too. I’m sure a lot of the other kids’ animosity came from me never connecting to them. I had other things to worry about, though. I didn’t have time for friends. I was making sure Knox and Jackson were okay and then doing whatever I could to prove that I knew the value of a dollar. When I was old enough, I worked multiple jobs around our neighborhood. I don’t think I’ve ever really stopped going until now.”
“Your parents sound like monsters, sweetheart.” Shifting closer, Remy pulled me into his arms and I listened to the racing beat of his heart as he pressed my head into his chest. “I’m not sure you can say you’ve finally stopped going, though. You’re constantly working here. Cleaning or gardening, you’re always going.”
“I’m making friends.” I looked up at him and smiled. “I have more friends now than I’ve ever had. Even at Yale. Cleaning with Bea lets me have time to chat with her. Gardening with Pete is just a treat for me. Pete is greatandI get to play with flowers. It’s fantastic. And Jake reminds me of Knox a little. Talking with him eases the homesickness.”
“Where are your brothers now?” Wells watched my face and frowned. “Don’t stop sharing now, Memphis. Please.”
“Jackson…he didn’t escape my parents without a few battle scars. Wounds, really. Festering things that never healed. He’s…complicated. His mind never really gave him a fair chance. He…”
Boone spoke up. “Go on, Memphis. Wells is a big boy. He can handle it.”
I met Wells' confused gaze and blew out a breath. “He was, probably still is, agoraphobic. He started having severe panic attacks at a young age and it just never got better. Until one day, it did. Not really, though. He’d just found a special cocktail of drugs that took away his ability to care. One thing led to another and he’s been an addict for eight years. He’s in rehab right now. It’s not the first one he’s been in. It’s hard to have any faith that it’ll be his last.”
Wells' entire body seemed brittle, like one strong breeze would shatter him. “So, you know.”
I nodded. “I do.”
“Do I remind you of him?” Six words and Wells had split my heart wide open. The pain in his eyes as he waited for my answer was nearly tangible.
Remy loosened his grip on me before I even started to move. He knew his brother needed comfort. I crawled into Wells’ lap and wrapped my arms around him. “Not even a little bit, Wells. Not even if you tried. You’re a rock, whether you know it, or not, and the bravest person I know.”
He snorted, but I didn’t give him a chance to argue.
“You are. Even when the world feels too big and terrifying, even when you probably feel like passing out or running, you just do shit.” I smiled and ran my finger over the scar on his cheek. “You’re brave, Wells. You should give yourself some credit.”
He pressed his face into my neck and inhaled deeply. His arms squeezed around me almost painfully tight but then they were gone. He passed me off to Remy and stood up so fast that he was already striding towards the house by the time I realized what happened.
Remy stopped me from going after Wells. “Just give him some space. Showing your vulnerable spots isn’t a fun time. He’s fine, though, sweetheart.”
I sagged into his chest. “I hate not fixing it.”
“Nothing’s broken.” Boone stretched out in the grass again. “This was fucking heavy. I came out here with a plan to throttle you. For hiding from us,again, and for setting us up with those kids. Instead, I feel like I just sat through a few hours of therapy.”
Remy growled. “You just froze when he mentioned the kids. You did it, didn’t you?”
I shook my head, but it was too fast and clearly desperate. “No. No, I didn’t. Why would I do that? I’d never.”
Boone scoffed. “You little shit. You set us up.”
“Fine! I did set you up. I didn’t know it was going to go so spectacularly, though! I just thought that you needed to start spending some time with kids. To prepare, you know?” I peeked up at Remy’s face and winced. “Okay, I was also being spiteful. You hurt my feelings when you suggested that there were other women.”
“What?” His face twisted in confusion. “I never said anything about other women.”
“You made that comment about any old ass. Asses have bodies attached to them, Remy. Other women and other asses.”
Boone whistled. “Wait until I tell Wells that he had shit smeared all over his legs because you made a stupid fucking comment, Remy.”
