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Huxley and I exchanged wary glances.What the fuck?
David continued speaking, “I know that you’re both adults in the eyes of the law, but you live under our roof, and until either of you move out permanently, you’re under our house rules.” His mouth twisted. “It’s not about us trying to control the two of you. It’s…I know that we haven’t been the most attentive of parents when you were both growing up—” He paused, his gaze darting to my mum, who squeezed his arm. “—but now we’re all together, we both want to rectify that. To build a family. While we were on our honeymoon, we discussed things, and the idea came to us.”
My mum picked up where he’d left off. “You’re brothers now, and we want to strengthen our relationship with the two of you.” Her gaze turned to me, wide and pleading. “We know that it’s difficult for you both, but we want to be a real family.”
Fucking hell.
I managed a small nod, keeping my jaw clenched tightly so I wouldn’t accidentally say anything because I had no sentences that didn’t begin with “what the” and end with “fuck.”
She gave me a smile. “We’re not trying to put rules in place, but we’d like to at least try this. Once every two or three weeks, we’d like an evening with us all together. Catching up on your lives. Perhaps playing board games or watching a film.”
Me and Huxley in the same room was bad enough, but a whole evening with our parents forcing us to act like the siblings we absolutely fucking weren’t?
Fuck my life.
David matched my mum’s smile as he removed his hand from around her waist. “On that note, I have a couple of surprises for you all.”
Blowing out a heavy breath, I tipped my head back against the sofa, waiting for whatever was coming next. It wasn’t like this evening could get much worse.
David disappeared, but before I had time to wonder where he was, he reappeared with a bag in his hands. He held it out to my mum, who gave him a questioning look as she dipped her hand into the bag.
She pulled out a framed photo. It was of her and my stepdad on their wedding day, posing in front of the lake. They both looked so happy. Okay. That was kind of sweet.
“Oh, David. This is beautiful.” Her fingers caressed the glass. “The pictures were ready much sooner than I thought they’d be.”
David shook his head. “Only a couple. I spoke to the photographer because I wanted you to have at least one when we returned from our honeymoon.” He reached into the bag. “This was the other one.”
Huxley and I both stiffened in our seats because it was a photo of the two of us in front of the lake. We were both smiling, and even though I knew that moment had been filled with loathing, we looked so good together I couldn’t look away.
“Our two boys. You both gained a brother that day.” David appeared in front of us, slapping Huxley and me on the shoulder, and I did my best to hide my grimace. Luckily, he didn’t seem to notice because he took a step back, clapping his hands together.
“Now. Who wants to play Trivial Pursuit?”
18
The next morning, as I covertly eyed Huxley across the kitchen table because I couldn’t help myself, I took in the way his black eyeliner was smudged across his skin, like he’d rubbed his hands over his eyes. His face was paler than usual too, and when I lowered my gaze, I noticed his fingers drumming on the surface of the table, which made it seem like he was on edge. Shit, what was wrong with him?
David and my mum were eating breakfast with us, so I couldn’t ask him outright. Instead, I sent him a text.
Me:
What’s wrong? Don’t tell me nothing because I don’t believe it
He shifted in his seat, his hand going to his pocket, and his gaze dropped to his lap. He didn’t look at me, but a few seconds later, I got a reply.
Hux:
Nosy fucker. Nothing’s wrong. Got to pick up my replacement car this morning
Oh.Oh. I immediately put two and two together. He was going to pick up a new car, and it would be the first time he’d driven since the crash. No wonder he was on edge. I was relieved that his dad had bought the story about his car being in the garage so he wasn’t going to have any added stress, but at the same time, it meant that I was the only one who could know what had him so worried.
Me:
I’m coming with you. No arguments
I saw Huxley bite down on his lip when he read my reply, and there was a tremor in his fingers as he tapped out a response. Fuck. He played the part of being strong and untouchable, but there was a vulnerability deep inside him that just made me want to be his fucking protector or something. He didn’t really need protecting, but he did need someone to lean on. And today, that person would be me. If he let me.
My phone buzzed.
