AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Caleb perked up. “Yes. He’s Deaf, so we won’t have to stress about communicating with him.”
Luke looked relieved.Pah!
Caleb grinned. It was a tiny win, but how things were going, he’d take it. “Give me ten minutes, and then I can—”
Luke’s hand hit the desk hard, the vibrations of it rippling in Caleb’s knees, and he gave Caleb a stern look. “No.”
“Luke…”
“No. Just sit here and wait for food and let us take care of the rest. Wren already got those yoga bitches out, and I don’t think he’ll be mad if we have to lock up early.”
Wren was never mad about having to close up early, but Caleb didn’t say that. He just sat back and waved Luke off. Exhaustion stole over him so powerfully, he knew if he blinked for too long, he’d end up falling asleep.
Once the door was shut and he was alone, he rolled his shoulders a few times, trying to ease some of the tension from his muscles, then rummaged around in his desk for his bottle of Advil. He popped a few dry, then tapped his keyboard, wincing at the bright light. The shock of the water had made him forget about his headache, but it was back full force.
Food was a must. And then…
Fuck.
Then he was supposed to go back to his condo. He was supposed to walk around and take stock of all the new cupboards and shelves and drawers that sat empty now that Cameron was done deleting himself from Caleb’s life.
He had a very small, very irrational urge to text Cameron just then. The one thing his ex was good at was distracting Caleb in moments of crisis, and he really could have used it right then. But he didn’t backslide.
He had never gone back to an ex.
He had never tried to rebuild a bridge.
And he wasn’t about to start now. Not for a guy like Cam.
Drumming his fingers on the desk, he attempted to mind-over-matter his headache and only realized he was dropping off when a rush of air dragged him from his doze. His head snapped up and he felt a painful pulse going through his temple as he squinted up through blurry eyes at the door to see his newest hire.
“Ravi. I didn’t know you were here,” Caleb signed.
Ravi’s face fell, looking absolutely broken, and through his pain it took Caleb a second to see the differences. It was Bodhi. Fucking,fuck. Would this day never end?
“Sorry. I can go get him if you want,” Bodhi offered, signing with one hand while he balanced a plate of food in the other.
Caleb dragged both hands down his face, letting himself groan loudly enough to feel it in his chest and throat. “No,” he answered. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to confuse you two.”
At that, Bodhi actually smiled, and it made Caleb’s heart beat a little harder and a little faster. His smile was so damn soft and so damn sweet. Even in at his saddest or his most hurt, it always looked like the sun was shining out of his dark eyes.
“That’s okay,” he answered, setting the plate down on the desk and pushing it close to Caleb. It was a croissant sandwich and some fruit, but it looked fresh instead of like it had been withering in the sandwich display case all day. “We’re identical twins. Our grandparents couldn’t tell us apart until we were about ten.”
Caleb huffed a laugh—soft and feathery against the back of his tongue. “Must have been fun to play pranks.”
At that, Bodhi looked horrified. “No. If they thought we were trying to trick them…” He trailed off and shuddered. The reaction might have been a joke, but Caleb didn’t think so. That look in Bodhi’s eyes said there was an entire novel’s worth of trauma there. “Anyway, can I get you a drink?”
“Water,” Caleb answered before seizing the sandwich and taking a huge bite. He didn’t bother looking up to see if Bodhi had gone as he devoured the food. His stomach twisted a little painfully, but he could already feel his headache starting to ease off a bit.
God, he needed to do better in taking care of himself. He couldn’t let his shit-for-brains ex ruin him. He couldn’t let this one small thing take him down. And the breakup really was small in the grand scheme of things. He and Cam were nothing more than vague acquaintances by the time he showed up to end it.
The only reason he was this hurt was thanks to the whole viral thing. If Cam had broken up with him in his office without a damn audience, he would have spent a few nights on his brother’s couch, licked his wounds, then moved on with his life.
He felt a new sort of anger rising in him, mostly directed at himself for how he was starting to fall apart. He was better than this, damn it. Stronger. He hadn’t worked his ass off his entire life to let one bad day ruin him.
His pep talk wasn’t working. He could feel the tendrils of a panic attack crawling up his spine. Tiny, invisible fingers signed against his palms reminding him that not only was his day shit, but he was also going home. He was going to see the carnage Cameron left behind.
He was going to sit there and remember that no matter what kind of person he was—he wasn’t even wanted by a self-centered dick like his ex. Then he had to come into work where everything was falling apart, and he had a feeling that even the rush of business wouldn’t be able to save them. He was losing everything.
