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“You wanna tell me what the hell is going on?” he asks without preamble.
“This isn’t the time or the place for this conversation, Aryan,” I tell him, preparing to walk out.
“No, that would have been last night or this morning, but you left without giving us a chance to talk,” he says. I suck in a deep breath, trying not to cuss him out. He has got to be one of the smartest men I know, but he’s dumb as a box of rocks when it comes to this.
“I had nothing to say then and have even less to say now. Move so I can get back to work,” I snap at him because I am not in the mood.
“Why did he offer to pay to remove your tattoos?” he asks, head cocked to the side in obvious curiosity. “Are you thinking about removing them?”
I guess I am not leaving this room after all since he is blocking the only way out, but that doesn’t mean I have to talk to him, either.
“So, we are just going to have a staring contest? I can tell you I’m better at this than you will ever be, Brooklyn. If you want out of this room, all you have to do is answer my question,” he tries to cajole me, but I stand and continue not to speak. I watch the back of his jaw tick, and I know he is gritting his teeth. I almost smile, but while I am stubborn, I am not stupid.
“Speak!” He roars at me. Clutching my chest, I attempt to slow down my heart rate, and my mouth falls open unbidden.
“No, I am not thinking of removing my tattoos,” flows softly out of my mouth.
“Then why?”
I cut him off as I relay today’s event to him. I don’t tell him this is a regular occurrence since he was already on edge.
“So, they called him and Lennox down because of one ignorant patient?” he asked, eyes narrowing on me, and I swear I could see him calculating the real problem in his head. “This isn’t the first time, is it?”
“No.”
“Why haven’t you said anything to me, D?” he asks, calling me his nickname for me. D is the first letter of my middle name, Dior.
“For what? For you to show up on your white horse and rescue the damsel in distress? It’s bad enough that Lennox has had to drop everything almost daily to come to my defense,” I clamp my lips because I have already told too much.
“Every day? You’ve dealt with this every day and never said a word to me about it? Why?” he asks, looking genuinely hurt.
“Cause we’re just friends, remember,” I said, pushing past him to return to work. I’m over the conversation.
CHAPTER2
Aryan
I have to take several breaths to get my anger under control before I go back into the hospital and find the idiot who caused her these problems, but what would that solve? I know she needs to be independent and stand on her own merit, not from me pulling strings or even Lennox sticking up for her. But I am a Brennan and a Gideon, and knowing my … friend needs help, and I can’t help her is fucking with me.Did I almost call her my woman?Hmm, maybe I should stop by the gun range for a little while. I am obviously thinking crazy. On second thought, I’ll head to my workshop and finish the rush order I got. I know I’ll be able to get lost in the peace of my workshop. When we built the compound, everyone had special requests for their wing, but I didn’t have anything I wanted. We put in a state-of-the-art gym and gun range. We have a racetrack, football, basketball, baseball, soccer field, and tennis court. An Olympic-sized pool in the backyard and so much more, and if you needed more than that, all you have to do is visit a brother, and you are more than likely to find it there. But I only wanted a bedroom, living room, bathroom, and kitchen. Asher told me, “It will eventually come to you. It makes sense you don’t have a hobby, considering all you ever wanted to do was practice medicine. Now you have to find something else you love to do.” He left room in my wing for me if I ever found something else I loved to do. Finally, once I met Brooklyn, I realized what I wanted to do. I found myself sketching one day as she was taking an online test, and before I knew it, I had drawn something so beautiful I had to see it in person. So, I went online and searched what I needed to do, all the things I needed to buy, and bought them. I watched video after video, and finally, I reached out to a master craftsman to come and work with me. It took a while, and I went through a shit ton of material before I got a final product I was proud of.
I crack my neck as I stretch my back to try to loosen the stiffness from being bent over my workbench for…I look at my watch and notice hours have gone by. I wanted to get lost in my work, which is precisely what I did. I managed to finish the private commission and started a new project, I am not even sure what I will do with it, but without me thinking about it, the design came together on its own. I still have a way to go to finish it, but I am pleased with what I have so far. I put my tools up and head to the kitchen. I haven’t eaten since this morning, and it’s after midnight. Brooklyn isn’t due home for another six or so hours. I make myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and go straight to bed.
I wake up to Brooklyn being back in bed with me. I reach to wake her up, but the snore she releases tells me how tired she is, so I leave her alone to sleep. I slip out of bed to get dressed for the day and head down to the main area in hopes Jaasiel made breakfast.
“You’re up early,” Jaasiel said as he monitors whatever is cooking on the stove.
“I haven’t been sleeping well,” I say, taking a seat at the island.
“Hmm,” he replies.
“What does that mean?” I ask, already irritated with where I know this conversation is going.
“I was just thinking that maybe it’s guilt keeping you up,” he says, pulling the pan off the stove. He slides the omelet on a plate and passes it to me before sliding the other one on his own plate.
“You were expecting me?” I ask before I take a bite.
“No, but I always make more than one when I am out here cooking. More often or not, someone shows up,” he reasons. It makes sense. As large as this house is, we can usually smell it when he is out here cooking.
“For the record, I do not feel guilty. I am a bit confused, though,” I confess. Ever since we were little, Jassiel has always been the brother I confided in; with us being only two years apart, we naturally gravitated to each other. “Not that I have to justify myself to you, but I explained to Brooklyn what was up from the beginning.”
