Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 58442 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58442 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
“Jesus Christ!” Quinn sighed behind him and rubbed circles on Christian’s back.
Christian was heaving so hard that he could barely breathe, and when he was able to draw in a breath, it was loud and ragged. It was a few minutes before he finally stopped. When he seemed to be finished, Quinn reached over him and flushed the toilet. His brother then grabbed some toilet paper, put a hand on Christian’s forehead and lifted his face out of the toilet bowl.
Quinn put the wad of toilet paper up to his nose. “Blow,” he said softly.
Christian did as he was told and blew his nose. Quinn grabbed another wad of toilet paper and wiped his mouth next. Damn, he couldn’t remember any of his brothers ever taking care of him like this; it was usually Shea’s job, or he went at it alone.
“Are you alright?” Quinn asked, concern coloring his tone.
Christian had to swallow a couple of times before he could answer. “I think so,” he rasped, his throat raw from the choking and now this.
Quinn smoothed Christian’s hair back from his forehead. “Christian, you can talk to me, man, you know that, right?” he said quietly in his deep raspy voice.
Christian closed his eyes. “I know.” He sighed, letting Quinn help him sit on the floor with his back against the wall. Quinn then sat down next to him.
“Is there anything you want to talk about? Do you want to tell me why you almost passed the fuck out because of what Sebastian said?”
Christian dropped his head into his hands. Did he tell Quinn? He was afraid of what he would think the most because of what happened to him - a man raped him. Would he think that Christian was a freak for wanting to be with another man? He was definitely closest to Quinn, and usually went to him first with any problems that he had.
“Chris, whatever it is, you can tell me,” Quinn coaxed.
For the first time, Christian felt the urge to blurt it out, just tell Quinn that he was gay and deal with whatever his older brother’s reaction would be. Now he had to decide if he was going to give into that urge or not.
“If I…if I tell you, you have to swear to me that you will not tell anyone else,” Christian whispered, lifting his face to look over at Quinn.
Quinn’s serious brown eyes studied him. “You have my word, I will not tell a soul,” Quinn answered sincerely.
Christian knew for a fact that Quinn would keep whatever Christian told him to himself, it was as clear as day in his eyes. Christian nodded and took a deep breath. Here goes nothing…
“Can you promise not to hate me?” Christian asked, his voice trembling.
Quinn frowned in confusion. “I could never hate you, Christian…never.”
Christian held Quinn’s gaze as he said, “I…I’m gay, Quinn.”
Quinn stared at him for a moment, nothing changing in his expression. Then he started to nod slowly, a small smile playing across his lips. “Okay.”
Christian gaped at him. “Okay? That’s all you have to say? Okay?”
Quinn shrugged. “What do you want me to say? I don’t care if you’re gay,” he replied.
“You don’t?” Christian croaked, tears welling up so fast that he didn’t have time to stop them from rolling down his cheeks.
Quinn’s face softened. “Of course not. You are still my brother, no matter what. I still love you. Did you really think that would change once I found out?”
Christian blinked rapidly and nodded. Quinn sighed sadly and wrapped his arm around Christian’s shoulders, tugging him closer. Quinn kissed his temple.
“You being gay changes nothing. I love you. You’re my brother, and I will always be here for you,” Quinn murmured.
“What about Henry and Sebastian? What will they think? And mom and dad?”
Quinn chuckled low. “Honestly, Henry, Sebastian, and I were already starting to suspect that you were, and I’m sure mom and dad will be fine with it.”
Christian’s eyes widened on Quinn. “What do you mean you guys were already starting to suspect?”
Quinn shrugged. “There have just been a few things lately that sort of pointed in that direction. Henry especially got suspicious when he saw that painting of Shea that you did.”
Christian winced. He just knew Henry was going to pick up on that. Dammit.
“So are you and Shea together?” Quinn asked curiously.
Christian nodded. “Yeah.”
Quinn snorted. “How did that happen? I swore Shea was straight.”
“It’s a long story, and I really don’t want to get into it right now. I don’t even know if he’s going to stay with me.” Christian sighed.
“Why not?” Quinn asked.
“We actually fought on our way over here because I kept refusing to tell you guys, and he’s tired of hiding our relationship…”
“How long have you been together?”
“Five months,” Christian answered.
Quinn blinked in shock. “Well, shit. I knew something was different between you two, but I never would have guessed you’ve been dating for five months.”