Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 96284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
It was out there. I was so fucking proud of him, and I told myself not to get mushy. He’d said it. He’d been honest. He was being himself. Fuck me, don’t get emotional. But man, was he gonna get a blow job tomorrow. Actually, two. And so many hugs he’d get sick of me.
“Okay, um—processing.” Haley exhaled shakily and shook her head. “For a moment, I was waiting for you to say you had cancer or somethin’. Fuck. Okay.” Her eyes welled up, and she even laughed a little. “I’m sorry—this is…” She trailed off and turned to Seth. “Can you excuse us, please?”
What on earth was happening?
Jake had gone rigid, and Seth was confused. So was I. But Jake had no reason to worry, did he? Fuck no. Haley was open-minded. A vocal ally.
“Yeah, of course.” Seth got up from his stool. “Actually, I’m gonna head home.” He poured out his coffee in the sink, then clapped Jake on the shoulder. “I’m happy for you, man. Being true to yourself is where it’s at. See you tomorrow.”
I loved Seth. That was the reaction Jake wanted. Quick and painless.
“See you tomorrow,” I echoed.
Haley hadn’t asked me to leave, so I didn’t know what to do. I would stay until I picked up signs they needed privacy. Yeah. That was my plan.
Seth walked out the door a short moment later, and Haley sniffled and wiped her fingers under her eyes.
“How long have you known?” she asked.
I glanced hesitantly at Jake.
“A few years,” he replied quietly. “But…you know, I’ve had my issues…”
She nodded and seemed to fight harder to hold back tears. “That’s the problem. I do know, Jake. We grew up in the same house—and I can swear…” She turned to me, making me feel like I’d just been caught stealing. At the same time, she gave up on wiping at her face. “Do you remember when y’all came home from San Diego and told us about what’d happened with the Coast Guard? You said something about how you grew up with stories about your brothers getting shot and whatnot in Iraq and Afghanistan—but nobody ever mentioned the little things. The bruises and soreness and aches and whatever.”
I nodded, confused.
She gestured at Jake. “That was our childhood. Look—I know y’all are close, so I’m sure he’s told you all the worst things our parents did, but I was there for everything else. The tiny, everyday things that got drilled into our heads—” Her voice broke, and she covered her mouth with her hand. “And how Mom would micromanage Jake with snide remarks and passive-aggressive digs. And Dad’s fucking silence. He’s no better. He looked the other way. He didn’t want drama.”
Jesus Christ. I completely fucking froze and just felt this wave of grief wash over me. I’d never seen Haley so torn up. The anger, I was used to. She’d bitched and ranted about their parents many times over the years, but this ran so much deeper. She truly hated their parents, and she hated what they had done.
Haley slipped off her seat and rounded the island, and then she was in Jake’s arms. He tilted his face away from me, but I caught a glimpse of the impact his sister’s words had made.
“Promise me you’ll never fucking see them again, Jake,” she croaked. “I don’t want you near them. Or Colin and Sam.”
I had to look away from them, and I blinked past the sting in my eyes and subtly cleared my throat. It felt too thick, and I didn’t wanna make a sound.
“I have to confront them, Hales,” Jake murmured. His voice sounded off. He was struggling with his emotions too. “I-I need answers.”
My plans changed right then and there. We’d talked about this. How he was gonna fly out when the moment was right, and I was gonna wait here. And fuck that. I was going with him. If not to the house he’d grown up in, then at least to Norfolk. I had to be close by in case he needed me.
“Then I’m coming with you,” Haley said, sniffling. “I’ll pick up a shovel on the way.”
Jake chuckled thickly. “That’s not happenin’. You can’t control yourself.”
“They don’t deserve my self-restraint,” she bitched.
I discreetly wiped at my eyes before I turned to them again, and it was just in time for Haley to look over at me.
“Don’t let him go there alone, Roe.”
Easiest promise I could make. “I won’t.”
She nodded and stepped back. “I hope you haven’t gone through all this on your own, big brother. I’m not afraid to get a shovel for you too.”
Haley’s threats, I could handle.
“I haven’t been alone.” Jake smiled slightly and brushed a thumb under Haley’s eye. “I’ve had Roe and Nikki with me.”
“Good. I feel a bit excluded, but okay.” Her smirk was enough to let Jake know she was sort of kidding. “So, um…I’m not really ready to go home. Can we have dinner together? Maybe go over to your place and order pizza?”