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“Honey, I’m home!” The sound of my brother calling out to his fiancé caused Seth to jump to his feet and rush into Noel’s open arms. I stood up, adjusted the front of my shirt, and waitedfor my brother’s wrath. Noel walked into the room with Seth in his arms, his legs wrapped around Noel’s waist as he peppered kisses against his face.
I plastered a fake smile across my face. “I was just picking up some clothes.”
“Spending the night with Andy again?” Noel helped Seth onto his feet but kept their fingers intertwined. “I don’t want you to end up hurt again.”
I glanced between the two of them. “I won’t.”
“I’m not going to tell you who you can or can’t date, Leo, but be careful. He was your first boyfriend, and yeah, okay, you loved him, but that doesn’t mean he’s the one. Maybe Mister Right is waiting for you somewhere else. What if—”
Seth slapped a hand over Noel’s mouth. “Baby, no.” He shook his head. “Don’t say anything else until you listen to Leo. I fully believe that they are soulmates. Just like you, Wyatt, and me.”
“Did someone say my name?” Wyatt beamed as he walked into the room. He dropped a kiss to Noel’s head and against Seth’s mouth. “Oh, shit, you all look so serious. Everything good?”
I grunted and pushed past my brother. “I was just leaving.”
“Leo, wait,” Noel called, and when I turned around, he took a step toward me. “I love you. I just don’t want you to get hurt again, you know that. Those mornings when you couldn’t get out of bed or those nights I had to listen as you cried yourself to sleep. It broke my heart to see you like that. Just be careful.”
When Noel opened his arms, I rushed to him and let him hold me.
“I promise I’ll be careful,” I assured him. My eyes burned with tears. “It doesn’t matter what I went through, I still love Andy. I’ve loved him since the first day I saw him, and I’m willing to give him another chance if he shows me that he won’t hurt me again.”
“Maybe I should talk to him,” Noel growled, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Killian already offered.” I patted my brother’s chest lightly. “Can I talk to you about it without you judging anything? Because I want your approval more than anyone else’s.”
Noel nodded. “Yes.”
I looked over at Wyatt. “And you?”
“Me? I’m not judging anyone.” Wyatt gasped. “Okay, maybe a little bit, but that’s because I like the gossip. Blame Ezra for making me like this.”
Seth giggled. “Babycakes, beautiful, let’s all just give Leo a chance to talk, and maybe we can all learn a little something.” He hooked his arms through both of theirs and winked at me.
Then I took a shaky breath and began to tell Noel about what Andy had gone through that caused him to show up at the race.
Chapter Sixteen
Andy
I somehow managed to shower, change my clothes, and move downstairs into the living room after Leo left. Dad forced me to eat breakfast, oatmeal and blueberries, but for some reason, he didn’t force me to talk. Instead, he puttered around the house, cooing at my brothers and scolding them when they swore, before he sat down on the couch next to me. Dad didn’t say anything, but I could feel his gaze digging into me. Trying to read my mind. What would he think if he could? Probably how terrible of a human I was.
“Stop.” I sighed and turned the television off. I wasn’t even watching it. It was more like a white noise in my head. “Just say whatever it is you want to say.”
Dad moved closer. “I think you should see someone. A therapist. That way you—”
“Fuck no.” I jumped to my feet. “I don’t need a shrink, okay? I just need a little time to think. That’s it, and then I’ll be right as new. You don’t have to worry about me.”
Dad patted the spot next to him. “Sit down, Andrew.”
He hardly ever got upset with us. He was always kind, loving, and reassuring. But sometimes, like right now, he would get this look on his face that he meant business. He wasn’t mad. He was just asserting his dominance, and honestly, it was a little scary. The coolness of his eyes, the firm line of his lips. It didn’t matter that the man was nearly a foot shorter than I was. I was going to listen.
I dropped down next to him, folded my arms over my chest, and popped my jaw. “Say whatever it is you want to say.”
“Kiddo, I love you. You were my first baby, and you’ll always be just that. I know you’re struggling. Seeing your motherbrought up things you’ve hidden for years. Talking to someone might help you overcome that. It helped me.”
Dad still had that bossy look about him. The way he pressed his lips together, the way he held his head high. I knew all about what his parents put him through, the way he pretended to be someone he wasn’t, took the brunt of everything for Uncle Dean. He had the scars to prove it. That’s part of why he and Pop broke up. Because my grandparents were dicks.
“I have Leo. He’ll help me get through this.”
