When the Sun Comes Out

Chapter 18 ~ Rhett

     Rhett stared out the window of his cabin. He had been up in the hills for three days now, but he couldn't bring himself to go back to the land of the living yet.

He'd told Taylor he was going to stay in the cabin, but he didn't tell her which one. No one knew where he was, and he liked it that way.

He continued to stare out the window as he washed his bowl in the sink. Luke's family had owned this cabin for years, and Luke and he used to come up here in the summer to throw parties.

He grimaced as the spoon he was holding fell through his fingers and clattered to the bottom of the sink. He hadn't been able to hold onto anything lately. He'd barely been able to make the drive up here with the way his hands were shaking.

He thought of Taylor and how he had made fun of her driving. He smiled to himself as he thought about it, then he remembered the look on her face as she told him what had happened.

His guilt hit again, and he quickly sat down in a chair. Putting his head in his hands he scrubbed his face. He didn't know what he had been thinking; keeping a secret this big from his brothers. He hoped they'd still think of him as a brother.

He thought of Axel and a sob broke loose. Axel had known every secret that Rhett had ever had since he was born. Rhett being the oldest, and Axel being the youngest, they had formed an unbreakable bond. Rhett had always protected Axel, but he didn't know what would happen this time.

He thought of every time he'd gotten Axel out of trouble, or Axel had kept a secret for him. He kicked himself for not telling Axel sooner. It was the biggest break of trust you could do. Axel would never trust him again.

He thought about everyone else at home. He didn't think Max would take the news as hard as Axel would, and Luke would probably just tell Rhett to grow up and move on. He thought of Mom and Taylor and wondered if they were hiding out at the ranch.

Taylor had called him multiple times every day, but he declined every one of her calls. He didn't want to talk to anyone. He couldn't believe this was happening to him.

He'd always wanted to tell his brothers, but he had been too scared of what they would think of him. He had told Mama, though, that if they ever decided to tell people, he would want to tell the boys first, and it would just be from him.

Now, he wished that he would have just told them. If he would have manned up and told them sooner, then he wouldn't have to be hiding in the middle of the woods for fear of them showing up mad as hell.

Thinking about his brothers, he looked down as his phone blinked back to life. It had died shortly after he woke up yesterday, and he never turned it back on.

He'd finally decided to power it up when he'd gotten out of the shower.

He opened the phone up to see Max had messaged him. He grimaced, bracing for the nasty messages that would be waiting.

He was surprised to find that Max's message wasn't brutal at all.

Rhett, it's time to come back to the ranch. We're having a

family meeting at the farmhouse at 3. We promise that we

will both listen to what you have to say. We aren't upset.

– Max & Axel

Rhett stared at the screen. He finally processed what was happening. Looking up at the clock, he saw that it was already two-thirty. He jumped up and ran out the door.

Hopping into his truck, he hoped he could make the forty-five-minute drive in thirty without being pulled over.

He pushed the speed limits to the max every chance that he had, and twenty-eight minutes later, he pulled into the farmhouse. He took a deep breath and tried to pull himself together. Stepping out of the truck, he noticed that the truck Taylor had been driving wasn't there.