Mistreatment?
Foul play?
The words of the social worker slowly start to get jumbled in my mind as she asks me question after question.
Adjectives I knew that shouldn't be used to describe my brothers gets pinned to their names. Accusations hidden behind a smile. An understanding nod in response to my answers. And, always a pleasant "don't worry, your brothers won't ever know what we talk about."
It was starting to make me feel nauseous. I could feel a dark hole begin to form in the pit of my stomach, ready to devour my entire existence.
I just want to see my family. These days in the hospital have been terrible. Not because I can't move my arms or because of medical related issues, but because I'm alone. I don't have any of them here to hold me or to smile at me or to just look at me like I mattered.
I regret every time I pushed them away from me. I would give anything to have them here now. I would even go back to just being a little brother. I would even join their relationship.
I don't care I just need them.
I have never been away from them this long. I miss sleeping with Ozzie, Rue's stupid laugh, Adair's big words, Calloway's sweetness and mischief, Hunter's strong reassuring presence, and Augustus's alluring lip ring, his rough but sometimes gentle touch, the way he was just so fucking attractive just by standing around. I think about his promise every extra day they keep me here.
He promised me I would get through this. He told me they would all be waiting for me at home but everyday I'm left alone in this stupid empty room with nothing but a tv.
My nurses and my physical therapist enter and give me a smile, but they always exit. Everyone's just doing their job. None of them care about me or love me. This is the world I had wanted to enter. This desolate place where I could be my own man. Where I was Asher instead of a Finch.
If my brothers were allowed to see me I would never be alone. I should have just been happy being a Finch.
"Okay Asher." The social worker smiles brightly at me singing my name. "I'm just going to ask you a few more questions and then I'll get out of your hair buddy. So, do you often get injuries like this?"
I sigh, the pit in my stomach rolling around as I shift in bed. This lady had asked this question three times in three different ways. It was like she was trying to catch me in a lie.
"No, I don't often fall into a coma." I say with exasperation shaking my head. My hair falls in my eyes. "And, no my brothers don't abuse me. The worst thing they do is give me bruises sometimes, but usually that happens when I do something stupid." I say with a low huff, the dark hole within my growling as I slide my eyes upwards towards the ceiling. I let out a low breath.
I feel like I'm going to fail whatever test she's giving me.
I sink further down into the pit in my stomach before finally turning my eyes back to the nicely dressed lady in front of me; she nods rapidly as she writes on her clipboard.
"That's a lot of words..." I say nervously licking my lips.
The social worker finally looks up at me. She smiles at me leaning forward in the plastic chair she sits in.
"How exactly do you get these bruises?"
I stare blankly at her. The black hole in me whispering warnings to me. This had to be a trick question. She's trying to get me to say something absurd like I get being beaten with a stick or a bat or anything other than an annoyed swat so she could write something else down.
"The same way everyone gets bruises. They get hit." I finally say; my words coming out slowly as I regard her suspiciously.
"Mmm okay Asher, let's keep talking about this. And, don't worry, your brothers will never know what we talk about." She pats my leg gently. I want to push her hand away. "You say your brothers hit you when you do something stupid, can you give me some examples?"
I bite my lip watching her with guarded eyes. There was that stupid phrase again. "My brothers would never know." Why the hell does it matter if they do? I draw in a shaky breath, maybe I shouldn't answer this question...she's obviously trying to set me up.
I stay silent chewing lightly on my bottom lip.
"If you don't feel comfortable talking about how you get bruises we can move on Asher. I want you to feel safe." The lady says softly.
"I am safe." I snap at her without thinking. Her facial expression doesn't change as she drops her eyes from mine to write on the clipboard.
"Fine ummm let's see. The last time Augustus hit me was when I spilled cranberry juice on his bed. I got a bruise from that, but I deserved that. And, uh Rue got a pretty nasty one when we were hiding in the bathroom from Augustus, but Rue dumped water on him while he was sleeping. So, he deserved it too."
The lady looks up to smile at me, her teeth glowing in the hospital lighting. "So, spilling juice is something worth getting a bruise for in your opinion? You think you deserved to be hurt?"
The black pit inside me shakes growing bigger and quieting my voice.
"I mean no not really but cranberry juice is hard to get out." I say furrowing my eyebrows. How could I answer yes to that question without sounding like I liked being hurt. "I am not a masochist and my brothers don't abuse me." I say for good measure causing the woman to raise an eyebrow at me.
"Do you know what a masochist is?" She asks.
"Yeah, that's why I used it." I scoff.
Yes, I finally tripped this idiot up. This whole time she was trying to catch me up, but now I got her. Was she even suited to be asking me this stuff? She probably got her degree from Stupid University. Maybe I should submit a report on her...I mean if I could move my hands.
The lady stares at me clicking her pen a couple times. "Okay, so then you know a masochist is sexually based. Do you brothers ever touch you inappropriately?"
My eyes widen at her words.
"No!" I shout.
My heart does a summersault out of my chest and for a minute I feel like I'm dead. I swallow thickly as I blink. "They would never. It was a joke, sorry." I finally say my words coming out louder than I expected and zooming through the air and colliding with the woman in front of me. She gives me a surprised, look both of her eyebrows jumping up before she's jotting some more notes down.
What the flying flipping fucking hell is my problem? I gulp loudly. My brothers do try and touch me inappropriately sometimes.
I hope she's not writing down what I think she's writing down. I lean forward trying to catch a glimpse of the paper. The social worker's eyes jump up to meet mine making me quickly fall back into my pillow.
"Okay, okay thank you for being honest." Her smile is back as if nothing had happened. "Let's go back to what we were talking about before. You said Rue received bruises as well? I'm assuming the Rue you're referring to is Rueben Finch?"
I nod, not trusting myself to speak.
"So, it's not just you that get bruises. It's some of your other brothers as well. Do your older brothers often hit the younger ones? Or, is Augustus the only one that does this. He's the only one you mentioned hurting anyone else in the house."
The black hole within me pulls me under.
"No! No don't paint Augustus like that." I quickly blurt out.
I feel like I'm drowning in empty black space. I feel like I'm going to be stuck in this black hole forever. All alone.
I want my brothers.
"Was he not the one that put you in a coma?"
My heart thumps in my chest. Is she trying to get my Augustus in trouble?
Yeah he put me in a coma, but he didn't mean it. He's soft underneath. I know that now, I had seen it two weeks ago. He had touched my face so gently and the way he stared into my eyes was so intense.
I blush remembering him laying in the hospital bed with me.
It's weird I always thought I hated Augustus; yet, when he started crying in front of me it was like some kind of switch clicked and I was looking at a different person. He wasn't this fuming asshole I had thought he was, but an acquaintance I had never taken the time to look at. He has a nice smile and he doesn't seem like he knows what to do with his hands a lot of the time. When he cries he blinks a lot, but holds eye contact. He always holds eye contact. He also has a habit of holding in his thoughts. He's a good guy and I've been the one in the wrong. I grew up mad at him for keeping me down, but he was just trying to raise me up.
They all were.
The lady stares at me blankly, waiting for a response.
"Everyone hits everyone, okay? We're all brothers. Sometimes Adair or Rue does. I've even left a couple bruises too, okay? Dang, I feel like you keep twisting my words. I just want to see my brothers. That's all I want." My irritated words slowly transform back into tired words and I end my sentence with a heavy sigh. I'm pleading again. Begging to see my family.
Every nurse that had the misfortune of coming to check on me had been a victim of my begging along with Dr. Wilson and my physical therapist.
I just wanted to see them.
But, no one cared.
The lady doesn't respond. The scratching of pen on paper fills the silence and I lean my head back trying to keep the disappointment off my face.
I'm so far down in the black hole within me that I think it's become me.
This lady is not going to let me see them. She cares more about filling up that damn paper than writing down the truth. I'm never going to see them again, and it's all my fault.
Why wasn't I happy with the nice life I had? If I had just accepted my invisibility I could be with people who cared about me right now.
Instead I threw a party and got my best friend arrested. I got my brothers in a fight and left my Ozzie with his bullies.
I hate myself so much.
I deserve to be stuck in this hospital room.
I deserve these feelings.
I deserve to suffocate in my black hole.
"Last question Asher." The lady says softly. I don't turn to her. "Do you want to go back to living with your brothers?"
I jolt up, turning to her with wide eyes.
Of course I do. That's all I want. Besides look what trying to break away got me.
I'd be a nobody if it meant having them.
"Yes." I say trying to keep the desperation out of my voice. "Please."
"Okay." The lady gives me a small smile before she's packing her stuff up and sliding the plastic chair back against the wall. Her heels click against the floor and my eyes follow her intently.
"Thank you Asher, you did a great job talking to me today." She calls over her shoulder.
"Wait, did that okay mean I'm going home?" I ask, causing the lady to stop. She turns, a smile still on her face.
"Your doctor says you'll need to stay longer than you expected. You'll get to go home after that Asher, but not forever..." My heart leaps at her words excitement surges through me, but it's quickly consumed by the dark hole.
Not forever? Is she going to take me away from my brothers.
I shudder at the thought. Maybe she doesn't mean that. She said I was staying here, but Dr. Wilson just two days ago I would only be staying for a couple days.
So...maybe this lady is wrong. Maybe she's not even a social worker and she did get her degree from Stupid University.
"Have a good day, I'll be in contact soon." She waves at me before closing my door and disappearing around the corner leaving me in the quiet of my room.
I shake my head trying to swallow the black hole and put it back in my stomach. A tear slides from eye allowing the black hole to expand and my heart to be crushed.
My body deflates as another sigh escapes my mouth. My shoulders slump and it takes all my energy to keep myself from falling into a pile on my floor. I lay back, the familiar blank white ceiling comes into view.
I hate this place. I can't wait to be home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You've been making a lot of progress Asher, I'm proud of you." My physical therapist smiles at me as he rolls my wrist. I watch the slow circular motion he makes wishing I could do the simple action myself. He sits back in his chair, his white mustache catching in the lighting. Facial hair does not work for him and the lights broadcast that in full unbashful form.
These hospital lights pick up on everything and hold it in place as if it's under a scrutinizing flashlight, yet it hasn't been able to trap me. That's the only thing the black hole was good for besides submerging me in its dark space and allowing me to forget time.
"You only woke up two weeks ago and you're already able to move your fingers. That's amazing!" The wrinkles on his face flex with happiness and his voices rises with fake joy that I'm sure he's not paid enough for.
He reminds me of my third grade science teacher.
Completely full of shit.
Two weeks and that's all I've accomplished. That's pathetic. I'm never going to able to move my arms again at this rate.
"Yay, I can touch my pinky to my thumb, but I can't bring a spoon to my mouth. That's so amazing" I roll my eyes rising from my chair we as he releases my wrist.
I'm honestly useless.
"It all comes in time Asher, don't you worry." The man rises as well clapping my shoulder. I shake his hand off.
"Sure." I mumble heading out of the physical therapy room and back towards my hospital room. I could walk the path with my eyes closed.
I've been here way too long
That social worker had lied to me. I haven't gone home.
I haven't seen my brothers.
It's almost painful to think of them now.
To know I'm never going to see them again.
I walk into my room to see Dr. Wilson standing by my charts. She doesn't acknowledge me as I enter and I don't bother doing the same.
I plop on the bed, the dark hole snuggling around me. It'll keep me glued to this spot for the rest of the day. My eyes meet the familiar white ceiling.
"I see you're in a good mood today." Dr. Wilson chuckles finally breaking the silence. I don't answer keeping my eyes on the blank ceiling above. "The nurses told me you haven't been eating much. That's not good."
I cut my eyes over to her giving her a hard stare. "The food here is terrible, maybe if you guys would just let one of my brothers bring me a meal I would eat."
Dr. Wilson shrugs taking a seat on the side of my bed.
My blood boils at her lack of response. What kind of doctor didn't try to make their patients feel better.
"Or, maybe if you released me from this place like you said you would do last week or the week before that I would eat! I feel fine." I yell with exasperation wishing I could pick something up and throw it.
"Hmmm both of those are good ideas, maybe I'll do that." She says nodding her head at me as she strokes her chin.
Was that supposed to be funny. She's just torturing me now.
The anger leaves me and I clench my eyes shut a frown tugging at my lips. "Please don't make jokes like that."
"I don't joke." Dr. Wilson says rising from my bed; the lights in my room wash over her black hair. She moves towards the door and I watch her go the frown on my face deepening. "It was nice getting to know you. I hope I never see you here again." Dr. Wilson gives me a small smile and a nod before she's gently closing my door.
I let out an irritated sigh. I don't even have enough energy to get upset with her weirdness anymore. I've been here too long. I lay back in my bed closing my eyes.
The sound of running feet enters my ears and I wish they were for me. I wish those feet were one of my brothers here to take me home. The dark pit laughs lightly at my hops snatching the idea from me and tucking it in a safe place.
The feet run past my door.
I'm never going home.
I open my eyes allowing myself to trace the nothingness of the white ceiling.
The feet skid to a halt and suddenly they're thundering back towards me. My door is thrown open and it hits the wall with a loud crash. I jump up, my eyes instantly connecting with light hazel eyes that look copper in the lighting.
My heart jumps in my chest as I take in the boy before me. He stands tall despite his ruffled hair and clothes. The freckles on his face scream familiarity. He smiles widely at me racing over to me with the speed of an excited child.
"Ash!" Rue yells throwing his arms around my neck. I lean into the hug, tears springing to my eyes at the sight of my annoying older brother. "Ash, I ran here as soon the doctor said we could see you. I thought I was never going to see you again. I thought I was dreaming when we got the call we could take you home yesterday. I am so sorry I yelled at you and for being a dick. Man I fucking missed you. I love you so much!" His words run together in an excited train that catches every bright light in my room and is way too powerful for the black hole. It shrinks unwrapping itself from me as it cowers in my stomach. I feel like I can breathe easier.
I smile brightly.
"I missed you so much Rue!" I mumble as I snuggle into him. I can't help the tears that drip from my eyes. My heart sings at being near him and I don't want his strong arms to let me go. I'm finally with someone who loves me. I'm not alone anymore.
"Dude, don't cry you're going to make me cry." Rue pulls back from the hug and cups my face. His long lashes bat against his cheeks as he stares at me his eyes shining. He runs a thumb across my cheek wiping away a tear.
His excited smile slowly slips from his face as he stares at me.
"What?" I sniff looking up at him. Rue doesn't say anything as he leans in; smashing his lips against mine. His lips are soft and capture mine in a kiss that is nothing like Connor's. It holds so much safety and compassion that I don't pull away from him.
I had missed him so much I would be an idiot to decline a little intimacy. I was lucky to be here with him right now. I could compromise a little intimacy for him being here with me.
I kiss him back working my lips against his.
Rue suddenly stops, his soft lips leaving mine. He stares down at me in surprise. "What the hell. Did you just kiss me back?." He asks furrowing his eyebrows.
"Yeah, you can kiss me again." I say shyly.
It's just kissing. It's not that big of a deal. I had spent so long without him and all of my brothers being alone in this hospital room. I would kiss him a thousand times to never feel that sadness again.
He furrows his eyebrows giving me a quizzical look before running a hand through his messy auburn hair. "What? I'm confused. Are you okay with that now?" He asks his question double laced with the relationship I had been rudely and selfishly avoiding.
"Well I guess I don't mind." I say taking in Rue's attractive features. I could compromise.
"You guess? I don't know if that's exactly the right way to enter-."
"Ash."
Rue is suddenly cut off as someone says my name. I turn to see Calloway standing in the doorway; his hand covers his mouth and his eyes are watery. His black hair is in a mess that makes me feel uncomfortable. He looks like he's been dragged through hell by his hair.
His eyes jump up around the hospital room before coming back to me. He walks over to me, coming to stand next to me in a matter of strides before he's bending down and cradling my head. He sniffles as he runs a hand through my hair. "I'm so happy you're okay baby." He says his words stained with light tears. "I thought we lost you."
His finger pull lightly at the strands combing away the last of the black hole in my stomach. I'm not even mad at him calling me baby, it's better than silence.
"I thought I lost you guys too." I say through tears looking up at him. He leans his forehead against mine giving me a smile. He wipes at my tears.
"Don't cry Ash, we're here now."
The sound of more of my brothers entering the room causes me to turn towards the door. My heart feels ready to burst as Hunter walks in with a dimpled smile, his hand intertwined with Oscar who drags behind him.
My eyes widen as Oscar steps in. His long hair is gone. In it's place is floppy oak brown hair that falls in his eyes.
I have never seen Oscar with hair that didn't at least touch his shoulders. He really liked having long hair....but, this new cut looks cute on him. I smile widely at him wishing I could lift my arms and engulf him in a hug.
They both stop at the edge of my bed, only Hunter makes a move to hug me. I turn my eyes to my eldest brother as he leans in, his wavy brown hair brushing my nose. His strong arms pull me against his hard chest and I could stay here forever. He pulls back to give me a kiss on the forehead.
I feel like I'm glowing.
"How are you feeling?" He asks quietly his long hair blocking my view of anyone else in the room. Hunter draws me in as he captures me with his strong gaze. I'm so glad he's here.
"Better now that you guys are here." I say with a smile.
"I'm glad." Hunter's muscular arms release me as he stands back. My eyes go to Oscar expectantly, but he still makes no move to touch me.
"Ozzie you look good." I finally say my voice light as I stare up at him. I can't keep the smile off of my face.
For a moment he doesn't say anything and then finally his face breaks into a beautiful smile.
"I'm happy you're awake Ash." Oscar says his voice quiet and delicate. His fingers play with the hem of his shirt.
"Yeah, sleeping in this bed without you has been hell though." I say taking in the new short haired Ozzie before me.
Oscar doesn't say anything, but a light blush rises on his face, painting his cheeks.
My attention is drawn away from him as someone grabs my hand. I look up to see Adair, his dark hair shines under the lights like a dark ocean. Black waves ripple against his jaw lines as he takes a seat on my bed and I'm surprised to see him without a book.
Had everyone changed while I was stuck in this hospital
Adair takes one of my hands bringing it to his lips. "Ash..." He mumbles around my fingers, his usual irritated expression ripples with emotions and he gives me a sweet smile. "I'm sorry." He says lifting my hand and kissing it.
I blush as he leans in wrapping me in a tight hug. He plants a kiss on my cheek, his lips resting there for a moment before he pulls back.
I stare into his light eyes giving him a smile. "Don't apologize Adair." He returns my smile picking up my hand and holding it again. "I don't want any of you to apologize." I say watching as Augustus finally enters the room, his eyes are on Hunter who hardly regards him. His eyes slowly slide from our older brother to me. I blush as our eyes meet; my heart fluttering in my chest.
Augustus gives me a small smile that hardly lifts the corner of his lips; his face is as guarded as it always is. Yet, I wish he would come over here and hug me.
Augustus runs a hand through his pale blonde hair keeping my gaze as he wets his lips, his tongue dragging across his lip ring.
I wonder what it feels like to kiss someone with a lip ring.
"Ash, don't say that. We should be the one apologizing to you." My eyes turn to Hunter as he speaks. "We were harsh and hard on you after the party, and although you shouldn't have done what you did the way we decided to act was unacceptable." His eyes briefly leave mine to flicker to Augustus who freezes his eyes dropping to the ground. He folds his arms against his chest before taking a step back and leaning against the wall. My eyebrows furrow at the interaction.
"We're all sorry. I'm sorry Asher." Hunter gives me another dimpled smile and I smile back.
"Let's just forget about that whole mess and go home!" Rue suddenly chips in leaning in close to me. His lips curve into another happy smile as he turns to Hunter. "We brought you some clothes."
"Finally!" I sigh in relief looking around at everyone.
I could finally be with them.
"The physical therapist will come to the house. You'll have to take it easy, but the doctor says you're doing really well." Hunter's deep voice fills the room.
Clothes are suddenly being shoved in my face and I shrink back into the pillow, unable to push them away or to stop myself from being smothered by them.
"Rue stop playing around." Adair snaps and the clothes are being taken away from my face.
"Oh...sorry about that Ash, I forgot." Rue says guiltily his words soft.
The room falls into silence. Hunter's eyes cut over to Augustus again and I watch Adair do the same thing. Augustus tenses up dropping his eyes to the ground. I furrow my eyebrows finally noticing the distance between him and the rest of my brothers.
He wasn't standing anywhere near my bed. He was only a few steps away from being out of the room.
"It's fine. The doctor says I'll regain movement...until then you'll just have to let me win a few arm wrestles." I say trying to lighten the room. Everyone's eyes are back on me and my brothers are giving me forced smiles, but the room seems to relax.
"Sooo, if you can't move your arms how are you going to get dressed?" Rue asks a devilish light slips into his eyes at his words and he gives me a smirk. "I'd be happy to help you out."
"Uh no, I rather have a nurse do it than you Rue. You can barely dress yourself and you're a pervert." I say shaking my head.
"You're rude." Rue gasps feigning hurt. He brings a dramatic hand to his heart before poking his bottom lip out at me. "Please? I'm really good with my hands."
I laugh rolling my eyes.
"Ozzie can help me." I say with smile, my eyes going to Oscar. His eyes widen at my words and they immediately go to Hunter. He gives a slight shake of his head causing his floppy oak brown hair to fall in his eye.
Hunter pushes the hair from his eyes leaning in close to him. A silent conversation happens between them before he's wrapping an arm around Oscar's shoulder.
I frown at the response. My eyes tracing over Oscar's hunched in form and the way he was now tightly hanging on to Hunter. He keeps his eyes on the ground.
I drop my eyes away from and to my lap. I stare at my limp hands trying to keep myself from crying. Oscar was my Ozzie...he couldn't hate me, right?
"How about I help you." Callie's sweet voice breaks me from my thoughts and I look up at me. His black hair is still a mess and I can't help staring at it. "Then we can all go home and watch a movie or something." He smiles rubbing my back lightly.
I turn to look at Oscar again catching his eyes for a moment before he's looking away. I blink feeling my heart sting.
"Okay." I say quietly turning back to Callies as I throw my legs over the side of the bed.
I glance at Oscar as we pass, he keeps his eyes on the ground as I do.
Calloway guides me into the small bathroom attached to my hospital room. He closes the door behind us, setting the clothes down on the sink counter.
"I'm really glad you're doing good." Callie whispers in my ear as stares at me through the mirror. I give him a forced smile my mind still on Oscar and momentarily forgetting that I was about to be naked in front of my big brother.
Did Oscar not want to touch me? Was that it?
Calloway's long fingers work at the not tying my hospital gown together. He hums as he does it his voice quieting as the gown falls to the floor. I blink focusing in on him through the mirror in front of us. I have not been naked in front of him since I was a kid. His eyes briefly run over my body before he's picking up my clothes off the counter.
"You look like hell." I say my eyes running over his tired face. He gives me a slight smile.
"I bet I do." He laughs lighty, his eyes leaving mine to glance at himself in the mirror. He ruffles his hair making the mess on his head slightly better, but not nearly in the perfect way he usually had it. "It felt like hell being without you. Not knowing if they were treating you right in here." His eyes leave his reflection and their back on me. He lifts my arms one at a time as he helps me get into my shirt. "I haven't done this in a long time. Not since you were a baby." He says quietly.
I watch him through the mirror. He traces his hand down my now clothed shoulder before kissing it.
"You used to be so tiny. With your little dimples." His hazel eyes jump up to meet mine in the mirror. "You're a man now though." Callie steps away from me as he reaches for the rest of my clothes. I step into them as he keeps his hand around my waist to steady me. I blush as his hands linger before they're wrapping around me to zip and button my jeans.
His chest presses into my back and his breath blows across my ear. He wraps his arms around me before planting a kiss on my neck.
"Callie." I protest on instinct before biting my tongue. I'm lucky to be with him right now--lucky to be with all of them. I need to stop turning my nose up at intimacy. I can compromise.
"I don't know what I would have done if I lost you." He mumbles against my skin. I shiver as his lips trail up the side of my neck to my ear. "I love you Asher."
"I love you too Callie," I respond giving him a smile through the mirror. I turn around to face him. He looks down at me; his face open and loving. "Being without you guys for two weeks was hard. Harder than I imagined. I've never felt so alone and I feel bad for trying to push away for so long."
I lean in to his chest wishing I could hug him.
"It's okay, that's what growing up is about. We'll always love you even when you get tired of us." Calloway places his hands on my shoulders. "I don't want to lose you again." He wraps his arms around my body pulling me tightly against him. "I'm so happy to see you baby that I can't even describe it." He pulls back from the hug, his face looming dangerously close to mine. I stare up at him unmoving.
He leans down slowly lightly pressing a kiss on my lips. I rise on my toes making the kiss firmier. He pulls back in surprise his dark eyebrows raised. He stares at me with raised eyebrows. "Did you just kiss me back?" He asks bringing a hand to kiss lips.
"Y-yeah. I'm okay with it now." I say softly chewing on my bottom lip.
An excited smile spreads across Callie's lips as he stares at me. I smile back just happy to be in his presence. To be near all of them.
"Wow." He grabs my face planting another kiss on my lips. "Well let's go tell everyone!"
Calloway grabs my hand pulling me out of the bathroom. I stumble out after him righting myself as we come to stand in the center of my brothers.
"Ash I think you should tell them." Callie sings hugging me close to him.
My brothers stare at me and for a minute my words catch in my throat. Nerves ripple through my body and I feel like I'm about to release a tsunami of things I'm not ready for.
"What is it Ash, is everything okay?" Hunter asks reaching out to touch my shoulder.
I nod forcing myself to swallow my doubts. Sitting alone in this hospital without my brothers has been one of the worst experiences. I don't want to go through it again. I can compromise and be with them if it meant not losing them again.
I can compromise.
"I want to join."