Page 211 of Broken Brothers

I had gotten so engrossed in my phone call, having sat on the couch with a blanket over my naked body, that I completely forgot Layla was there. She sat by me, turning her body to me.

“I’m fine,” I said. “Morgan’s not, though. Edwin just died.”

“Oh my God, Chance, I’m sorry.”

“It’s OK, don’t be,” I said. “I was never close to him. He wasn’t someone who deserved my attention or care. I’ll go this funeral just to be there for Morgan and my mother, but I have a feeling that it’s not going to be a very populated funeral.”

“That’s… harsh.”

“Yeah, but it’s true.”

The more I thought about it, the more I realized I had a lot to unpack because of Edwin’s death. I didn’t mean from the perspective of my relationship with him; interestingly enough, that was one of the more settled parts of it all. I had little doubt about how I felt about Edwin.

I was more concerned about how his death would affect how I led my life and who I bonded with. Would it make me want to hold on to Layla more strongly and aggressively than I was now? Would it make me want to go and visit my biological father’s grave and my mother? Would it change my outlook on money and work?

I had no idea. I didn’t even know where to start, other than to go to the hospital to see Morgan.

“I gotta go to the hospital,” I said. “But, Layla, can you promise me something?”

She nodded, compassion and kindness fully in her eyes.

“You haven’t accepted the job in Chicago, right?”

“It’s likely, but not officially,” she said.

“OK,” I said, taking a deep breath. “Promise me that before you officially accept the offer, you come and talk to me. It may not do anything, but I just want to have that chance with you before you make that decision. Can you do that?”

I saw something then in Layla’s eyes that I hadn’t seen since… well, ever.

A real hope.

Not a hope for sex. Not a hope that I would forgive her.

But a hope that we would work.

“I will,” she said softly.

She leaned forward and kissed me. I held her face in my hands; I never wanted to let go.

“Thank you,” I said. “I’ll text you for when we can meet again after I deal with this. I promise.”

I hated to leave her face and her warm hands, but I had no choice. I didn’t even realize until I was halfway down the stairs that I had left Layla in my own apartment, not hers. I knew she wouldn’t do anything and that with the way our elevator was set up, it was all but impossible for someone to rob me, but still.

I hailed an Uber, rode to the hospital in silence, and rushed up to the intensive care unit where Morgan said he was. I found them in a room about four doors down the hallway.

I stared, looking at the body of Edwin Hunt, lying on a hospital bed. Morgan was by his side, sobbing. Mom was standing near the door, her arms crossed. Morgan saw me, rose, and embraced me in a hug. I patted him a couple of times on the back and rubbed his shoulder as he sat down.

I didn’t have any words in that moment, but none were really needed. I could obviously never understand what Morgan was feeling, not just because I had no relationship with Edwin, but because I didn’t know what it was like to lose a family member. Unlike with my biological father, whom I still avoided even after his death, I vowed to be more present, if only for Morgan’s sake.

I then went over to Mom and hugged her. She motioned for me to follow her outside the room. She didn’t say a word until the door to Edwin’s room had latched shut.

“How are you feeling, Chance?”

I was never a great liar in the first place, but given that Melanie had divorced Edwin and shown no regrets at all, I didn’t see any reason to even mollify my words.

“I’m here for Morgan and that’s it,” I said. “As far as Edwin… I don’t really feel anything. Sorrow for him, maybe, but not like sorrow he’s gone. More like sorrow that he could’ve been a great man to me, and he chose not to be.”

Mom nodded and sighed. She leaned against the window to the room, noticeably making it so if any sound somehow did penetrate through the window, Morgan was unlikely to hear it.