Page 58 of Pretty Broken Wings

I try to hold the laugh in, but I can’t. Axel’s pants are covered in slime and softened kibble. Buddy’s a real one, even if I know it’s just her inability to eat slowly.

“Goddamn it, dude.” Axel’s moaning, but his voice has less of the panic that it had earlier. He starts stripping, peeling off the wet clothes.

“No, don’t–”

Too late. Fucking hell, Axel’s bringing his clothes back to my washroom. He’s going to drip vomit all over my house.

Once Axel leaves the room, I feel like I can breathe again, and I think about what he said.

First of all, he’s not fucking Raven.

What the hell? I can’t unpack all of that right now because I’m not entirely sure I believe him. Axel fucks any and every willing woman. The only thing that makes me think he might be slightly telling the truth is that Raven seems to hate his guts.

Also, Raven’s being stalked?

It seems like a wild fucking story. She’s being stalked, and she doesn’t have any money. Although, that part might be true. She didn’t pack lunch, and she did ask for an advance.

Fuck. The teeny, tiny part of me that still feels things cringes.

Axel comes back into the room, clothed inmypants.

“Why did you come here?” I ask, a little lost. Axel hasn’t come to me for help in… years. Since we were kids. Part of me misses it, and part of me remembers that even though I see the best in people, they don’t always have my best interests in mind. Axel included. If he’s here, he wants something from me, and I’m sure there’s nothing in it for me.

Axel runs a hand down his face. “I don’t know, man. I guess I wanted…” he pauses for so long I’m not sure he’s going to finish what he was saying. Finally, his words come out soft, “I just wanted advice.”

I swallow.

“Listen.” Axel shakes his hands out. “I think… I don’t know, man; there’s something different about her.”

I register the vulnerability in his voice and eye him up and down. Is he manipulating me? Since when does Axel like anyone? Like… anyone? I’ve been convinced for a while that he doesn’t even like me. That thought makes an uncomfortable lump form in my throat, and I clear it.

“Please.” Axel looks at me. “I’m coming to you as a brother. You’re always the smarter one.”

I stare at him. He meets my gaze straight on, and for the life of me, all I can picture is little Axel. The one I’d do anything to cover for. The one I still do anything to cover for.

Only now, he wants my… He wants Raven.

And there’s the catch. Once again, it’s all about Axel, leaving Gage in the dust.

I cross my arms. Axel knows I’m a sucker for helping. He always pretended he didn’t see me leave leftovers in the fridge for Mom to eat. I knew he did, though, because he’d always save a few bites, too, and put them in when he thought I wasn’t looking.

I clench my jaw, and then the soft word that comes out of my mouth surprises me. “No.”

“No?” Axel blinks at me.

“No,” I say with more confidence. Axel looks crushed for a second, but for once, I don’t care. I’m done letting Axel get all the things that I want.

It’s not that I want Raven. Why would I want the devil in disguise, even if she’s witty and smart and smells like heaven? No, it’s just ‘cause I want to stop being a doormat to everything my brother wants.

“No.”

I turn on my heel and walk away.

If he wants Raven, he can get her fair and square. But for once in my life, I’m not fucking helping.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Dave drops me off at my house with much less chatter than usual. I suspect he’s beginning to think I’m crazy.