Page 138 of Should Our Hearts Catch Fire

Ellis lets the words wrap around him like a safety blanket. Uses them to silence the voice in his head that’s been trying to convince him of the opposite, the one that’s been growingquieter since he’d met Gabriel, but which still sometimes takes over.

‘You’re not alone.’

‘We are your family, if you’ll have us. And I am your brother, if you’ll have me.’

‘You’re not alone.’

He walks over to the sink and empties whatever is left of the whiskey down the drain before bringing his phone up again. Through shaking hands and blurry vision, he manages to type out three short words.

Ellis:I need you.

Seconds after he hitssend, a reply comes through.

Gabriel:I’m on my way.

Chapter 26

The time it takesfor the lift to reach Ellis’ apartment seems to drag forever. Has it always been this slow? Or is Gabe just frantic? Considering he ran out of his apartment as though he had the hounds of hell on his ass after receiving the text from Ellis, chances are it’s the latter. Even the Uber he took to get here seemed to go at sloth speed. Gabe regretted not taking the scooter, but he didn’t trust himself not to end up in a ditch with how all over the place his mind is. But who could blame him? His phone had been glued to his hand since Ellis took off.

After a million years, the lift finally comes to a stop, dinging softly to announce its arrival. Gabe rushes to Ellis’ door, hesitating for a second before delivering three, hopefully non-obnoxious knocks.

His heart breaks into a thousand pieces when Ellis opens the door.

“Hey,” Gabe says shakily.

Even if he wasn’t an empath, Ellis’ face would say it all. He looks utterly shattered, his eyes glassy as if he’s been drinking, and hair in disarray like he’s been pulling on it.

Fuck. Gabe wants to hug him so bad. Hug him and hold him and shower him with kisses until the pain has no choice but to dissipate.

“Hey,” Ellis says, voice rough. From drinking or crying, maybe both. He leaves the door wide open for Gabe before turning around. “Cal was here.”

“He was? What did he say?”

Gabe’s not sure how to feel about that. He didn’t like the idea of Ellis being alone, but the man needs time to think, to process. Cal barging in on him only hours after the big revelation probably only pissed him off.

Ellis makes his way to the kitchen silently. He pulls a glass out of a cupboard and fills it under the tap.

Gabe lets out a breath of relief. While it’s obvious Ellis has been drinking—the wavering gait and slightly slurred words are pretty telling—he must have decided it was enough. So maybe Cal coming by is a good thing after all?

Leaning back against the counter, Ellis downs half the glass in one go. “He wanted me to know he’s still my brother, if I’ll accept him.”

Ellis’ emotions are all over the place, Gabe has a hard time getting a read on them. The alcohol isn’t helping either, creating a distortion.

“Will you?”

Ellis knocks back whatever is left in the glass, before slamming it on the counter. “How the fuck do I do that? He’s…” His arm angrily shoots out. “He’s supposed to be a freaking death-bringer.”

“Maybe before. Now he’s just…a man. A man who cares for you very much.”

Ellis flinches, as if Gabe has slapped him. Despite the physical reaction, Gabe can feel his raw, vulnerable energy brighten with reluctant hope. Ellis might not be ready to accept this new Cal as his brother, but he’s come to care for him since the accident. Of course he wants Cal to care for him too, reaper or not.

“How do you know?”

Gabe chuckles softly. “It’s kind of my thing to know.” Not to mention that if Cal didn’t care, he wouldn’t have come here to patch things up in the first place.

Ellis has no idea how much he’s loved, by so many people.

“He said it was your idea to tell me.”