Page 7 of The Story of You

“I told you, Calvin and I have to meet about the new department.”

“Tomorrow, you said.”

“Now he wants to meet today, but we’ll go straight after, okay?”

I pause and then nod—I don’t mean to be disappointed, but I am. I had big plans for us. “Yeah. Maybe I’ll start the book instead then.”

“I’ve disappointed you. I’m sorry.”

“I’m going to be disappointed on occasion, Juli. It’s not the end of the world.” I know Silas thinks it is. “But really, I’ve been waiting for the right time to start the book anyway. Maybe this is it.”

“Si.We’ve been so busy. Take the morning, relax. I’ll return home to pamper you.”

I eye him carefully, worried. I want to ask if he’s okay, but I don’t. It’ll only insult him because it will have to do with Silas and that’s a sore spot.

While he’s in the shower, I spy the book. It’s been sitting on my nightstand in case I might want to read it before bed. I should probably wait to read it until Julius can sit with me, but if he’s sitting behind me with his hard cock poking into me, I’m going to want to do other things.

I open it. The first chapter is Darius. It’s titled: The Fucking Prologue.

I know Elmore Leonard says to avoid prologues, but honestly fuck that guy and the horse he rode in on. Sometimes a story needs a little road map and you, dear brother, need a fucking road map.

Jesus, Darry.

I close the book when there’s a knock at the door. The person doesn’t wait. Darius storms in and then pounce! He buries me under him. He’s thin these days, but he’s also a lot taller than I am. “Rise and shine, buttercup.”

“Darry!Darry. Get the fuck off me. I’m naked under here.”

“I was the one who dressed you for school every damn morning. I’ve seen your dong more than anyone should ever see their brother’s dongs.” He climbs off me and makes himself at home on Julius’s side of the bed, snuggling into me.

God, my family is so weird.

“What the fuck are you doing barreling in here?” And why wasn’t that door locked? It’s getting permanently locked.

“I came to warn you that Silas is in a bad fucking mood so when you dance your ballerina ass down those stairs, do us all a favor and don’t do anything to piss him off more.”

“It’s not like it’s breaking news that Silas is in a bad mood.” I don’t need a special warning.

“No. Badfuckingmood. Did you miss the part where I said fucking? Even Lakskie’s steering clear.”

“Where’s Wyatt?” I hold Darry tighter though. There’s something vulnerable about Darry right now. Ever since his mishap in the creek, he’s been different. I think having WyattandAsh around has something to do with it too. He’s like a marshmallow version of my drunken, cynical brother.

“He left me; can you believe it?”

I remember where he went. “Wait, didn’t you hire him a personal trainer?”

“Yeah, the best one I could find. I’m going to make sure Daddy gets on the fire force. I didn’t realize he had to be there at the ass crack of dawn.” He yawns and moves over until his head is on my chest. He closes his eyes. I just want to squeeze the fuck out of him.

He could have died. I can’t shake it. It haunts me. I’ve cried myself to sleep a few nights thinking about it. It’s not even off the table. He hasn’t cut back on drinking, well, maybe a little, but he still drinks more than enough that what happened last month could happen again.

“It ain’t happening again,” Wyatt had promised me.

“How do you know that?” I asked. “You can’t watch him all day.”

The only time I don’t worry about him is when he’s with Wyatt.

“He’s under orders. If he disobeys them even a smidgeon, I told him he’ll be my shadow and I’ll be his.”

“What did he say to that?” It couldn’t have gone over well, knowing Darry. Wyatt paused. “It was dirty, wasn’t it?”