Page 20

CHAPTER 20

Rodney

Somehow, I manage to sleep like the dead after Aries and Ma talk with me. I don’t know if it’s because I managed to relax with them or because I’m simply too tired to stay awake.

What I do know is that I’m starving by the time I get out of bed.

I decide comfortable is more important than anything else. Grabbing my massive blanket hoodie, I throw it on as I head downstairs.

“Ma! Please tell me you cooked something. I’m hungry enough to eat a herd of cattle.” I laugh to myself as I reach the bottom step.

Except it dries up quickly when I see what’s waiting for me.

Andry sits at the table between Ma and Aries. The three of them are all smiling at me, as if this isn’t a nightmare come to life.

“What are you doing here?” I direct at Andry. Then I turn to my brother. “How could you let him in here?”

Aries raises his hands. “Don’t bite my head off. There’s stuff you two need to talk about, ok? I made sure to check him out before I let him stay. Trust me, lil bro. I love you.”

I have the urge to scoff at that. How could he love me if he let the man who hurt me in here? What kind of person does that?

But then I look at Ma. And her expression tells me there’s definitely something I’m missing.

I wave my hand at them. “I’m not talking until someone feeds me.”

Andry is the first to jump up. He rushes into the kitchen to the sound of my family’s laughter. I follow him, curious to know what he’s going to put together.

As I watch him move around the space, I realize how comfortable he is here. The way he navigates things in my family home is much like he navigates on the ice — all graceful and fluid, yet with a hint of that power you know could crush you.

Before I know it, he has a plate piled high with food for me. It’s sort of amusing how he’s taken a little of everything since I didn’t say what I was in the mood for.

“Come sit. I’ll feed you,” he tells me.

My eyes widen as he turns us back to the dining table. Ma has vanished, but Aries is still in place. He looks at us with an amused sort of grin. I know he’s probably getting a kick out of knowing something about this entire situation that I don’t. Aries is smart, but he always thinks I outshine him.

Of course, he never factors in how sociable he is. I may thrive in a classroom setting; however, I clam up around others. He’s the exact opposite, and I’m jealous most of the time.

I take Ma’s empty seat since it’s where Andry sets my plate. As I reach for the first bite, he shouts, “NO!”

Aries covers his laugh. Meanwhile, I give Andry a wide-eyed stare.

He drops into the seat he evacuated before, except he scoots it closer. His hand reaches over, grabbing my fork and spooning a bite.

“I said I would feed you, little genius. Let me.”

There’s so much sincerity in his voice, so much longing. I can’t fight the way my mouth drops open, eager for him to do as he wants.

“Good boy,” he whispers, only soft enough for me to hear.

At least, I hope so. Aries may know a lot about my life, and I know a lot about his, but it doesn’t mean we need to witness it all.

Then again, my brother decides to poke at us when he speaks up in a silly baby voice saying, “You two are adorable together.”

I roll my eyes as Andry smirks. “Thank you. I like to think it’s all thanks to my little genius. He’s adorable all on his own.”

Aries hums as if to agree. “I can see how you believe so. The family genetics are strong.”

“Si ellos son!” Ma shouts from somewhere in the house.

Her words break the tension around us. I swallow my bite of food, joining in their laughter. It feels good to let go of the pain from before. Not that it’s all gone, of course. But I’ve pushed it down enough to not be an issue at the moment.

“We all need to talk,” Andry says once we’ve calmed down.

Aries nods, bouncing a bit in his seat. “I agree. Lots to discuss. Should I start or do you want to?”

My eyes bounce between the pair. They’ve managed to form some kind of truce while I’ve been asleep. I would be mad about it.

Except… well, I’m more curious than anything else.

Aries was firmly on my side earlier. If Andry convinced him otherwise, then maybe I should listen to him.

“I’m feeding him now. You tell the story. I’ll correct you if you lie,” Andry finally answers after a moment of furrowed focus.

My brother takes that as all the instruction he needs. He begins the tale of what happened, starting with Andry’s practice.

As he dives into the play-by-play, Andry continues to feed me at a steady pace. I get caught up in the gossip style production Aries gives us. I’m hanging onto every word like there’ll be a quiz when he’s done.

“We think that when Andry went to shower, the jackass who doesn’t like you took his phone and texted the breakup thing. Then he deleted it so Andry wouldn’t even know. After that, he showed up for your session. You didn’t show — obvi — so he went to see Jaz.”

“Yaz,” Andry and I say at the same time.

Aries snaps his fingers. “Yes, Yaz. That’s the one. Anyway, she confirmed you’d blocked him, since this guy didn’t know that was a thing. After that, he came here and explained himself. We even called his coach to verify it all.”

I choke on the bite Andry gives me. Chewing quickly, I rush to ask, “You talked to his coach?”

“We did, little genius. He was able to correct the assumptions your brother seemed to have.”

“He was,” Aries adds. “And thus, the plan for revenge was born.”

“Revenge?”

“Yes, revenge. You think these punks can tease my brother and not get payback? That they can hurt your relationship without repercussions?”

I gape at my brother, wondering what the hell he’s talking about. “Someone needs to start explaining.”

“You just keep eating, little one. Your brother will explain his insane plan.”

Aries scoffs dramatically. “Insane? I think it’s rather brilliant.”

Andry shakes his head. “Then tell him so the actual brilliant one among us three can either confirm or deny the validity.”

“Oh, he’s using the big words now, brother. I see why you like him.”

I nearly choke on my bite of food for how ridiculously my brother bats his lashes at me. He’s always been such a character. Even when he’s on the field, you can sense he’s riling his team up. Sometimes he also messes with the opposing team too. That’s when I know it’s going to be an intense game.

“Alright, fine. The plan is simple. We get revenge on the jerks who keep messing with you by messing with them. Coach is going to handle taking care of their punishment on the ice. We’re going to handle it off the ice.”

“How so?” I ask when Aries pauses for dramatic effect a little too long.

“By rubbing their stupid ideas in their faces. We’ve already checked. These guys are obsessed with all things professional hockey. Some also follow the Bulldogs too. What if we make it so they can’t avoid seeing you and Andry everywhere? You’ll be on all their feeds, in every positive story put out there about the team. I’ve even considered us doing some social media interviews as a collective group to show we’re all friends. It’s good publicity, and it shows you’ve got the backing of the most powerful men in the city — at least in the sports world.”

My jaw drops. “That’s actually really smart.”

“Uh, duh! I came up with it. Of course it is.” His haughty act only lasts a minute before he’s cackling like he’s huffed some laughing gas.

Andry gives me a look to let me know he’s amused as well but won’t show it. I appreciate him finding my brother as endearing as I do.

“It sounds like it’ll definitely get their attention,” I admit. “Are you sure we can pull it all off?”

“Leave it to me. You two show up when you’re supposed to, and it’ll work.”

“I’m in if Andry is.”

“Anything for you, little genius,” he agrees easily before adding, “There is one more thing though.”

Aries ignores us to take out his phone. I have no doubt he’s texting Raymond. The man is obsessed with his boyfriend. Can’t say I blame him. I’m starting to see I might have an obsession of my own with Andry.

“What is it?” I ask him.

“Coach wants to meet you.”

“He does!?”

Andry nods. “He does. When I told him everything, he was furious. He wants to show a united front and make the team aware you aren’t the enemy.”

“They’re going to hate me even more.”

Aries chooses that moment to jump back in. “Even if they do, there isn’t anything they can do about it. You’re going to be everywhere they turn. And more people will see you and take notice. They won’t get away with bothering you because there will be more eyes on you than ever.”

I shiver at the thought. I’m not sure I want all those extra eyes on me. That leads to more scrutiny. What if people hate me, and I wind up with more bullies instead?

My thoughts must show on my face because Andry plucks me out of my chair and puts me in his lap. I gasp at the sudden movement.

“Nothing bad will happen to you again, little genius. You have an army of protectors behind you now. I’m sorry my bad decisions caused this.”

“Bad decisions?”

Aries snorted. “This guy didn’t even have a solid passcode on his phone. It was 1-2-3-4. Very easy for the idiots to crack, especially if they’ve seen him open it.”

“I’m sure they have,” Andry replies. “I’ll set something harder. And if you ever get another message like that, I want you to come find me right away. I don’t care where I am, you show up and confront me.”

The doorbell rings as I’m nodding. We hear Ma rush to answer it, then she’s squealing in delight.

“Raymond! Come in, come in.”

A second later, she appears with a flustered Raymond behind her. He makes a beeline for Aries, who welcomes him with open arms. Raymond drops into my brother’s lap and buries his face in his neck.

“Rough morning?” Aries asks.

There’s a hum of agreement before Raymond mumbles, “Missed you.”

I smile at the pair, happy to see how perfect they are for one another. Then I look back to Andry, whose gaze isn’t on them, but on me. And the look I see there is full of devotion and promise.

He cares for me as much as my brother cares for Raymond.

“I love having all my boys here at once. How perfect. Aries and Raymond. Andry and Rodney. Wait! I don’t think I ever noticed the initials for both are A and R. Oh!” She presses a hand to her chest, then turns away muttering in Spanish about fate and presents.

“Do you think she’s going to buy us a bunch of monogrammed stuff now?” Aries asks me.

I giggle. “Probably so. She always hates that she missed that train when we were little. Now she has a reason to go all out. She might even use the allowance you give her to do it.”

Aries shouts excitedly. “Hot damn! I’ll take whatever couple shit she sends our way if it gets her spending my money.”

We all laugh at his outburst, and it feels like family.

It feels like home.

I’m not sure what I’ve done to deserve these people. I just hope I get many more moments like this with them for as long as I can.