Chapter Twenty
Declan
I woke up to the sound of voices arguing. After a few seconds, I recognized Trent’s and Kade’s voices, and there was one other voice that sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it. I got out of bed and ran a hand through my hair as I straightened out my t-shirt and sweatpants, then walked down the hall. I stopped short to take in the scene.
Kade was on one side of the living room wringing out his hands, and Trent was on the other side, holding a bloodied towel to Evan’s face. Apparently, Trent’s brother had shown up at my house while I was sleeping. Trent had crashed on my couch last night because he didn’t want to go home after the bonfire, though he wouldn’t tell me why. Now I was wondering if it had something to do with his brother.
Kade yelled, “What the fuck, Trent?”
“Me? You just punched my brother in the face, you asshole.”
“He was—”
“What the hell’s going on here?” I asked loudly and crossed my arms, trying to look demanding so they’d all shut it and look at me. All three of them started yelling at once, so I held my hand up and said, “Trent, tell me what’s going on.”
Trent shot me a look of relief before talking a million miles a minute. “Evan called me in the middle of the night to ask where I was. So I told him. But I didn’t think he’d just show up. But a few hours later, he was banging on the door, so I let him in and he was upset and not making sense. Then all of a sudden, Kade runs out here and punches him in the face, making him bleed everywhere—I’m pretty sure his nose is broken—then Kade was trying to shove him out the door. And they were both screaming and yelling, and they wouldn’t stop until I jumped between them. But then I got pushed into the fucking table and when I screamed, they both shut the fuck up long enough for me to separate them and get some ice. But they still won’t stop yelling at each other.” He took a deep breath and blew it out.
“Are you okay?” I asked him immediately when I saw him press a hand to his side. I walked over to him as I processed everything he said during his verbal diarrhea. I made him sit on the couch. “Let me get you some ice.”
Trent waved me off. “I’m fine. Just make sure these two don’t start going at it again.”
I looked at my brother and pointed at the armchair. “You, there.” I looked at Evan and pointed at the loveseat. “You, there.” I looked between all three of them. “Nobody move a muscle until I get back.”
Kade’s jaw clenched, but he nodded and Evan gave me a nod, too. I patted Trent’s knee before going into the kitchen, grabbing a little towel and filling it with ice. I walked back into the living room, ignored the two brats, and knelt down in front of Trent. I lifted the corner of his t-shirt, but he put his hand over mine to stop me. I looked up into his brown eyes and said, “Please let me look.” He huffed, but released my hand. I gasped when I saw the dark bruise and bleeding cut on his hip. “Jesus.”
“Dec, it’s just a little cut.” Trent grabbed the towel from me and pressed it to his hip. “No big deal. But thanks for the ice.”
“It is a big deal. Those little shits hurt you.”
“I’m fine.”
I sat beside him and put my arm over his shoulders, then looked at our brothers. “What the fuck happened? You don’t go around punching people, Kade.”
“I thought…” Kade trailed off, then waved at Evan. “I thought he was attacking Trent.”
“Why the fuck would you think that?” Evan asked before I could. The kid was bouncing his leg really fast and flicking his fingers in what I assumed was some kind of nervous tick.
Kade glared at him. “You were grabbing at him and pushing him.” He looked at me. “Their arguing woke me up, and I ran out here to find some guy I don’t know pushing Trent around and I just reacted.”
“He wasn’t pushing me around,” Trent said.
“It sure as hell looked like he was.”
“He was agitated and I was trying to stop him from pacing. He pushed me off of him.” Trent crossed his arms over his chest. “I didn’t need your help. And how the hell did you think he got in here, anyway? You think I’m crazy enough to open the door for someone I don’t know that looks agitated as fuck?”
“I don’t…” Kade ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
“Obviously,” Trent said before looking at Evan. “What are you doing here, ER?”
Evan looked at Trent, then glanced between Kade and me before refocusing on his brother and saying, “I… can’t say.” He gave Trent a pointed look.
Trent nodded, then turned to me and quietly asked, “Can I take him in your room to talk to him in private?”
I eyed Evan and frowned, but looked at Trent and said, “Of course.”
“Thank you.” Trent squeezed my knee before standing and pulling Evan off the loveseat and dragging him down the hall.
I looked at my own brother. “Dude, what the fuck were you thinking?”
Kade sighed. “Look, that guy was fidgeting and yelling at Trent. He grabbed his shoulders and shoved him so hard Trent bumped into the door. I thought he was on drugs or something, I dunno.”
“He pushed him?”
Kade nodded.
I sighed and leaned back on the couch, pinching the bridge of my nose. After a few seconds, I said, “I need coffee for this.” I got up and headed into the kitchen.
Kade followed behind me. “You really think it’s safe to have him in there with Trent? What if he pushes him again?”
“He’s fine, Kade.”
“But he was—”
“Listen to me.” I looked him in the eyes. “Trent trusts him, okay? They’re brothers and I think we need to stay out of it.” I didn’t want to betray Trent’s trust by telling Kade that he and Evan had always protected each other growing up, and that Evan was one of the only people Trent had ever fully trusted. But I still wanted my brother to calm the fuck down. Especially this early in the morning.
Kade huffed. “Fine, whatever. I’m goin’ back to bed, then.” He walked out of the kitchen, clearly pissed at the world.
“Hey, Kade?”
“Hm?” He looked over his shoulder at me.
“Thanks for trying to help. You didn’t go about it the right way, but thanks, anyway.”
He nodded, then headed to his room.
I sat on one of the stools in the kitchen and drank my coffee. Once the caffeine kicked in, I’d start breakfast, but for now, I just needed to calm my nerves. Waking up to that and seeing Trent hurt was about the worst thing I could imagine, and I needed to calm the hell down. Plus, having Trent in my room with someone that’d just pushed him was making me antsy. Telling Kade we needed to trust Trent with Evan in there was easier said than done. I wanted to check on him—them. Both of them, yeah.
When Trent finally emerged thirty minutes later, I was still sitting on the stool. He walked into the kitchen and immediately headed for the cabinet to pull out a mug and coffee stuff. While his mug was going, he turned and leaned against the counter with his arms crossed and a deep frown on his face. He cleared his throat and said, “I really hope you’re not gonna be pissed, but I made Evan lay down in your bed to get some sleep. He’s been… worried all night and hasn’t slept in over twenty-four hours.”
I waved him away. “That’s fine. What’s going on? Is he okay?”
Trent blew out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. “Physically, he’s fine now that the bleeding stopped, but emotionally… I’m not so sure.”
When he stopped talking, I asked, “What’s going on?”
“He ran into one of his foster dads yesterday. The guy he was with before we were placed together. Let’s just say that he had a bad experience with him.”
I stared at Trent for a long time attempting to understand exactly what he was trying to say. “I can understand him being upset, but why did he come over and push you?”
“He…” Trent chewed on his cheek for a few seconds. “He couldn’t sleep in my apartment by himself because the power went out and he was… having bad memories—flashbacks or whatever. Being alone in the dark doesn’t sit well with him, especially after that run-in, so when he came over, he wasn’t in a good headspace. I shouldn’t have tried grabbing him the way I did. It was my fault he pushed me. I knew he’d react that way, but I thought I could pull him out of it.” He turned and grabbed his coffee mug. “He feels terrible and wouldn’t stop apologizing, but it really wasn’t his fault. Anyway, now that the sun’s out and I’m here, too, he should be able to sleep. Or I hope so, because he’s exhausted.” He looked over his shoulder at me. “Are you okay with me hanging out for a while?”
“Of course.” I still didn’t really understand what was going on with Evan, but I could tell that Trent was trying to be evasive while still answering me. Clearly, the kid in there had been abused somehow, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the details of it. I cleared my throat. “You sure he’s okay in there by himself?”
“I’ll check on him in a little while. He wanted to be left alone, just not… completely alone, I guess.”
I nodded. “Okay, well, you wanna make some breakfast?”
“Can we just eat some cereal and sit on the couch or something?” At my nod to his question, Trent sent me a soft smile before whispering, “Thanks for being so understanding, Declan.” He walked over to me and placed a small kiss on my cheek.
Something weird fluttered in my chest at the gesture, and I found myself reaching out to brush his bangs off his forehead. After spending this last week apart, and realizing how much the small moments like this meant to me, I didn’t want to waste any more of them. I grabbed Trent’s hand and pulled him into the living room, making him sit on the couch. “I’ll grab the cereal and everything; you find something to watch.”
He nodded before I walked back into the kitchen and grabbed bowls, spoons, cereal, and milk, then took everything back out and set it on the table. I sat beside him on the couch, right next to him so our legs were touching, and he started a show as we both fixed our bowls. I’d missed this easy closeness we had, which was something I’d never had before with anyone else. I was a little hesitant to test the bounds too much after he’d run and ignored me for a week, but I was also trying to forgive him and believe him when he’d said he would never do that again. It was hard for me to believe him—I knew that our friendship would come to an end eventually, but I wanted it to last as long as possible. I liked Trent, more than I probably should, and not seeing him last week had hurt me more than I’d ever admit to anyone, so I was praying that we wouldn’t have a repeat anytime soon.
Once we finished eating and set our bowls back down, I jumped up to throw the milk in the fridge, and as soon as I sat back down, Trent scooted close, tucked his arm into mine and bent his knees, leaning his legs on my thigh and his cheek on my shoulder. I put my hand on his thigh and settled against him, happy to have him close.
We stayed that way for a while, and when Kade finally came back out of his room, he didn’t even bat an eye at us, apparently used to seeing us cuddling on the couch. I did notice that Trent tensed a little when he came out, and he followed his movements with his eyes.
“You know he was only trying to help, right?” I whispered low enough that my brother wouldn’t be able to hear.
Trent sighed. “I know.” He pressed his cheek more firmly against me. “Do you think he hates me now?”
“Why in the world would he hate you?”
“Because it was my brother that came over and messed shit up this morning, and instead of yelling at my brother, I yelled at yours.”
“He doesn’t hate you. I think he feels bad for hitting Evan, though.”
Trent sighed again and Kade walked out, plopping in the armchair with a bag of chips. “What’re ya guys watching?”
I told him as he noisily opened the chip bag.
Trent suddenly said, “I’m sorry I yelled at you.”
Kade waved him off. “I deserved it. Sorry I punched your brother.”
Trent sent him a half-smile and a nod.
“You should probably apologize to Evan when he wakes up,” I added.
“He’s still here?”
“He’s sleeping in my room.” I decided to change the subject before Kade made an ass out of himself with some rude comment. “You guys want to order some Chinese or something? Do you know what Evan likes so he’ll have food when he wakes up?” Normally, I’d just cook something, but I was too comfortable sitting on the couch with Trent. And honestly, after such a long, terrible, and exhausting week of sulking, I was too worn out to cook.
As if reading my mind, Trent looked at me with a frown. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
He eyed me for a moment before saying, “Yeah, I know what he likes.”
“Perfect. Kade, go get a menu.”
Surprisingly, my brother didn’t complain about needing to get up or about me bossing him around like he normally did.
Trent and I didn’t move until the food was delivered, but right after we finished eating, we resumed our previous positions. We didn’t even move when Evan finally woke up and joined us. I lost track with how long we stayed that way, but when Trent finally got up and went home, I instantly missed the heat of his body beside mine.