“The limo is on its way,” Nate announces at the same time he enters his living room, “and Pax and Holden should be here any second.”
I pull my eyes away from my cell.
“You okay?”
“Define okay.”
“Long day?”
“Long fucking week.”
An endless shit storm from start to finish. It down poured the entire trip. Reconciliation with my parents was more like a poorly written Reality TV series finale than anything else. And the bistro owner I went to assist spent the majority of her time trying to sleep with “The Charming Chef”, rather than actually learn anything from him. It was all one, long fucking joke with the worst punch line of course being that my beautiful, curvy girlfriend could be seen via video chat, but not fucking touched. Technology is a blessing and a goddamn nightmare.
I run my fingers through my thick hair. “And I haven’t heard back from Julia all day.”
Nate begins to fiddle with his cuff. “Maybe she’s busy, bro.”
“She had her meeting with Clara’s today, so I know that’s where her focus was, but that should’ve ended two hours ago…I should’ve heard back from her by now. I always hear back from her.”
And maybe I’m just being paranoid because last week when I was home, she mentioned she was having what she swore were irrational thoughts of being followed. We stayed up all night talking about it. She insisted her concerns were just from being in this city for months, like her mind was playing tricks on her, but I’m not nearly as sure. I would’ve asked Holden to check for any suspicious activity, but that would’ve meant coming clean that the kiss we shared on my birthday was the start of our relationship and not a mistake. Not exactly a conversation I wanted to have so close to Pax’s fucking wedding.
He switches to the other cuff. “You try calling?”
“When I landed and again on my way over. I called her office first knowing sometimes she gets so busy running around that she leaves her phone in weird places. Karina suggested, with a bitchy attitude might I add, that I should try her cell but felt the need to remind me that she would be going to a bachelorette party and might be too busy to answer.” Irritation boils in my tone. “She acted like I didn’t know where my girlfriend was gonna be tonight. Like who the fuck does she think she is? I-”
“Your. What?”
The words slither so coldly out of Pax’s mouth it sends a shudder down my spine.
Cautiously, I turn to face him, heart pounding harshly against my chest.
There isn’t time to respond or react to the fist that strikes my face. The blow is sharp.
Brutal.
Packed with enough power to send me flying backwards onto Nate’s coffee table. Broken wood pieces fly in different directions as my back hits the ground with a hard thud.
I grumble at the increasing pain, “Fuck…”
“That’s gonna leave a mark,” Holden’s voice mutters in the background.
Against my better judgment, I start to pick myself up when Nate promptly advises, “Bro, just stay down.”
Without further warning, Pax’s large dress shoe covered foot meets my ribcage with the force of a freight train. More groans of discomfort crawl out of me as I pray for mercy to whoever’s listening.
“You’re fucking my sister?!” His accusation is proceeded with another kick to the same area forcing me to roll the other way.
Somehow I manage to choke out the correction, “Love.”
He growls and rushes towards me prepared to deliver another shot when Holden attempts to snatch him by a bicep. “Come on, Pax. That’s enough.”
Effortlessly, he shrugs him off and nails me in my lower stomach. Bile lurches up the back of my throat causing me to cough. The metallic taste of blood tip toes across my taste buds, and I banish the little droplets to the hardwood floor.
Pax prepares for another assault and so do I, not bothering to block.
Not bothering to hide.
Not bothering to fight back.
He’s earned this right.
For every moment of every day I kept this hidden.
This is my newest penance.
This is what I deserve.
Holden attempts to grab him again this time yelling at Nate, “A little fucking help, bro!”
Nate swiftly grabs the other side and does his best to restrain him. “Enough, Pax.”
“Enough?!” His voice bellows. “Enough?! He’s been fucking my sister behind my back!”
I struggle to prop myself onto on my elbow. “Love, bro. I love your sister.”
“Fuck you!” He barks. “You don’t get to fucking love her!” Paxton struggles against his blockades, and they dig their heels in deeper. “She deserves better than a selfish, narcissistic, asshole who has fucked his way across six fucking continents!”
There’s no rebuttal out of me.
“You don’t even deserve to breathe the same goddamn air! You’re a fucking joke! The biggest fucking prick I know! You’re nothing more than a worthless sack of shit who takes and takes and fucking takes until he’s had his fill before tossing women aside! Love?!” He thunders. “You’re not fucking capable of love! You’re not capable of being loved! And even if you fucking were, you’re the last person on this fucking planet I would ever want anywhere near my sister!”
His words hurt more than the bruises he’s left.
Pax breaks free from their hold yet doesn’t come after me again. “Get out.”
Holden tries to speak, “Pax-”
“Get the fuck out of my life.”
My mouth moves too late.
“Stay the fuck away from me and la mia famiglia.” He leans slightly forward. “All of my family.”
It takes a few moments for me to gather myself back onto my feet. Once I’m there, arm wrapped around myself in an attempt to soothe the ache in my sides, I bite back, “Julia’s not just your kid sis anymore. She’s a fucking adult. She gets to choose who she wants to be with whether you like it or not.”
He sneers, fingers curling into a fist. “She won’t choose you over me.”
“She shouldn’t fucking have to.”
“Then do something selfless for once in your miserable fucking life and don’t make her.”
Deafening silence spreads throughout the entire room.
Is he right?
Am I making Julia pick between me and her family?
Between a boyfriend, fucking new to her life, and a family that was robbed of their privilege so long ago?
I attempt to take a deep breath, yet it comes out in a wheeze.
“Let’s get you to a hospital,” Nate responsibly suggests. “Make sure nothing’s broken.”
With my eyes pinned in Pax’s I grump, “Pretty sure everything’s broken.”
His eyes narrow.
Nate lets out a deep breath and tries again, “Wyatt-”
“It’s fine.” The surrender is followed by me moving past them for the front door. “Go. Enjoy Pax’s party.” Closer to Pax, I add, “Celebrate the fact he’s worthy of being loved.”
My snide retort receives more objections from Nate and Holden, but I ignore them.
I honestly don’t know if this was better or worse than I expected.
Of course I knew he wouldn’t be thrilled at the idea of us together, however, I never thought he’d spew such fucking hatred. I never thought he’d throw my flaws in my face and force them down my throat. I never believed he’d use my greatest fears as a weapon to keep me away from Julia.
Here I thought, after all the bullshit we’ve encountered over the years that nothing could ever tear us apart…
Oh, how fucking wrong I was.
How very.
Fucking.
Wrong.