The Substitute

by Sean Ashcroft

  “Everything’ll look better after a nap. Promise,” Flynn said. “And I’ll talk to him. He might just come around.”

  “Thank you,” Zach said. “For… all of this.”

  “No problem,” Flynn responded, tucking the blankets around him. “That’s what family’s for, right?”

  “I’m family?” Zach blinked at him.

  Flynn shrugged. “Close enough to it. I was looking forward to having a new baby brother.” He smiled wryly. “It’ll be okay. I promise you.”

  Zach didn’t really believe that, but something about Flynn made him want to. Made him want to think that the world wasn’t so bad, and that he would feel better after a nap, and maybe that Flynn could solve every problem he’d ever had and then some.

  He understood the way Aiden had talked about him, now. Flynn was wonderful.

  “Get some sleep,” Flynn said. “We’ll be back soon. I’m taking Aiden’s key card, so you won’t have to answer the door. Need anything while I’m out?”

  Zach snorted. “A new fiancé, if you can find someone desperate enough to marry me.”

  “I don’t think they’d need to be desperate,” Flynn said. “Maybe a little more sensible than Aiden, is all. We’ll try to get you your old one back first.”

  Sighing, Zach let himself sink into the pillows, listening to the sounds of Flynn and Callie talking just low enough that he couldn’t really make out what they were saying. It was nice to have company, though, and his stomach sank just a little when he heard the room door close behind them, and he was all alone again.

  They’d be back, he told himself. They wouldn’t abandon him.

  Chapter Three

  Flynn had trusted Callie’s borderline-supernatural sense of where to get good food and followed her into a pizza place she said she’d spotted on the way to the hotel, about five minutes’ walk away.

  He didn’t know how she did it, but she seemed to be right as usual, the smell inside making Flynn’s mouth water. They hadn’t had time to eat before their flight, so he was running on two slices of toast and a cup of coffee from this morning, and he was starting to feel it.

  Aiden had responded to his text—by saying he wasn’t coming back and he didn’t want to talk about it—but hadn’t picked up his phone despite Flynn calling it non-stop the whole walk here.

  When Aiden dug his heels in, there was no point in trying to move him. He’d clearly made up his mind, and he obviously didn’t care that he’d thrown his boyfriend under the bus in the process.

  Flynn wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d been planning to leave exactly like this for a while. This was the kind of thing Aiden did, instead of just telling people how he felt.

  Zach seemed like a good guy, and the more Flynn thought about it, the madder he was that Aiden had set him up to believe that everything in his life was about to start going right, only to snatch it away at the last minute.

  It was cruel even for Aiden, though Flynn was sure it wasn’t deliberately so. Just thoughtless. Aiden wasn’t big on thinking about other people.

  Flynn still loved him, but…

  “You seem deep in thought,” Callie said, leaning against the wall beside Flynn. “Aiden still not answering?”

  “He’s not gonna answer,” Flynn said, the knot in his stomach tightening just a little more. At this rate, starving as he was, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to bring himself to eat.

  “Yeah, I figured,” she said. Callie knew as well as Flynn did what Aiden was like. She’d spent most of the time they’d known each other trying to convince Flynn not to be so forgiving, not to clean up after him so often.

  Maybe she’d been right. If Aiden understood the concept of his actions having consequences, maybe they wouldn’t be here.

  But they’d both lost enough, and Flynn hadn’t wanted to see Aiden suffer ever again after their mom’s funeral, no matter what it took.

  Ten years later, he was still picking up after him. But that didn’t seem likely to change.

  In fact, he was thinking about doing it again. And the more he thought about it, the more convinced he was that he should do it.

  Zach hadn’t walked into this knowing what Aiden was like. He didn’t deserve to have his life ruined because Aiden couldn’t keep a promise if his own life depended on it.

  And there was an easy way to fix this…

  “On a scale of one to ten, how mad would you be if I said I was thinking about offering to marry Zach instead?”

  “Eleven,” Callie said without missing a beat, as though she’d been expecting Flynn to say exactly that.

  She knew him better than he knew himself, in a lot of ways, so maybe she had been expecting it. Callie knew what Flynn was thinking before he even thought it half the time.

  “Yeah, I figured, but hear me out,” Flynn said. “What happens in Vegas, right? And if it gets him half of what he wanted… at least I haven’t let Aiden ruin someone else’s life, y’know? He was so upset, and I can’t get him Aiden back, but I can get him the money for his MFA. And it’s not like anyone else is clamoring to marry me or anything.”

  Callie sighed. “You know what your problem is? You’re too nice for your own good, and no matter how many times it bites you in the ass, you never stop. It’s like a disease with you.”

  Flynn smiled wryly.

  “You’re gonna do it anyway, aren’t you?” she asked after a moment.

  Flynn swallowed.

  Yeah, he was. He was going to make the offer, at least. Sincerely, knowing that what he was offering was kind of a big deal, or would seem that way to Zach and Callie.

  To him, it didn’t really seem like much. He didn’t have any plans to get married in the near future. The ability to get married was something he could offer Zach, and no one else was coming to rescue the poor guy, and…

  He was family. Or as close to it as it got. Flynn didn’t have a whole lot of family left, and the temptation to fold Zach under his wings was too great.

  “You saw how heartbroken he was,” Flynn said. “And I mean… I’m smart enough to know that he’s better off without Aiden, but he’s not better off without his grandma’s money. And this isn’t something I’ve got the luxury of being able to sit back and think about. It’s now or never.”

  Callie sighed again. “So you’re gonna be the big damned hero of the day because a sad boy looked at you with his big doe eyes and cried a little?” she asked. “Are you sure you’re straight? Because this is the kind of dumb thing I’d do for a pretty girl.”

  “I can help him,” Flynn said, shrugging. “And it’s not gonna cost me anything to do it. This is the right thing.”

  Callie opened her mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. “I can’t argue with that. Not when you’re being all sweet and noble.”

  “And not when you can’t see why it’s not a good idea,” Flynn said, knowing he’d won this round.

  It couldn’t hurt to ask. Maybe Zach wouldn’t be thrilled by the idea of marrying a practical stranger instead of the man he loved. But Flynn had to offer.

  He couldn’t let Aiden hurt anyone else. Not if he could prevent it, anyway. Aiden was his responsibility.

  Which, by extension, made Zach his responsibility.

  “Oh, I can see a thousand ways it’s not a good idea,” Callie said. “I just also know that you’re even more stubborn than Aiden is, especially when you can see a way to be a self-sacrificing asshole.”

  “But you’re proud of me,” Flynn said, grinning, sure that was true.

  Callie rolled her eyes. “Obviously. You wouldn’t be my best friend if you weren’t like you are.”

  Flynn beamed at her.

  “I still think you’re an idiot,” she said. “But I think you’re a noble idiot, and that’s in short supply. I don’t want you to stop being like you are. You have a niece to pass all that goodness and kindness onto.”

  Heart fluttering at the thought, Flynn relaxed enough to sit down on a nearby stool. “Yeah, well
… I’m just securing a personal art teacher for her future,” he said. “What do you think he does?”

  Callie shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe he paints. Aiden seems like the kind of guy who’d be into a painter.”

  “Maybe. I’ll ask.”

  “Yeah, you might wanna know one or two basic things about the guy before you offer to marry him,” she said. “At least you two will look stunning together.”

  Flynn blinked at her as she moved to sit down next to him. “Really?” he asked.

  “Oh yeah. He’s got this scruffy artist twink vibe going on, and you… you’re well-groomed, handsome, sensible… he’s gonna look good on your arm.”

  “He’s gonna be on my arm for five minutes,” Flynn said. That was all this was. A stupid Vegas wedding to satisfy Zach’s grandma, and it’d all be over quickly, and then Flynn could go back to his life and file for an uncontested divorce once Zach had the money.

  It was really no big deal. It’d cost him a few hundred dollars at worst, and he’d already been planning on going to a wedding tomorrow anyway.

  “Uh huh,” Callie said. “So you missed the way he looked at you, then?”

  “If he did look at me some way,” Flynn said, knowing exactly what Callie meant. “It was probably because I look kinda like Aiden and his heart was busy breaking. I doubt he’s after a new boyfriend ten seconds after breaking up with the last one. Even Aiden wouldn’t do that.”

  Callie made an unconvinced sound. Flynn was pretty sure she was just teasing, though.

  “He’ll probably say no,” he said as their order was called out, spurring him to stand up. “All I’m gonna do is ask.”

  “Uh huh,” Callie repeated. “Well, I guess I’m gonna get my wish of being your best man someday. Little sooner than I expected. If I’m being offered the position?”

  “Obviously.” Flynn smiled at her, grabbing the pizzas and heading for the door. “See? This’ll be fun. It’s a great idea.”

  Besides, Zach probably would say no. Flynn just couldn’t bring himself not to offer.

  Chapter Four

  As promised, Zach really did feel better after a nap, especially now that he was also being fed. The fact that he had to pick olives off his pizza was a small price to pay for the comfort of getting to eat with his two new friends.

  “Sorry,” Flynn said sheepishly. “Should’ve asked.”

  “It’s okay,” Zach said, picking the last one off his second slice. “Aiden always forgot to order without them, so I’m kinda used to this.”

  That made Flynn wince, but it didn’t stop him from reaching out and grabbing one of Zach’s discarded olives from the box.

  Zach wrinkled his nose. “That’s gross, I’ve touched those,” he said, horrified that Flynn was just eating picked-off olives by themselves.

  “It’s okay,” Flynn said, picking up another one. “You’re family.”

  Horror completely forgotten, Zach stared at Flynn, then blinked at him. A hot blush crept up his neck, and he eventually had to look away. That was…

  That was so nice.

  “I am?” he asked shyly. Even Aiden had never said that about him.

  “Obviously.” Flynn shrugged. “You almost married my brother, which is close enough for me. Still kinda think it’s for the best that you didn’t.”

  “Aiden’s okay,” Zach defended, though he wasn’t sure why he felt the need to. Not in front of his brother, who clearly knew him well, and didn’t expect any better from him.

  Flynn definitely loved Aiden, so it said a lot that he thought marrying him was a bad idea. Maybe this was for the best, after all.

  Zach just wished it hadn’t come at the cost of his best chance to have the future he wanted. With Aiden, yeah, because it would have been nice to have someone to come home to, but he was getting to the point where missing out on his MFA seemed like the bigger deal.

  He hoped that wasn’t selfish. Aiden’s sudden change of heart had left him feeling numb and lost and as though he was just floating adrift in an uncaring universe, but Flynn and Callie had swooped in to rescue him, and now…

  Well, now he was just starting to get mad, which he thought was maybe a further stage of grief. He’d have to look them up later.

  It felt like progress, anyway.

  “He didn’t text you back?” Zach asked, unable to help the hope in his voice. Shit. Maybe he wasn’t making any progress at all.

  He seemed to be feeling every possible feeling at once, which was turning out to be a strange and uncomfortable experience.

  Great inspiration for later art, though. If he could remember this feeling, he’d get a lot of mileage out of it.

  “He, uh…” Flynn hesitated, and then sighed, taking his phone out of his pocket. “Maybe you should read for yourself.”

  Zach accepted the phone and stared at Flynn’s message history with Aiden.

  Hey, your boyfriend is in tears in his hotel room. You maybe wanna man up for once and come back? Even if you just break up with him in person like an adult.

  Zach swallowed. He wasn’t sure that would actually have been better, but maybe at least then he’d have something to grieve over. Or someone to yell at. Or something, something that would make him feel less… abandoned. Less alone.

  I’m not coming back, Aiden had responded. And it’s none of your business. I don’t wanna talk about it.

  The sting of tears hit Zach’s eyes again, so he distracted himself by shoving pizza in his mouth to give himself something to do other than cry. He was sick of crying. He never wanted to cry again in his entire life, he hated the way it felt.

  To his surprise, Flynn wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

  Zach was just needy enough to lean in, let Flynn’s broad, strong chest take most of his weight, and take comfort in his warmth and solidness.

  “I called him eleven times,” Flynn said softly. “But stubbornness kinda runs in our veins. If he doesn’t want to talk to me, I can’t make him. I’m sorry.”

  “You tried,” Zach said. “That’s more than a lot of people would have done. Especially since you think this is good.”

  “I think it’s probably better for you in the long run not to build a life around Aiden. Speaking from experience,” Flynn responded, the bitterness in his voice impossible to miss.

  He struck Zach as a cheerful optimist, so that spoke volumes.

  “But I don’t think it’s better that he ran off the night before you were supposed to get married without a word. I think that’s probably the worst thing he’s ever done.”

  “He stole your car and totaled it,” Callie said. “He owes you ten thousand dollars. Not to mention all the shit he put you through in his last year of high school. Or you supporting him through college that he never even bothered to show up to half the time.”

  “Yeah, but… those are things he did to me. I’m his brother, he’s my responsibility. He was supposed to be Zach’s boyfriend, and I've never had one, but I get the impression you're supposed to treat them a little better. You get to pick your boyfriends.”

  “It's really not okay that he treated you like that, either,” Zach said, horrified to learn that Aiden wasn't just a little careless and a little self-centered, but actively awful to his poor older brother who was turning out to be one of the sweetest, kindest men he’d ever met.

  “I mean, we lost both our parents by the time he was seventeen. I figure he deserves a break on some of that. But not on this. Whether or not you forgive him, it's gonna take me a while.”

  “I don't wanna be mad at him,” Zach said, shifting to snuggle a little closer to Flynn. Maybe he shouldn't have, especially with Flynn’s partner right there, and especially since he’d just broken up with his brother, but…

  Flynn was warm. And reassuring.

  “Would it be wrong to mostly be sad that I'm not gonna get to go back to school now? I guess I never really thought I would, but I had hope for the last few weeks. I’d been making plans, imagining what it’d be like
. Maybe that's stupid.”

  “It's not stupid,” Flynn said, taking the last of Zach’s rejected olives and dotting them over another slice of pizza.

  That seemed to be the one thing he had in common with Aiden, other than the general family resemblance.

  “Actually,” Flynn continued. “I wanted to talk to you about that. What did your grandma want, exactly?”

  Zach sighed. “I really think she thinks she’s doing the right thing. She doesn't think art is a good way to make a living, and maybe it's not, but I get by okay. She just wants to see me settled with someone who’ll theoretically look after me even if I'm a starving artist forever. Then she’s happy for me to be an artist. Wants me to be, even. Like my grandpa.”

  Flynn nodded, apparently taking that in. “I should've asked this before, but what kind of art?”

  “I mostly work in ceramics,” Zach said. “Which is a good medium because you can produce practical things when the bills need to get paid. I'm not walking into this blind. I know it'll be a struggle. But it's worth it to me.”

  “Can I see?” Flynn asked.

  “Uh.” Zach blinked at him. He really hadn't expected Flynn to care, but he seemed genuinely interested. “Yeah, sure,” he said.

  He reached around Flynn to grab his phone on the nightstand and didn't think until he’d unlocked it and passed it over about how weird it was that he was so physically comfortable with the guy.

  Not because he was like Aiden. The resemblance between them had nothing to do with it. He was comfortable because Flynn was comfortable, and if things would have been like this between them, then Zach had another reason to be disappointed now.

  Flynn would have made an incredible brother-in-law.

  Although… Zach knew himself well enough to know that Flynn was the kind of man he could have fallen in love with just because he smiled at him occasionally, so maybe it was better that he hadn't married Aiden. Falling in love with his brother after they were married would have been awkward.