by Andi Van
The look on Marcus’s face softened, and he brushed a hand against my cheek. “Me too,” he said. “But I had to ask.”
“I get it,” I said with a nod. “Really, I do. I kind of just bulldozed you with the whole thing, but it’s not safe for you to stay here anymore. Even if you’re only there until you can find another place, I’d feel better. I just really don’t want you to stay here another day.”
“I actually agree with you on that,” Marcus admitted as he leaned against me. “I was already thinking that I needed to find a new place before you got that black eye. Today’s brouhaha clinched it, that’s all.”
The sigh of relief I let out was probably over-the-top, considering it made Marcus laugh, but I just let us lean against each other as I wrapped my arms around his waist. “Thank you.”
CHAPTER 10
MOVING MARCUS turned out to be pretty easy. He didn’t have much in the way of general “stuff,” and he’d rented his place furnished. Once the police had finished whatever it was they were doing, Jordan and I grabbed boxes out of Jordan’s SUV and started packing up while Marcus went to go discuss move-out details with his landlord.
It took maybe an hour from start to finish, and by the time we pulled into the driveway, Marcus and Jordan had already ironed out details with rent. Marcus argued that Jordan wasn’t charging him enough, and Jordan argued back that it was the same amount he’d charged Russell, the previous tenant—which was true.
“You want help unpacking?” I asked hesitantly. We had unloaded the boxes and dragged them all up the stairs to the apartment.
Marcus sighed. “I need to go hit up IKEA and get a bed or a futon couch or something. And some bookshelves.”
“And swedish meatballs,” I added with a nod.
He snorted a laugh in response and sighed again. “Honestly? I don’t want to deal with it today.”
“Then come over to the house,” Jordan said. “Just hang out and chill. You can either sleep on our couch or in Zach’s room, and tomorrow the two of you can go shopping.”
“You mean the three of us,” I said, giving Jordan a sweet smile that always meant trouble. “It’ll go quicker if you’re with us.”
“Staying with you guys tonight would be fantastic,” Marcus said with a nod, ignoring my needling Jordan. “Tomorrow’s soon enough to do the shopping thing. And the nice part is that I can afford to do that now, since my new landlord is an insane man who doesn’t realize he’s charging me less than half of my old rent. And who didn’t want a security deposit.”
Jordan shrugged at the jibe. “I rent to college students who meet my very strict criteria. They deserve a break. You deserve a break, and you already promised the security deposit when you get back the one from your previous place.”
“You’ll notice he didn’t deny that he’s insane,” I remarked. I leaned into Marcus’s side and rested my head against his shoulder.
“Well, I’m not going to lie,” Jordan countered, sounding scandalized.
I grinned and planted a kiss against Marcus’s neck. “Come on,” I said softly. “Let’s go into the house and get comfy. I’ll probably pass out soon, but we can go browse the web on your laptop and see what you might like to buy tomorrow until I do.”
“For a little while,” Marcus agreed. “Remember, I still have a paper to write before I go to work tonight. You know, responsible adult stuff.” His lips met mine. As we reveled in the contact, I noted the sound of the door closing. Jordan had apparently realized that we needed a little alone time.
“Are you all right?” I asked, my voice still quiet. “You’ve had kind of a shitty day.”
“I haven’t,” he protested immediately. “I had my first real date with my new boyfriend. My sister having some kind of psycho temper tantrum can’t ruin that.”
It was just the right thing to say, and I smiled smugly. He must have caught the look on my face, because he grinned as he squeezed me tightly. “Yes, you rate above psychotic temper tantrums.”
“Good to know,” I said. “Do naps rate for you too? Because as nice as this is, I really am going to drop soon.”
He laughed and a joyous smile lit up his face. I felt like I fell a little further every time I saw that look. Honestly the entire concept of being so far gone on someone was kind of scary for me, but I had a feeling I’d have to get used to it. I doubted I was anywhere near done falling for him.
“Yeah,” he said. He gave me another squeeze and let me go long enough to take my hand and lead me from the room. “Come on. Let’s take you to bed. We can do our window shopping from there while you fall asleep.”
That sounded just about perfect to me, and I followed willingly as we went into the house and paused long enough to let Marcus grab his laptop case. Jordan snickered as we passed him in the living room. I gave him the finger without comment and we disappeared down the hallway and into my room.
“Strip and get into bed,” Marcus ordered once we had the door shut behind us. When he saw the lascivious smirk on my face, he sighed and rolled his eyes. “You’re too tired,” he pointed out. “We’ll revisit that tomorrow.”
“Promise?” I asked. I pulled off my sweater and tossed it toward the closet, not really caring where it landed.
“I promise,” Marcus replied, his eyes firmly fixed on me as I continued to undress. He looked like he wanted to eat me alive, and I would have gladly served myself up for him. “Once we’ve managed to assemble whatever bed I end up with tomorrow, we can test it for stability. As an added benefit, we won’t have to worry about Jordan hearing us if we’re in my room.”
“Point made,” I agreed. I tossed my pants with the rest of the clothes on the floor and pulled back my covers.
I remembered Marcus pulling out his laptop and bringing up the website, but that was the last thing before I woke up later than usual that night to an empty bed. I paused long enough to throw on a pair of sweatpants before staggering to the kitchen. It was going to be one of those days that would require multiple cups of tea before I was sociable. I was more than pleased to see Marcus already heating water for me when I entered the room. I plastered myself against his back and buried my face against the side of his neck.
“Did you sleep well?” he asked, and I felt him reach back to smooth a hand over my hair.
I mumbled something that hopefully sounded like an affirmative, but it was the best I could manage.
Apparently Marcus spoke whatever language it is that blue-haired zombies named Zach speak, because he patted my arm and shuffled me to the table, still attached to his back. “I think maybe you got too much sleep,” he said. “You’ll feel better once you’ve had your tea and something to eat.”
I made a vague rumble that may or may not have been an agreement, but I wasn’t awake enough to converse. I let him nudge me into a chair and watched him for a moment. Then I noticed his laptop and some books I didn’t recognize on the table. “Homework?” I mumbled. Go me, I’d managed an intelligible word.
“Yeah,” Marcus turned away to start prepping my tea. “We’re studying mythology surrounding death right now. Did you know there’s a story about the origin of death that involves a vagina?”
“That’s disturbing and not likely to get me to eat breakfast,” I said, making a face. “I’ve officially lost my appetite.”
“Don’t be a drama queen,” Marcus scolded as he popped an english muffin into the toaster. “If you’re going to be like that, I’ll find the pictures of the sculptures based on the story and really gross you out.”
“Bully,” I grunted, not meaning it in the least.
“Yeah, I know. I’m a horrible boyfriend,” Marcus said, and I could have sworn he was holding back a laugh. “That’s why I’m making your tea and getting you something to eat.”
I sighed and let my head fall back until I was staring at the ceiling, only to discover that we’d forgotten the cobwebs last time we cleaned the house. “Fine. I forgive you. But only if there’s strawberry jam on that e
nglish muffin.”
“And if you don’t have strawberry jam?”
I turned my head just enough to give him a groggy half-grin. “Then I’d have to kick Jordan’s ass, because that would mean he finished off the jar that my mom gave me last time she spent the weekend making jam.”
“I’ll try and remember that eating your jam is punishable by death,” Marcus promised. He started my tea steeping and looked over at me with a smile.
“Nah, you’re cute. I’d let you get away with it,” I assured him. “Did I thank you for starting my tea and for wanting to feed me? In case I didn’t, thank you. I really do appreciate it.”
“You hadn’t, but considering you were incapable of speech until about thirty seconds ago, it’s understandable. You’re welcome.”
He placed the cup of steeping tea in front of me, along with my creamer powder and the sugar, and I stared at them. “Do you have a coffee maker?”
“You don’t drink coffee,” Marcus reminded me. “Why do you ask?”
“Because you do, and I don’t remember seeing one when we packed up your stuff,” I said with a shrug. Caffeine addictions were serious business, so it was an important piece of equipment.
“I usually just get it at a coffee shop or at work,” he admitted sheepishly. “A coffee maker hasn’t exactly been on my list of priorities.”
“I suppose that makes sense,” I said, though I knew I’d be running out to get one once he’d gone to bed. A guy that’ll make my tea without being asked deserved to have coffee available for him at a moment’s notice. “So what can you tell me about your homework that doesn’t involve girly bits?”
It was a pleasant way to spend the evening, eating breakfast together while Marcus told me about the paper he was working on. When Jordan eventually joined us, we were greeted with a smirk and a comment about how domestic we looked. I shut him up by asking Marcus to tell him the vagina death story.
I was laughing hysterically at the look of horror on Jordan’s face when Marcus’s phone started ringing. He looked at it, sighed, and gave us an apologetic look. “It’s my sister,” he said. “My other sister. Want to hear what a fucked-up family I have?” Without waiting for us to say anything, he answered the call and put it on speaker. “You’re up late,” he said, not bothering with a hello.
“You’re an asshole,” a bitter voice responded. “How could you have Delilah arrested?”
“I wasn’t there,” Marcus pointed out patiently. “I got there after my neighbor caught her egging my door and breaking my front window.”
“That doesn’t mean you had to let them take her with them. She’s pregnant for God’s sake.”
The room fell into silence as the three of us looked at each other with wide eyes. “She’s pregnant?” Marcus asked.
“You should know, you’re the one who put her boyfriend in jail.”
“Actually I put her so-called boyfriend in jail,” I said, unable to hold back. I didn’t care if the bitch was his sister or not, no one was going to talk to Marcus like that. “He was pounding on your brother’s door demanding to see his boyfriend when I showed up, and he gave me a black eye for asking him to leave. I’d also like to point out that your brother was dating the guy when your skank-ass sister decided to spread her legs for him, so don’t you dare call Marcus selfish. Your sister has that perfected.”
“Who the fuck are you?” the voice on the other end of the phone shrieked. “This is a family matter.”
“Some family,” I shot back scathingly as my temper rose. “Your sister sleeps with your brother’s boyfriend, turns to vandalism when she doesn’t get her way, and somehow Marcus is at fault? You’ve got issues, girl.”
“I refuse to be spoken to like this.”
“What you mean is that you refuse to listen to the truth. Marcus is a wonderful person, and how you can treat him like this in favor of some spoiled little brat who can’t keep her legs closed is beyond me. You don’t deserve to have him for a brother.”
I was answered with a click and realized that Marcus’s sister had hung up. Then I realized what I’d done and turned to apologize to Marcus for butting in, only to see that he had tears in his eyes.
“Oh God, I’m so sorry,” I groaned, horrified that I’d upset him. “I didn’t mean to go off on her like that, she just pissed me off. I’ll call her back and apologize if you want.”
“Don’t you dare,” Marcus told me, reaching for me with one hand as he wiped his eyes with the other. I took the offered hand in mine and gripped it tightly. “I’ve never had anyone stand up for me like that before.”
“That’s just not right.” I spat the words out as if they tasted as bitter as they sounded and shook my head. “She and Brandon ought to get together. They have a lot in common. Luckily, I can share Jordan with you. He’s not entirely sane, but at least he’s not an asshole.”
“Linda and Terry will get their hands on you and never let go,” Jordan added. “So there you go, instant loving-and-not-totally-sane family.”
“Even Brandon will probably like you,” I admitted. “It’s me he can’t stand.” I got up from my chair then, paused to kiss Marcus’s forehead, and took the dishes to the sink. “I’m going to go shower. Are you going to keep working on your paper?”
“I probably should,” Marcus said with a sigh. “I’m a little behind.”
“Then keep working,” I told him. “I’ve got other stuff I can work on that won’t disturb you. Like doing the grocery shopping.”
“Thank you,” Jordan said immediately.
“Write a list,” I instructed and headed to my room. I paused as my eyes fell on my phone and remembered how horrible Marcus’s sister had been. After another moment’s thought, I picked it up and sent out a quick message to Brandon.
Thank you for being there for me when I needed you, even if you’re not exactly my biggest fan. You’re still my brother, and I still love you, even if I don’t particularly care for the way you act toward me these days.
It may not have been the nicest message ever, but I hoped it got my point across. Because, despite everything, he’d still shown up when I was hurt to make sure I was okay, and it was obvious that a sibling like Marcus’s wouldn’t have even gone that far. I didn’t bother waiting for a response, just grabbed some clean clothes and headed for the bathroom. I hadn’t written it hoping for a reply, and I didn’t need one. I just needed him to know how I felt.
CHAPTER 11
“THESE ARE the worst instructions ever,” Jordan said. He stared at the sheets of paper that he’d pulled from the box of bits and pieces that were supposed to magically make a bed. I kind of wondered if we needed to wave a dead chicken over the pieces to make it work. I usually left assembly to someone else.
We had gone furniture shopping the moment our local IKEA opened for business, and had spent three hours grabbing the things Marcus had on his list and several things he hadn’t. I had no idea what I was going to do with that many candles or a hook shaped like a dog’s butt, but for some reason, I had to have them. At least I’d stuck with small items this time.
On the down side, it was nearing one thirty, and I was hungry. Thankfully I’d already solved that problem, along with the issue of getting everything put together.
“Don’t lose the instructions,” I told Jordan. “Help is on the way, and they’ll want those for reference.”
“They?” Marcus asked, looking a little leery.
“Yep. Texted them when we left IKEA,” I said with a nod. “Don’t worry. It’ll be fun.”
“Who is ‘they’?” Marcus asked, his eyes narrowing.
I grinned. “Someone I trust with a screwdriver.”
Jordan started cracking up, and he placed the papers back in the box. “You called your parents.”
“Of course I did,” I said. “Dad’s not likely to put pieces on backwards.” Unlike me. I’d done that very thing more than once.
“Both your parents?” Marcus asked, suddenly sounding worri
ed.
“Yeah,” I said. “You like my mom, right? My dad’s just as awesome. Don’t let his looks fool you, he’s a total marshmallow. Especially if you offer him coffee.”
“Now that I can,” Marcus said, a smile creeping onto his face as he leaned close to me to give me a kiss. He’d been doing that a lot since he woke up that morning to find I’d picked up a coffee maker for him when I’d done the grocery run. “Did I thank you yet?”
“At least a dozen times,” I teased. “And for what it’s worth, I really am sorry to spring the whole ‘meet the other parent’ thing on you, but he’ll get it done way faster than we could, and he’ll do it right the first time. And Mom promised to bring food of some sort, because that’s what she does.”
“Oh hey, maybe she’ll bring that wicked breakfast thing she makes,” Jordan said gleefully.
Marcus gave him a hint of a smile that betrayed how nervous he was at the prospect of my family descending upon us. “Well, we’d better be doing that at your place. Not only is my kitchen table still in a box, it only fits two people.” There was a knock on his door, and he paled.
“I’ll go with you,” I said. I got up from the floor and offered him a hand up. “Dad’s built like a brick wall, but I promise he won’t eat you. His doctor made him lay off of devouring the innocent because they’re full of cholesterol.”
It was easy for me to tease like that, of course, but it obviously did nothing to settle Marcus’s nerves. His hand was shaking when he opened the door and came face-to-face with my father. All six foot three of him, with the width of his body basically filling the doorway. I was pretty sure I heard Marcus whisper something along the lines of “oh my God,” but I ignored it and grinned up at my father. “Hey Dad.”
My dad clapped a hand against my shoulder and grinned back. “You have a project for me?”