by Grace, Aria
I nod and lick my lips, trying to find some moisture in my mouth so I can speak.
“I saw him pull up and thought he might try to start trouble. I didn’t mean to barge in like that.”
“I-i-it’s okay,” I stammer. “I’m glad you got here when you did.”
His eyes immediately move to my arms. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
I shake my head. “Not yet.”
Dodge cocks his head as he looks down at me from several inches above my five-foot-nine frame.
“He won’t. He’s a fucking pussy when it comes down to it. But don’t let yourself be alone in a room with him.”
My eyes immediately drop to the floor in shame, and I bite my lower lip. “Yeah, I know.”
Dodge’s hand moves toward me, but then he pulls it back, as if thinking better of the gesture. “He probably won’t be back tonight. Are you staying long?”
How does he know exactly the worst question to ask me right now? “I have no idea.” I sigh then walk to the couch and take a seat. “I didn’t have a plan when I got here, but now that I can see how bad my mom is, I can’t leave her here with him.”
Dodge just nods and then crosses his arms over his chest as he walks to the window.
With his back to me, I can get a good look at his thick muscles and smooth skin without fear of getting caught. He really is a beautiful man. I just want to touch—
“I can stay here tonight, if you want.”
“What?” I shake my head to catch up to what he means, half sorry and half relieved he interrupted my train of thought. “Oh, I’ll be fine. Like you said, he probably won’t be back tonight.”
Dodge looks around the room before grabbing a pen off the end table. He scribbles his number on a notepad then hands it to me. “Here’s my number. I can be here in thirty seconds if you need anything. I’ll come by in the morning, but if you or your mom need anything before then, call me.”
I’m still in a daze as I tuck the phone number into my back pocket and watch him walk out of the house. A chill races down my spine when I think about what might have happened if he hadn’t shown up when he did. I still don’t understand how he knew to be here, but that doesn’t really matter.
Dodge was in the right place at the right time, and I’ll always be grateful for that.
Exhaustion is starting to set in, but there’s no way I can go to sleep with the house as disgusting as it is. There are probably roaches or mice getting fat off Joseph’s crumbs. So, for the next thirty minutes, I walk through the entire downstairs with a trash bag and a broom, cleaning up all the shit he left strewn about and then wiping down every surface with Lysol until I’m confident it’s clean. I really need to vacuum, but I don’t want to wake up Mom, so I throw a clean sheet over the sofa cushions and make a bed on the couch.
It’s tempting to go upstairs and peek in my childhood bedroom to see if my stuff is still there. But I know it won’t be. It’s been four years. There’s no way Mom would’ve kept my stuff all this time. Besides, I don’t ever want to step foot in that room again. All my worst nightmares occur in that room, and if I never look inside it again, that’s okay.
I still haven’t said what I need to say to Joseph, but I will. Truthfully, I haven’t had it out with Mom yet either.
But there’s enough going on right now that it can wait. This visit is no longer about me getting closure on my past but about being here for my mom and making sure she has a future.
That’s what I need to focus on right now. If she pulls through this, maybe we can be a family someday. And if not, at least I’ll know I tried.
Besides, if that means a little more time to admire the gorgeous alpha neighbor with the kind of muscles I want to climb up and get lost in, then I guess that’s just how it’ll be.
75
Dodge
I try to fall asleep, but I spend more time looking out the window to make sure everything is okay across the street than I do lying down. At three thirty in the morning, I finally give up and drag an upholstered chair to my bedroom window and set up camp right there. Even though I open my eyes every time I hear a noise, I’m actually able to sneak in a few hours of sleep. My neck and back hurt like a mother when I finally stand up and stretch at six in the morning when my alarm goes off, but it’s a small price to pay. If anything had happened to Mrs. Greenly or her son while I was laid out on my bed, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.
Everything looks quiet across the street, so I hop in the shower before quickly getting dressed and heading over to check on things. When I get to the front door, I hesitate before knocking. I don’t want to wake them up if they’re still asleep, so I peek inside the front window to see if anyone is moving.
Nathan is curled up on the sofa, sound asleep.
He looks younger when he’s sleeping, but I wouldn’t exactly call his expression peaceful. Even fully relaxed, his forehead looks tense and troubled. My calendar notification dings, and I remember my review with Victor in an hour to prep for our proposal at ten. If there were any way I could reschedule this meeting, I would. But the university requires so many hoops and processes to schedule any kind of meeting, and we’ve been chasing this bid for months. I have to be there.
Turning on my heel without waking up Nathan, I head back toward my house, calling Oliver as I walk.
“You better be dead,” he mumbles over the line.
“Shit, sorry. I forgot how early it is.”
“I’ve been doing surveillance for the past few nights. Just got home a few hours ago.”
“Well, then you’re really not gonna want to hear what I’m calling to ask.”
“Mmm, prolly not,” he says incoherently, falling asleep again.
“Dude, wake up. I need you to sit on someone for me.”
He groans and clears his throat. “Who and why?”
“My neighbor has been harassing his brother. I’ve got an important meeting, so I can’t hang around to keep an eye on things.”
“Your neighbor? What neighbor?”
“Remember the old lady across the street?”
Oliver laughs. “The one your dad was trying to get busy with?”
I cringe. That’s not an image I want in my head right now. “Yeah, her. Anyway, she has two sons. One took off when he was a kid. The other you probably remember from football. Joseph Greenly.”
“Yeah, I remember that dude. Kind of a jerk, right?”
“To say the least.” I scoff at the understatement. “Anyway, his younger brother, Nathan, an omega, just came back into town last night and plans to stay while his mom is sick. But I don’t trust Joseph to be alone with him.”
“Bad blood?” Oliver deals with a lot of bad blood in his line of work. He’s a private detective with his own practice. The stories he tells of what people will do to hurt those they used to love are shocking.
“I think it’s worse than that, but I don’t know for sure. I just know Nathan isn’t safe with Joseph.”
“Fuck,” Oliver whispers into the phone. “What time do you need me?”
“I have got to get out of here in about forty-five minutes. I doubt Joseph will wake up early and come over, but I won’t be back until this afternoon. If you can just hang out at my place and keep an eye on their house until I get home, that would be great.”
“I’ll be there before you leave.” Oliver hangs up the phone, and I know I owe him big-time for this.
* * *
The proposal meeting goes really well but runs longer than expected. And then it was lunchtime, and we couldn’t say no to their offer to try a new Mediterranean place downtown. Unfortunately, that means Victor and I were stuck with them for an extra two hours.
I’m finally driving home when Oliver calls.
I answer on the first ring. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Joseph just pulled up.”
Fuck. My foot hits the accelerator a little heavier. “What’s happening?”
“Not much so far. He just
walked inside. You want me to go over?”
“Yeah, I’m still at least fifteen minutes out, so just stay close. Maybe walk by the house and see if everything looks calm inside.”
“You got it.” There must be a breeze because I hear wind bouncing against the mic on Oliver’s phone. “Damn, that’s the little brother? How come I don’t remember him?”
“He didn’t play football, so you wouldn’t have known him. Is he okay?”
“Looks like it. He just walked outside and is sitting on the porch swing by himself.”
I heave out a relieved breath. “Good. As long as you can see him, you don’t need to get any closer.”
“What, afraid if I get too close, he’ll want me instead?”
I shake my head even though no one can see it. “You wish. Just fall back.”
“Easy, easy, cousin. I get it. You’ve got dibs. I’ll just take your mail inside then wait to see what happens.”
“Thank you.” An ocean of red lights fills my line of sight just as I hang up with Oliver.
There shouldn’t be any traffic in the middle of the day, but there’s a ton of construction going on downtown. It takes me five minutes just to get a quarter of a mile down the street. Ten minutes later, I call Oliver back. “Traffic’s a bitch. How’s everything there?”
“Joseph just walked out and is talking to Nathan. They seem civil enough.”
“Don’t trust him. If he tries to take Nathan inside, fake a stroke or something to distract them until I get there.”
“Why the fuck are you so worried about these guys? Just because your dad had the hots for their mom?”
“Just do it. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” I hit the end button and toss my phone onto the seat beside me.
76
Nathan
Joseph is being nice.
I don’t like it.
It’s better than the alternative, but I don’t trust him. He’s up to something, and it’s making me uneasy. But I’m not really in a position to question his motives right now. He’s been here for her, and I haven’t. I have no idea what’s really going on with her. When I took Mom some orange juice this morning, she seemed to be in more pain than she was last night. I don’t know if it was just the shock and adrenaline from seeing me that gave her a burst of energy last night. But today, she was moving very slowly when she got up to use the bathroom.
We didn’t talk about last night, but she made a point of saying Joseph is a good man now, and despite our differences when we were kids, he’s still my brother and he loves me.
I didn’t even know what to say to that.
It’s like she forgot everything I told her, but I know she hasn’t. She is just as deeply in denial now as she was back then, and it pisses me off. But I’ve already decided that my shit can wait. As long as Joseph leaves me alone, I’ll stay and help out with her care until she gets better.
He’s upstairs with her now, giving her a snack. He brought her favorite blueberry muffin because she can’t take her afternoon pills on an empty stomach. Again, he’s being way too nice. But maybe he’s always like that with her. I haven’t been around in a long time. It’s possible Joseph has become a better man.
For her sake, I hope that’s true.
There’s a guy at Dodge’s house that I’ve never seen before. He’s probably Dodge’s boyfriend or mate. Ugh, he has a mate.
That’s too bad. Now I’ll have to try to resist fantasizing about Dodge. When I thought he was single, I allowed my imagination to run wild with thoughts of the things he could do to me. Although imagining those two guys together would probably do the trick. It’s not the same as me being the one to take his knot, but my cock twitches at the vision in my mind, confirming it’s an acceptable fantasy. I chuckle to myself as the guy gives a friendly wave then heads inside the house.
They probably have a perfect life. Good jobs, the security of knowing they have each other’s backs, and the kind of sex you only see in porn. That’s the kind of life I want someday. And that’s really why I’m here. Even though the attack spurred on the nightmares I’d managed to repress for the past few years, there is more to my need for closure.
Watching Sean build a relationship with Gunnar and Collin gave me hope that there really is someone out there for all of us. It might be a long time before I find my someone, but when I do, I want to be ready and open to him. I want to be safe from the tormentor of my past, so I can start a new relationship with a clear conscience. I’ll know I did my best to repair my relationship with my mother, and hopefully, I’ll have some sort of assurances that my brother will never bother me again. But as long as I find a strong alpha like Dodge, I’ll finally feel safe. I’ll truly be able to find a home and build a future with someone.
The front door opens behind me, and Joseph steps out. “She’s getting weaker every day. It’s a good thing you came now because she doesn’t have much more time.”
My jaw drops. “Seriously? I thought she was getting treatment. Isn’t that going to help her?”
Joseph shrugs and leans against the porch pillar. “She’s seeing a specialist who is trying a very aggressive treatment, but there are no guarantees. Chemo basically takes you to the edge of death and then tries to pull you back. Most of the time it works, but not every time. At her last appointment, he told me he wasn’t seeing much of an improvement.”
“We can get a second opinion. Let’s take her somewhere else.” Joseph shakes his head and slips his hands into his pockets. “This guy is the best. Trust me, we searched, and if anyone can help, it’s him. But he told me to prepare for the worst. So, say your goodbyes, just in case. I know she’s happy you came when you did, so she can say goodbye to you too.”
I don’t know what to say. I thought she had more time. She mentioned getting another year or two, but Joseph is making it sound like she only has a few days left. He’s always been pessimistic, so maybe I shouldn’t take his word at face value. I’ll give it a few days to see how she’s doing, but if this new doctor doesn’t seem like he has much hope, I’ll start doing some research to find out if there’s someone else we should take her to.
“I’ve got to go to work. She had her medicine already, so she might be drowsy for a few hours. When she wakes up, you can offer her crackers and juice, but she might not be hungry. She usually isn’t.”
“Yeah, okay.”
Joseph pushes off the pillar then takes the first step off the porch before turning back to me. “She wants to die at home, Nathan. She made me promise I wouldn’t send her to a hospital at the end.”
I swallow hard and look into my brother’s eyes. He seems sincere. He might not have ever had any love for me, but he does seem to care about our mother.
“If things get bad, call me first. Don’t call an ambulance. I’ll come back, and if I need to take her to the doctor, I will. But at this point, she should be here with her family.”
“How will I reach you?” I ask numbly, staring at the house across the street and wishing Dodge would come back and rescue me again. Rescue me from the nightmare I walked into less than twenty-four hours ago.
Joseph opens his wallet and pulls out a business card He’s a parking enforcement officer. Bet he loves bullying the drivers of this town. “I’ll be here if you need me.”
After he leaves, I sit on the porch for several minutes before finding the courage to go inside and check on Mom. In the light of day, she does look frail. She can’t weigh more than eighty pounds, and her skin is so pale. I have to get close enough to see the movement of her chest up and down just to confirm she’s still breathing. With nothing else to do and nowhere else to go, I sit in her room for the next two hours before she finally opens her eyes and realizes I’m there.
“Nathan, sweetheart. You’re still here. I was afraid that was just a dream.”
I pull the chair closer to her bed, so I can reach out and hold her hand. “Not a dream, Mom. I’m here. How are you feeling?”
“Tired,” she say
s with a sigh. “You’re going to get bored while I sleep away your visit, but the doctor said when I’m sleeping, I’m healing, so maybe this is a good sign.” She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes.
“Well, then you need to get your rest. I’m not going anywhere, so when you’re ready to get up and talk, I’ll be here.”
“I really am glad you’re here, son. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, and it warms my heart to know you and your brother have found each other.”
Here she goes again. “Sleep, Mom. We’ll talk when you’re feeling better.”
77
Dodge
When I get home, Oliver reports that Joseph left, and Nathan went back inside the house. Apparently, their visit was much less hostile than earlier, so that gives me hope there won’t be any more drama between them. I consider heading over, but since everything is quiet, I spend a couple hours catching up on work.
By five fifteen, I’m starving.
Instead of ordering a pizza to be delivered to my house, I walk across the street to check on things for myself.
Just a few seconds after knocking on the door, I hear Nathan jogging down the stairs to answer it. “Hey, Dodge. Come on in.”
“Nathan.” I walk inside and do a double take. The house is spotless, a complete one-eighty from the way it was last night. “Wow, you’ve been busy.”
“I couldn’t sleep in his mess.” Nathan shrugs. “How are you?”
I give him a grin. “Hungry. I was about to order pizza and figured you might be hungry too.”
Nathan’s stomach rumbles, and he involuntarily puts his hand on his belly with a shy grin. “Now that you mention it, I did forget to eat lunch.”
“Perfect. I hate to eat alone.” I pull out my phone and start to scroll my contacts for the number. “What kind do you like? I’ll eat anything.”