Once I finally got in to see someone, they took one look at me and declared a broken collar bone. Fucking geniuses. I could have told them that! After an x-ray to confirm what everyone already knew, they dosed me up on painkillers, put my arm in a sling, and called me a cab.
It wasn’t until we pulled into the driveway I realised my problem. I didn’t have my wallet with me. Or my phone. Or my keys. Shit! I couldn’t even get inside. Beyond the door, everything was dark. Not unusual, really. Stealing a look at the clock on the dash, it was already twenty past twelve, and Zoe was anything but a night owl. That girl was tucked up in bed in her ugly ass pyjamas by nine each night.
“Man, can you wait a second?”
“You have no money?” he yelled in my face, tiny bits of spittle landing on my cheeks. When I’d slipped into the backseat out the front of the hospital, he’d seemed like a normal dude. Obviously, it didn’t take much for Bruce Banner to morph into the Incredible Hulk.
“My roommate will have it. Just give me a second.”
“The meter is still running.”
Asshole was right. He was still charging me.
As carefully as I could, I climbed from the back of the cab, trying not to jolt my arm around too much. Even though I was pretty heavily dosed on painkillers right now, any movement was enough to make me wince.
Knocking on the door loudly—knowing how deeply Zoe slept—I prayed she’d hear me and hurry. Over my shoulder, I looked at the angry Greek cab driver as he tapped away at his phone. Knocking again, I stepped back and waited. Thankfully, something was going right for me tonight, and soon enough a light flickered on. When Zoe’s face pressed against the glass beside the door, I’d never been so relieved to see someone.
Quickly she unlatched the door, took one look at me, and burst into tears. This chick was on serious hormone overload right now. I’d deal with that later. Right now, I had more pressing issues.
“Where have you been? I’ve been so worried. Your brothers are blowing up my phone. Any longer without a word and I’d have been betting money Connor and Beau would have been the ones breaking down the door before dawn.”
“Can we talk in a minute? I need you to pay the cab for me. My wallet’s in my car…”
“Of course.”
Zoe scurried away like someone lit her ass on fire. It wasn’t hard to see why Derek treated her like she walked on water. She was amazing and damn funny when she wanted to be.
“Come in and sit down. I’ll be back.”
I couldn’t look away. Zoe bounced down the steps like it was mid-morning and she hadn’t just been woken up. Shame her clothing choice and stylish hairdo revealed the truth. She handed the guy some cash through the front window, then proceeded to give him a mouthful. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but from my spot leaning on the door jamb, I watched as Zoe’s arms flailed about desperately and the cabbie’s chin dropped. She’d obviously put him in his place. When he backed out of the drive, she stood in front of him, a scowl on her pretty little face and hands on her hips. She must have learnt her intimidation tactics from Derek. That glare would drop even the toughest guy to his knees. Yet another thing I’d have to keep in mind.
A moment later she was leading me inside, pushing me down into a recliner and disappearing. I wanted to get up, trudge into my room, and collapse in my bed to sleep for a week. Standing up again, it just seemed like so much effort. Lying my head back, I let my eyes close just for a second.
“Stop being an ass, Connor! He’s home. He’s fine. No! I don’t know the details yet. No, you don’t need to come down. We’re fine. Ryan will be fine.” I cracked open my eyes, squinting as the light hit them. I’d obviously dozed off, even if it was only for a few minutes.
Zoe was stomping around the living room arguing with my brother. I wasn’t exactly surprised, we all did. Yet for some reason, Connor and Zoe just seemed to push each other’s buttons a little more than usual.
“Connor!” she snapped. “He’s fine. Do you want to talk to him? Oh, whatever!”
Zoe handed me the phone and stormed away, unimpressed. I couldn’t hold back the chuckle. He’d really got her panties in a twist this time. I just hoped I wouldn’t suffer the consequences.
“Connor.”
“What the fuck, Ryan! Where have you been? And why haven’t you been answering your damn phone? We’ve been trying to find out what the fuck’s been going on for hours.” He was in full flight tonight. Thank god, I was far enough away from him right now I didn’t have to deal with his drama queen antics.
“Calm the hell down. I’m fine. Broken collar bone. Nothing to worry about.”
“Broken collar bone? How’d that happen?”
“Scaffolding didn’t hold. Down I went. It’s not a big deal. Really.”
“So, you’re fine?” The disbelief in his voice drowned out the relief I imagined was buried somewhere. Connor was nothing if not impulsive. He had a long, sordid history of reacting first, asking questions later. Over the years it’d led to more than a little animosity.
“Yes, Connor. I’m okay. Sore and tired, but otherwise fine.”
“Why didn’t you bloody answer the messages we sent then?”
“’Cause my phone is in my car! So’s my wallet. My car is still parked at work.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh.”
“How’d you find out, anyway?”
Zoe padded back into the room and handed me an ice pack wrapped in a tea towel and a bottle of water. This girl was a gem. She knew exactly what I needed even before I did.
“Work rang Beau and told him.”
Yep. That’d do it. Stupidly, when I’d applied for the job, I’d listed Beau as my emergency contact. Not sure why I’d picked him, maybe because I never thought it’d be needed, and if for some strange reason it ever was, Beau was least likely to make a big deal out of nothing.
“And let me guess. He so kindly shared the good news.”
“He was trying to find out if any of us knew what the fuck was going on.”
“Well, now you know.”
“Yeah. Now I do.”
“Connor, I need to go take a long, hot shower and crash. My arm’s aching and I need sleep. Can I give you a buzz tomorrow?”
“Nah, call Holly. You know she’ll be freaking out.”
“You told Holly?” I grumbled. The last person in the world I needed thinking something had happened to me was my little sister.
“Had to. She’d kick me in the balls if she found out something happened and we all knew and didn’t tell her.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I knew he was right, but it didn’t mean I had to like it. “Fine! I’ll call tomorrow.”
“You better!”
“I will.”
“Take it easy, man. Give Zoe a kiss for me!”
Before I had a chance to ask him to explain that little request, he’d hung up and the line went dead. Dropping Zoe’s pink, bedazzled phone in my lap, I leaned back and groaned. I’d forgotten about this fun little fact. Sleeping with a broken collarbone was a nightmare. Actually, last time I’d broken it, I’d prayed for the nightmares to terrify me as I slept. That meant I was actually asleep.
“And how’s your jackass brother?” Zoe asked from across the room.
“A jackass,” I answered honestly.
“So, are you really okay, or did you just tell him that to shut him up? ’Cause that I’d completely understand.”
Seriously! These two were either going to kill each other or combust with the amount of tension between them. There was nothing that would make me give up my front row seat to watch how this one plays out.
“I’m fine. Tired and sore, but I’ll live.”
“Well then, let’s get you into bed. Tomorrow we’ll go get your car and phone. Hopefully then at least they can drive you nuts instead of me!”
As soon as I was vertical, the room spun. I hadn’t thought I’d got up that fast, but maybe I had. Zoe must have noticed me wobble o
n my unsteady feet because suddenly she was buried beneath my good arm with her own arm wrapped around my waist. She was warm and soft and I wanted to cuddle into her and sleep for a week.
After she helped me into my room and get undressed—something that was incredibly awkward, but unfortunately necessary—she vanished before returning with her arms full of colourful cushions. Tossing them on my bed, it looked like a rainbow threw up. Pink sparkly pillows. Aqua pillows with pictures of unicorns, and thrown in for good measure, a couple of black and white ones with inspirational quotes.
“What’s all this?”
“Just get in. Use whatever you need to make yourself comfortable, and kick the rest on the floor.”
I did just that.
It took all of two minutes for me to be tucked up under the blankets, my shoulder balancing on a pile of feathers and my heavy eyes closing on their own. When I felt warm, wet lips touch my forehead, I moaned softly. I didn’t mean it, it just felt so safe.
“Get some sleep,” she whispered before the door clicked closed.
***
“Get up!” I rolled over and groaned in agony. “Come on, Ryan. Wake up!”
Cracking an eye open, I spied Zoe leaning over me wearing the ugliest robe I’d ever seen. Seriously, this girl needed some fashion sense. She was a hot mess. Her hair was everywhere, she had a pile of goop in the corner of her eye, and her lips were chapped.
“What?”
“Come on, get up. You need to call your brothers. They’re blowing up my phone and driving me crazy. Again.”
“Why?” Sitting up, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and the room spun. It’d taken a few seconds before I realised that everything was spinning, and it wasn’t because I’d spent the night with my best friends, Jack, Jim, and Jose. As pain radiated down my arm, my stomach lurched as a wave of nausea passed through me.
“Because your idiot brothers won’t believe me when I tell them you’re fine. Until you speak to them, I doubt they will. So just get up, get some clothes on, and call them. Please! And put that…put it away!”
I watched as Zoe stomped out of the room in a huff. It was all bluster, though. She was so full of shit. Beneath the thin layer of bullshit and childish temper tantrums, Zoe was struggling through withdrawals. For a girl who argued she wasn’t addicted to her morning, noon, and nightly coffee, she was seriously struggling with giving up the caffeine.
Finding my feet, I stretched one arm up above my head, trying to work the kinks out. Having only one useful arm was going to be a pain in the ass, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. Adjusting my morning wood in my boxers, I chuckled, realising what Zoe was bitching about. Even though I couldn’t remember what, or maybe more precisely, who I’d been dreaming about, the way I was already up and saluting the day, it must have been one hell of a good dream. Shame I’d been interrupted.
Shuffling into the bathroom, I cleaned up before braving Zoe’s wrath.
“How are you feeling?” she asked calmly as I wandered into the kitchen. At her question anxiety flushed through my body. Was it a trick question? I was craving my coffee as much as she was, and I knew where I’d stashed the good stuff, in the top cupboard out of her reach. Right now though, I wasn’t stupid enough to pour myself a cup while she watched on. Instead, I yanked open the fridge and poured a glass of juice.
“I’m fine.”
I wasn’t. I was in pain and I was pissed off. No point taking it out on Zoe, though. She didn’t deserve that. No one did. Instead I grabbed a couple of pills and washed them down quickly. I hated medication. I don’t know why or where it came from, but I’d always struggled taking tablets. Most times I choked on them and coughed them up. Even though I was a fully-grown man, it wasn’t uncommon for me to crush them into a fine dust and mix them in with my food. I was that pathetic.
While I stared into the bottom of my empty glass, Zoe stared out the window, neither of us saying anything. Something felt off. It just wasn’t sitting right with me. I had no idea what it was, but there was definitely something.
Before I had too much time to think about it, Zoe’s phone on the bench between us rang loudly. Flipping it over, I saw Connor’s name on the screen, and the scowl that crossed Zoe’s face. Instead of answering, she slid the phone towards me and walked away.
“About fucking time you answered my call! Were you planning on avoiding me forever?” Connor barked.
Even though I was well aware that his bark was worse than his bite, hearing him speak to Zoe like this, or at least who he thought was Zoe, pissed me off.
“Very fucking nice, Connor!”
“Who’s this?”
Fuck, he was full of sunshine and rainbows this morning. Without too much thought, I quickly decided that if Connor insisted on acting like a dick, I’d have some fun at his expense.
“What’s it to you? Why the fuck are you calling my Zoe for anyway?” I tossed back at him.
“Your Zoe!”
I was barely holding in the laugh as I pulled the phone away from my ear. He was so loud and aggressive, I was kinda glad there was a couple of hundred kilometres between us right now. The way he was acting, I had no doubts that if we were any closer, he’d be kicking my ass before I knew what was happening.
“Listen, asshole! Who the fuck are you, and where’s Zoe?”
“She’s in the bathroom.” Actually, she was standing right in front of me in a tight pair of yoga pants and a bra wearing the biggest, cheesiest grin on her face. It hadn’t taken her two seconds to figure out what I was up to. The best part though, she was enjoying watching me torment my brother. Truthfully, it was the most fun I’d had in a long time, too. “Listen Connor…”
Pressing the speaker button, Connor’s angry voice bounced off the walls. “Don’t you dare ‘listen Connor’ me, asshole. I don’t know who the fuck you are, or what you think you’re doing with Zoe, but she’s not the girl for you. She deserves better than you. So step the fuck away from her before I have to come give you a hand.”
That did it.
Zoe clamped a hand over her mouth as she dissolved into a fit of crazy laughter. I was barely holding on myself. As much fun as I was having, I could hear Connor panting down the phone. Sadly, enough was enough. “Morning to you too, big brother.”
“Ryan?”
“Hi, Connor.”
“That was you? You fucking asshole!”
“You should be more careful how you say good morning next time.”
“You’re a shithead!”
“Takes one to know one.”
“Hi Connor,” Zoe squeaked nervously.
“Zoe? Is that you?”
“Y-yeah.”
“Ryan, am I on fucking speaker?”
“Yep.”
“Take me off right now!”
Chapter Six
Alex
It’d been a long week. Between trying to finalise the details on one house the team had just finished and preparing to start the next, in what free time I had I’d spent working on Shane’s place. He needed help. The boy was in way over his head. After three nights there, nights where I’d worked into the early hours of the morning with only my music to keep me company, I’d realised this job was a lot bigger than I imagined. It’d almost gotten to the point where I wanted to flip the whole thing.
The bathroom was tiny, and possibly the dumbest layout I’d ever seen. The blue floral tiles were not only out of date, but cracked beyond repair, and every time I turned the tap on, the pipes groaned like they were in serious pain.
It was Saturday afternoon and I’d just kicked off my boots, swiped a beer from Shane’s empty fridge, and flopped down on his couch. It was odd, here I was making myself at home in someone else’s place and they had no idea. I guess that was the thing about family, you give them a key to the front door and you never know when they’ll use it.
Clicking through the channels on his massive flat screen, trying to find something worth watching, I heard the lock c
lick and the door open.
“Hello?” a distinctly feminine voice called out. Definitely not something I was expecting. I mean, Shane hadn’t been here all week, and I doubted he even knew I’d dropped by.
Dropping my sock-clad feet from the coffee table, I set down my beer and headed to intercept the guest. Last thing I needed was to surprise some unsuspecting woman, only to have her freak out and squeal. I fucking hated squealing.
“Hello?” I called out as I rounded the corner before coming to a complete halt.
My heart hammered in my chest.
My vision blurred.
My stomach turned over, and I was more than a little concerned the contents would end up all over Shane’s carpet in the next minute.
I hadn’t seen my mother since the day I’d told her I was gay.
After coming home and finding my shit packed up and overhearing her sob and asking what she’d done wrong to have a son who was, in her words, ‘ruined,’ I’d walked away and never looked back. I wanted to. So many times I wanted to. But the hurt and my stubborn pride always stopped me. Now here I was, completely unprepared to be face to face with the woman who gave birth to me, then abandoned me when I needed her the most.
“A-A-Alex?”
Fuck, that hurt. Did she not recognise me? Surely it hadn’t been that long.
I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want to call her Mum. Well, I did, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t let myself get sucked in to believing she was something more than she was. That she could offer me what I needed. “Hi.”
She fidgeted with the bags in her hands and I realised they were heavy. Without a word, I reached out and took them from her before carrying them into the kitchen and setting them on the counter.
When I opened one, I saw what she was doing. She was delivering Shane groceries. The beer that was currently waiting for me in the lounge room, she had another six pack in the bag. Without a word, I unpacked the bags and put it all away. All the while Mum remained silent, standing in the doorway looking uncomfortable.
Meet The McIntyres - The Complete Series Page 75