Page 38 of CurVy Forever

And his big brother steps into the blade, sucking a sharp breath in as the tip disappears into his shirt, the evidence of further depth a seeping red liquid expanding like tie-dye.

“Dexter,” I plea, wanting him to stop.

“Tyler.” Dexter ignores the knife, opening his arms wide for his little brother. “Please. Give me another chance.”

Tyler squeezes his eyes shut. “No.”

“I’m sorry,” Dexter presses, desperate. “I know I let you down. If I could, I would take every scar from you. Every moment with that bitch. I would listen to you when you told me things weren’t right. I would ask more questions. I would open my eyes and see for myself. It was right there. Happening right in front of us. I was blind. I’m sorry, buddy.”

Oh, God.

“No!” Overcome, Tyler drops the knife, sobs racketing violently through him, his chest heaving under the effort to contain them. “No.”

Dexter grabs Tyler.

He envelops him in a strong hold, it’s almost violent, but then, it is two men fighting through love, loss, sorrow, and guilt. It is firm and unyielding, just like Dexter’s promise to never leave him again. He forces his little brother to stay in his arms until… Tyler’s body melts. Relents. Accepts. And he returns Dexter’s embrace.

My eyes burn from tears.

The healing moment between them stretches, and neither brother is willing to release the other just yet. And the word sorry is repeated in Tyler’s ear over and over. I’m sorry. Sorry. Sorry.

Then, awareness slides across me.

A slow clap begins from the other room. I feel the heat of Donnie like rapids, and turn in time to see him appear from around the corner, clapping to a slow, second at a time, beat.

“Well, that was heart-warming.”

“Donnie,” I breathe his name. My voice is a rush of relief, one I can’t hide for the life of me. “You’re here.”

“Observant, Pup.”

Ugh. He’s a bastard.

“Donnie.” Tyler steps back from Dexter and rushes to embrace his brother like a small boy seeing his father again after years of separation. “You did it! You fixed it!”

“Charges dropped,” Donnie confirms, squeezing Tyler while assessing Dexter over his shoulder. He pushes Ty out in front of him. “Ty. The arsehole lived, but we got him, brother. I’ve got footage of him being a fucking idiot, and he knows I’ll use it. We don’t need to take this further right now, okay?”

Tyler gapes. “He’s alive?”

Shocked, I can’t help but ask, “What did Oliver do?”

“How much did you hear just now?” Dexter cuts in, far more interested in addressing the elephant in the room or perhaps changing the subject so Tyler doesn’t focus on this new development to the Oliver story.

“Caught the second act and through to the finale.” Donnie’s gaze drops to the blood seeping into Dexter’s shirt. He smiles. The bastard smiles… “Do you remember when we used to fight as kids, Dexter?” he offers smoothly. “Year of the rabbit—me and Ty. We’d stripe warpaint on our cheeks and roll up our sleeves.” Donnie’s gaze edges slowly to me, the glistening of love and dark intent fighting for the throne within them. “We would hunt the feral rabbits, Pup. You see, if Dexter or I caught one, we’d kill it quickly so we could eat it for lunch that day. If Ty caught it, he’d play with it. Feed it. Stroke it.” He squeezes Tyler’s arms, grounding him. “You kept your bunny as a pet for a year until a spider bit it, remember? We all looked after it. I even caught Dexter stoking it once.” His eyes shift to me. “Do you wanna be our pet today, Pup? Let’s see which brother wins.”

CHAPTER 16

DEXTER

Legs tensing, heart thumping, feet bashing the ground under the heavy weight of my six-foot-four physique, I run through the forest and sweat the emotions through my pores.

The love for Tyler.

The respect for Donnie.

Accepting my place in it all.

The sun descends, filling the forest in a soft, golden light, and casting long, swaying shadows across the ground.

---