Page 6 of Finally Home

More muffled shouts come from down the hall, and I step out of the closet when I hear a yelp. “Why the fuck did you punch me, asshole?” Derrick growls. “You’re really gonna pick some dramatic bitch over me?”

Another yelp—this one followed by a low groan and an audible gag that sends a shiver of disgust down my spine. I have a severe fear of vomiting so even hearing somebody gag makes me nauseous.

“If you ever talk about Wren like that again, I’ll make sure you’re never able to procreate, you lying piece of shit. You cheated on the sweetest person in the entire world and have the fucking nerve to call her a bitch? You’re a pathetic excuse for a husband, and we’re all glad she’s getting away from your wandering dick,” says Asher’s deadly calm voice.

My jaw drops as my eyes burn.

I refuse to cry in front of Derrick, but that was probably the most Ash has ever said at once in front of other people.

Tossing the last of my clothes in my suitcases, I zip them and marvel at the fact that the last four years of my life fits into two large suitcases and a carry-on. Wes and Jamie saunter in, which lets me know Asher and Jeremy stayed back to keep an eye on my soon-to-be ex so I can get out without a fight.

Wesley’s eyes widen like saucers when he takes in my bags. “That’s it?” he chokes out. “Baby Reid, you’ve lived here for four years and that’s really all you’re taking? We have plenty of time if you need to grab the rest of your stuff.”

My cheeks heat as I stare at the floor. “No,” I murmur. “This is all I have. Derrick never wanted me to ruin the clean lines of his apartment with my ‘stupid decorations and useless pictures of people we don’t even see.’” My fingers make air quotes around the words I heard constantly the first two years of our marriage. After a particularly bad fight, I stopped trying to make this apartment feel like mine.

Fingers on my chin tilt my face up to meet Jamie’s ocean eyes. “I’m so sorry we weren’t able to help you before now.” His voice is gruff. “If we had known…”

“J, no. He doesn’t beat me or anything…” I pause, the words taste like ash on my tongue. Because he while he’s never physically hurt me, he could get really loud and mean when he was especially drunk or angry. “I wasn’t unsafe. I’m fine. The important thing is I’m out now, and I finally get to see my family again.”

“You mean you get to see Rhodes again,” Wes smirks, waggling his eyebrows at me.

I roll my eyes with a small smile. “Yes, Rhodes will be there too.”

He gets serious then, gripping my biceps gently in his calloused hands. “You have to stay in contact with us, okay? Don’t go back home and forget about your family in Seattle, Wren. I don’t want to lose the closest thing to a sister I’ve ever had.” He trails off in a whisper as his eyes flood with tears.

I’ve never seen Wesley cry before.

I throw my arms around him in a panic. “Wes, I would never. I promise. Y’all are my family too, and I have space in my life and heart for all of you. Rhodes is my best friend but so are you.” Flicking my eyes over to Jamie, I grab his hand just as Asher walks in the room. “This goes for all of you. Y’all are irreplaceable in my life. The love and support you’ve shown me since the day I met each of you is priceless, and I will never take it for granted. Okay?”

They pull me into yet another group hug. “We love you, Wren. Even if you find your true love and decide to stay in hot-as-hell Charleston, you’re still our Baby Reid, and you’ll always have a place in Seattle as long as we’re here.”

I snort and shake my head at Asher. “You’re just full of words today, huh Ash? Better be careful or I’ll start to expect full sentences from you all the time.”

He smiles innocently as the other two chuckle and Jamie grabs my bags. “You ready to get out of here, Wren? The jet’s prepared to take off as soon as you get there.”

I take a deep breath and glance around the sterile-looking room one last time. “Yeah,” I say with a sigh. “Let’s go.”

CHAPTER 2

WREN

The ride to the airport is spent with the guys once again begging me not to forget them in the most dramatic ways possible while I try to get ahold of my dad. I’m on the verge of panic the third time I get his voicemail when he texts me that he’s on his way to an astronomy conference and will call me when he lands.

The whole thing strikes me as odd, but I decide I’ll interrogate him when he gets home…right after I tell him about Derrick.

With a groan, I drop my face into my hands and all the guys go quiet except Jeremy, who lowers his voice to a whisper as he talks into his earbud. “I feel so stupid.” My voice is threaded with stress. “I knew something seemed off but honestly most of the last four years have been…not the greatest. I don’t know where I went wrong.”

“Hey!” Asher’s firm voice surprises me as a hand rubs soothing circles on my back. He’s sitting next to me in the middle row of Jeremy’s large 3-row SUV. “You can’t blame yourself for somebody else’s bad decisions. Derrick has been a selfish asshole as long as we’ve known him, and you never deserved a second of it. He’s lucky all he got today was a dick punch.” He smirks as Jamie leans over the seat to hug me from behind and lets out a deep breath against my neck.

Jamie gets dizzy in cars, so I always encourage him to take the third row alone so he can stretch out. Turning my head, I take in his dilated pupils and slightly-green pallor. We’re in bumper-to-bumper traffic in the middle of downtown Seattle, and even I’m a little queasy with all the quick stops and starts. The daily gridlock is one thing I absolutely won’t miss about living here. It’s bad on a regular day, but on game days? If I leave the stadium too early, it can take me two hours to go five miles.

“Jamie, do you need some meds?” He’s weirdly embarrassed about his motion sickness and vision issues, which he developed after he was hit by a foul ball two years ago. He nods and I pull the anti-nausea tablets from my bag. “Under your tongue and sip some water slowly. Let me know if you need a bag,” I whisper, kissing his clammy cheek.

His eyes and jaw are clenched shut, and he looks even more green, so I grab one of the barf bags I keep stocked in everybody’s cars for this exact reason. Glancing in front of me to where Wes sits in the passenger seat, I point to the windows and mouth “roll them down” as I open the bag and hand it to Jamie. He snatches it from my hand and scoots closer to the open window.

“In the bag, J.”

I barely get the words out before he’s heaving into the bag. Grimacing slightly, I motion for Asher, who does not handle bodily fluids well, to roll down his own window and turn away. I climb over the back of the seat to sit next to Jamie so I can rub his back. I’ve gotten used to being the one to handle Jamie’s episodes, so, even though I’m terrified of throwing up, I can breathe through my mouth and compartmentalize enough to take care of him.

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