Page 6 of Forsaken

I jumped at the sound of Brennan’s voice because I’d completely forgotten about his presence. My entire body ached and my wrist was throbbing like a son of a bitch, but I shook my head. “No, I’m fine,” I murmured as I turned around to face him. “Do me a favor and don’t tell Dom, okay?” I said, forcing a lightness I wasn’t feeling into my voice. “He’ll want to wrap me in bubble wrap or something,” I joked.

Brennan chuckled and reached for one of the bags of frozen vegetables on the table and handed it to me. I walked around the loveseat and sat down. Brennan came around the piece of furniture to join me, but when his eyes fell on the bookshelf, he paused and then went over to it and righted the single picture frame that had been lying face down. I felt my stomach tighten as my eyes settled on the photo in the frame, but I quickly tore them away and focused on getting the cold bag back on my wrist.

“I should probably warn you then,” Brennan began as he dropped down on the loveseat next to me. “Dom and Logan are planning a welcome home party for you this Saturday. They were going to do it last weekend during family dinner, but since you had other plans…”

I forced myself not to chew on my lower lip as I was prone to do when I was stressed. I’d only been back in Seattle for a couple of weeks and while I’d come back specifically to be around the men and women who’d become my surrogate family, I’d yet to actually see any of them except for Brennan and Dominic Barretti, the man who’d saved my life.

Literally.

I’d been certain that coming home would change things for me, but the second Dom had shown up at my apartment the day after I’d arrived and enfolded me in his arms, I’d started to wonder if I hadn’t made a terrible mistake.

Because the guilt of all I’d done had come boiling up to the surface the moment he’d wrapped his arms around me and whispered, “Welcome home, Eli,” in my ear. He’d taken the few tears I’d shed as a sign of happiness, but the second he’d left, I’d slid to the floor and let everything go. And when the invites to come visit all the various family members had started rolling in, I’d begun making excuses.

“Do you think you can talk them out of it?” I asked. “I offered to take a shift at the hospital for another volunteer,” I lied. I knew my reprieve wouldn’t last long, but I just wasn’t ready yet. Not to mention the bruise on my face wouldn’t be gone by then and while Brennan might have bought my excuse, there was no way in hell Dom would have.

I felt Brennan’s eyes on me so I forced my own up. Brennan was close to my own age and while he wasn’t as seasoned in picking out lies like Dom was, he was still a smart guy. He studied me for a moment and then nodded his head. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thanks.”

“I stopped by to see if you wanted to come look at apartments with me,” Brennan said. He looked at my wrist which I still had pressed against my chest. “But seems like you should get some rest.”

“Yeah,” I mumbled. “You’re getting your own place?”

Like me, Brennan had returned to Seattle after graduating from UCLA but unlike me, he had actual family to stay with. His brother Zane and his husband Connor lived in Queen Anne with Zane and Brennan’s younger sister, Hannah, as well as their five-year-old son, Leo.

If I hadn’t been looking at Brennan at that exact moment, I would have missed his small smile just before he said, “Tristan’s transferring to the UW this fall. We’re sharing a place.”

Even though it had been a while since I’d last seen Logan and Dom’s adopted son and Brennan together, Brennan’s reaction didn’t surprise me. I’d seen early on that Brennan was infatuated with the younger man, but I suspected the feelings went one way because as far as I knew, they’d never been anything more than just friends.

“Are you guys-” I began.

“No,” Brennan quickly interjected and a mask of indifference fell over his face. “It just makes sense to get a place together.”

I wanted to ask Brennan if that was the best idea considering how deep his feelings appeared to run, but he caught me off guard when he quietly asked, “So how are your parents?”

My stomach rolled, but I swallowed hard and nodded. “My mom is good. She’s trying to keep busy with the charity work she does for veterans and their families.”

“And your dad? How is he holding up?”

“He’s good,” I managed to get out and I steeled myself for the inevitable next question.

“And Caleb?”

“He’s hanging in there,” I murmured non-committedly.

Brennan sat back against the couch cushions and shook his head. “Fuck, poor guy. Finding his own brother like that…”

I could feel bile rising in my throat and I quickly stood and went to the kitchen and snatched the other bag of vegetables off the table, putting both back in the freezer.

“Sorry,” I heard Brennan murmur and I closed the freezer door to see him standing a few feet away. “I shouldn’t have brought it up,” he said.

“No, it’s okay,” I responded with a sigh. “It’s just been a rough few weeks.”

Brennan nodded in understanding. “I’ll make sure Dom and Logan hold off on the party.”

“Thanks,” I said and when Brennan leaned in to carefully hug me, I actually felt a moment of relief.

“It’s good to have you home, Eli,” Brennan said against my shoulder.

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