Page 50 of My Favorite Secret
Tyler and I wait for them in the living room, spreading out over the massive L-shaped couch. Within five minutes, Killian joins us, pulling a shirt on and sipping an energy drink.
Tyler raises a questioning eyebrow. “Girl still in your room?”
“Yeah. She’ll be fine occupying herself.” Killian sits onthe couch with us.
His hair is a mess. Out of us four brothers, I’m the only blond. The other three are dark and look like my father. Sometimes I joke with them that Mom had a hot affair behind Dad’s back and I’m someone else’s son. Unfortunately for me, I know Josh Blackwood is my biological father, being the only son to have inherited his eyes.
“How have you two been?” Killian asks. “I’m really sorry to hear about Clara. I wanted to visit but Dad said it wasn’t appropriate.”
“It’s been rough,” Tyler answers. “Harper would love to see you but it’s probably best to wait a while.”
As the two of them chat, I hear voices as my youngest brother leaves his room. I tilt my head back, enough to see out of the living room and through to the front door. Dan is shirtless, wearing nothing but black track pants. I laugh to myself, watching him say goodbye to his guest. The girl looks freshly fucked, with bed hair and cheeks flushed from an orgasm.
She presses up on her toes and kisses him. “I had fun.”
“So did I. Let’s do it again soon.”
The two of them won’t see each other again. The thing I’ve learned about Dan is although he treats girls well when he’s with them, he has no interest in keeping them around or having a girlfriend. He’s the most popular guy in his grade. As a Blackwood, he has no shortage of girls throwing themselves at him. He’s like most guys his age, probably jerking off multiple times a day, and lives for tits, pussy, and blow jobs. Someday, he is going to meet a girl who has him whipped, and I can’t wait to see him chase after her, whoever she may be.
I like to think of Dan as my progeny. I’ve taught him everything I know about girls. I’ve started teaching him how to play poker and he’s already showing signs of being agenius at it. Dad isn’t pleased about my influence, but I don’t give a shit. Dan doesn’t give a shit either. Pissing off our father seems to please him. Out of all of us, they might have the worst relationship.
“Bro, put a fucking shirt on,” Tyler laughs, throwing a cushion at Dan when he joins us in the living room.
Grinning, Dan catches the cushion and kicks Tyler’s leg. “No way. This is all for you, man. You love it.” As soon as Dan takes a seat, he loses the humor and rests both elbows on his knees, rubbing his face. “It’s fucked up what happened to Clara. I sent Harper a message. I haven’t heard back, but that’s understandable.”
“I doubt she’s checked her phone,” I say. “She’s not doing well, as to be expected. But we’re taking good care of her.”
Dan’s eyes whip to me,knowing. Perhaps my tone gives away more than I’ve realized when speaking about Harper. He’s always been too perceptive for his own good. The little shit. It’s why he’s so good at poker.
“You two are friendly again?”
I warn him with my eyes to shut the fuck up. “Given the circumstances, yes.”
He places a hand over his mouth, covering a smirk. Smug bastard.
Acting fast to change the topic, I pull out my wallet. “I have something for you. It’s for all of us, but, Dan, it belongs with you.”
“Oh?”
“It’s a photo of Mom. It’s the reason I wanted us to all be together today. Clara gave it to me the morning before her accident.”
Intrigued, all three of my brothers slide in close as I remove the photograph from my wallet. Silence falls overthe four of us as we look at the image, Dan in Mom’s belly as she hugs the rest of us. I don’t need to look at my brothers to know the weight of this moment and how special the photo is for them to see.
“Incredible,” Killian says.
“I’ve never seen her look that happy,” Tyler adds. “Not even in her wedding photos.”
Dan remains silent. When I glance at him, there’s a look of self-loathing in his eyes. His jaw is clenched and his throat works. Maybe I fucked up, showing him the photograph.
No. He needs to understand that no one blames him for Mom’s death. It was a freak accident in the delivery room.
“None of this is your fault, Dan,” I say. Tyler and Killian reinforce my words, patting him on the back. “Clara gifted me the photo as a peace offering. But it belongs with you. We all had time with Mom. You never did.”
He takes the photo from me and studies it further. “She really was beautiful. Thank you. This means a lot. I’ll keep it safe.” He swallows hard and looks at the three of us. “You know what’s fucked up? Clara wanted to be a mother to us. Except for Tyler, we all pushed her away.”
“I know. There’s no one who will ever love us like that again. But we have each other.”
Tense silence follows.
