Page 80 of Comeback
“I need to finish painting, lay the new floors, build a front desk, then have electrical and plumbing looked at, and get internet and speakers hung, and like a million other little things.”
“You’re doing all this yourself?”
I know if I tell him I can’t afford it, he’ll offer to pay, so I say, “I want to be a part of every detail in this place. I’ve dreamed about it for so long.”
“If there’s anything I can do, name it.”
“I got it, but thank you.”
“Are you sure? I’m off tomorrow.” He moves his head back and forth. “After that it’s a busy few months, but I’ll do anything I can. You’re not in this alone.”
His words tug at my emotions. Time and again I forget how nice it is to have a brother that has so easily accepted me into his life.
“Thank you. I might take you up on that when it’s time to lay the flooring. I probably shouldn’t be allowed to work a saw.”
His mouth hitches up on one side. “I love power tools.”
“Speaking of not doing it alone, Archer has helped.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” I nod. “He helped clean up in here. It was way worse when I started.”
“That was nice of him.”
“It was.” He’s not taking the bait and now I’m starting to sweat.
“He’s a good guy. The best, actually.”
“Is there a but coming?” I ask.
“No.” His chest shakes with a laugh. “I’m happy for you both, but uh, I feel like I should warn you, I guess.”
“Warn me about what?”
He runs a hand along his jaw as he clearly struggles with how to phrase whatever he wants to say.
“Is he like a serial dater or something? Because I don’t even know if I’m looking for anything serious and we haven’t really talked about where this could go. It might just be a fling or it might be more. Either way, I’m good. You don’t need to worry about me.”
“No, that’s not it,” he says slowly. “But I’m not pumped to know my sister might be looking to be my best friend’s fuck buddy.”
I stifle a laugh, and he clears his throat.
“Archer hasn’t had the best luck dating.”
“Who has?” I wave a hand in front of him. “Except you and London, obviously.”
“More than your typical bad date stuff.”
I have a sudden surge of anger that someone might have hurt Archer. It seems so unbelievable but at the same time I am ready to throw down at the thought.
“What do you mean?” I ask, trying to keep my emotions in check.
“He’s always made sure that his hearing loss didn’t impact others. He learned to lip read and got the hearing aids, figured out how to be in social situations or even the football field without people needing to accommodate him. And he’s done the same thing with dating.”
“He accommodates them?” I ask, trying to understand exactly what Brogan is telling me.
“Yeah, but to a point that puts what’s best for him in jeopardy. Look, you know sign language, and every encounter I’ve seen between the two of you, you seem like you’ve kept his needs in mind when communicating. That’s huge. Way more than most people do for him.”
