Page 28 of Cover Up

He hung up before she could keep going, and he sat back, pressing both hands over his face. He was trembling from head to toe now, and he felt like he was going to throw up. It was just like her to drop the bomb about the only member of his family who loved him dying while also making him feel like he might have been better off dead.

And it was awful because he loved his life. He did. Nothing pissed him off more than the fact that they still had the power to affect him this way.

“Come with me.” A low, familiar rumble forced past his spiraling thoughts and drew Felix back to earth.

He opened his eyes and searched the strange face before he settled on the necklace the man wore.

Paris.

It was Paris.

Felix let him guide him to his feet, then led him through the back door and out into the alley. The sun was blazing down on him, and the humidity was thick enough he could almost see it, but the fresh air was enough to pull him out of his shock.

“I thought you blocked her,” Paris said as they hunkered in a patch of shade.

Felix swallowed heavily. “That wasn’t my mom. That, uh…that was my sister. I didn’t think she’d ever call, so I didn’t bother.”

Paris grunted, shoving his hands into his pockets. “What happened?”

“My grandma died.” Felix took in a deep breath, and it trembled on the way out. “I liked her. I loved her.”

Paris nodded, leaning his shoulder against the building. “I’m sorry.”

Felix nodded. His throat was kind of hot, but as much as he wanted to cry, he couldn’t. “Shit. I told her I had a boyfriend. I told her I’d come to the funeral with my boyfriend.” A beat passed, then another, and then he found himself doubled over, both laughing and sobbing a little. “What the hell’s wrong with me?”

Warm arms righted him, then curled around him, and Felix buried his face in Paris’s chest. He took in several deep breaths, feeling a little wild and unhinged. He didn’t know if it was just the powerful grief of knowing he’d never see his grandmother again or if it was his brain once again betraying him.

“I don’t know why I’m like this.”

“None of us know why we’re like this,” Paris said, his voice rumbling against Felix’s ear. “I think you should go home.”

“I’ve got clients,” Felix muttered.

“Are you gonna do your best work today?” Paris asked.

Felix pulled back and was forced to shake his head because he couldn’t lie. “I’ve canceled a lot lately. My goddamn seizures, and now this…”

“Your clients get you. And if they don’t get you,” Paris said, his tone fierce and a little terrifying, “we don’t fuckin’ want them here.”

Felix bowed his head and stared at his feet. He really, really didn’t want to be alone, but he also knew that what Paris was saying was for the best. He swiped his hand under his nose, then stepped back until he hit the wall, sagging against it. “I’ll…I’ll order a car.”

“Ben’s on his way,” Paris said. “He’ll give you a ride.”

Felix wanted to argue just for propriety’s sake, but the last thing in the world he wanted was to be trapped in a vehicle with some stranger, even if it was only for a few minutes. So he just smiled instead, then let Paris lead him back inside.

* * *

Felix crashed the second he got home. His mind was going a thousand miles a minute. He couldn’t say more than a few words to Ben on the drive, so he figured he was going to go down hard the moment he was out of the car. His body just sort of shut down the minute his ass met his couch, and the next thing he knew, he was waking up to loud pounding on his door.

The light was dim in the room, which meant the sun was near setting, and Felix’s stomach ached with a hollow emptiness from forgetting to eat all day. His brain struggled to come back online, and his feet didn’t seem to want to walk straight as he made his way to the door.

He didn’t even think to look in the peephole before answering it, and it took him a second to recognize the person staring at him with worried eyes.

“Dei?”

“Hey, sugar.”

Felix’s throat went all hot again, and this time, the grief in his chest felt ten times more powerful. He cleared his throat. “What are you doing here?”

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