Page 114 of Love Marks
When I wake up on the couch, I hear a banging and Ben’s voice calling through the door. I ignore him. Whatever the hell he needs, he can wait. Unfortunately for me, my brother has never listened to me in his entire life.
“Fuck off,” I yell through the door, not moving from my spot on the couch.
He bangs on the door again. “Watch your language. There is a child present.”
I groan. He brought Luna? Why the hell would he do that? The last thing my niece needs to see is me in this state. I don’t want to see her either. Just the thought of her tiny fucking fingers and sweet voice causes a swell of feeling in my stomach, one that I immediately push down.
“Open the door, Wes. I’ll break it down if I have to,” Ben threatens.
“Why are you hitting the door, Daddy? Are you mad at it?” I hear Luna’s high-pitched voice from outside.
Ben really is stubborn, and I can’t just let them stand out there while he knocks on my door. I groan again and grab a shirt from the ground, sniffing it. Not great, but it’ll do.
“Wes, I just took the subway all the way here from uptown with a 5-year-old. If you don’t open this door—”
I swing the door open. Ben’s eyes widen at the sight of me, and I don’t look at Luna as I leave the door open and stalk back inside, throwing myself onto the couch. They can come in, but I don’t want to talk.
“Uncle Wes looks ugly,” Luna whispers loudly to Ben and he chuckles.
“Why don’t you go play in Uncle Wesley’s office, Luna? Remember the games he has in there?”
He’s talking about the poker chips and chess board, neither of which Luna actually knows how to play.
She must leave because Ben settles into the chair in the living room, frowning. “Luna is right. You look like a mess and so does this place. I mean, Jesus, Wes. It’s trashed in here. What the hell is going on?”
“How did you know I was here?” I grumble.
“Beverly,” he says. “So? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. You’ve done your brotherly duty. You can leave now.” I turn away from him, facing the ceiling, my anger brewing.
“It’s clearly not nothing, and it’s clearly about Quinn. I take it you talked to her?” Ben presses.
I growl. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Ben slaps my legs and sits next to me on the couch, forcing me to move. “Well, too bad. Cause we are.”
I say nothing. Ben says nothing. He just looks at me expectantly, as if to say: I’ll wait all day if I have to.
I sigh and roll my eyes. Why did I even let him in?
“Fine. I called Pete to make sure she got home okay, and he told me that he dropped her off at the hospital and something had happened with her mom. She’s sick. I waited for her at her place and when I got there, she told me we’re done.”
“That’s it?” Ben asks. I’m silent again and he scoffs. “Sounds like you’re leaving a lot out.”
“She read the folder. She thinks I betrayed her, and she found out that I paid her mom’s medical bills—”
“You did what?” He slaps his hand to his head. “Wesley.”
“Don’t fucking lecture me about it,” I growl, anger replacing the well of hurt inside me. “Her mom’s boyfriend Joe spent half an hour telling me about how Quinn’s been basically paying the bills off herself, and it’s still not enough, how stressed they’ve been with money. What was I supposed to do? Just let her carry that shit alone when we have more money than we know what to do with? Just because she’s too proud to admit when she needs help?”
Ben shakes his head, his expression softening. “No, Wes. It’s very admirable that you want to help her with the situation, but you should have talked to her about it first. Talked to her mom. It’s not really your business.”
“She is my business! She is—” I break off. Fuck. I wasn’t supposed to do this. I wasn’t supposed to think about her. “Whatever. It’s already done, and I’d do it again if I could.”
He sighs and shakes his head. “Alright then. What about her mom? Is she okay?”
I shake my head, feeling even worse. “I don’t know. She wouldn’t tell me. Just kept telling me to leave.”