Page 68 of Inevitable
Ezra tried to fight off the urge to laugh. He didn’t want to wake Drew. The man had had an emotional twenty-four hours. He deserved to sleep.
“He always does that when he’s sorry but also a bit pissed, still,” Drew mumbled from behind Ezra as Bas let out a string of curses when he stumbled on something. “He makes enough noise to wake the dead and waits for a bit just to give me a heads-up.”
Doors banged as Bas moved through the apartment.
“Apparently we’re not good at fighting,” Drew said through a yawn. “You shouldn’t go to bed angry. Or so I’ve been told. Sharon swears by it.”
“I’ve heard that one, too,” Ezra said.
“Yeah, people have a lot of advice. Everybody’s an expert. I can’t process everything so quickly, so I sure as hell can go to bed angry, sleep on it, and then tackle everything with a fresh perspective the next day. Who’s to say my approach is wrong?”
Somewhere, a door banged.
“Where the hell is everybody?” they heard Bas mutter, and Drew snorted.
He looked all mussed with sleep, hair in disarray, all sleepy and cozy, burrowed under the blanket. Ezra wanted to save that image in his brain for eternity. Or better yet, have a massive collection of images of Drew just like that on different mornings. Mornings where Ezra could be a part of Drew and Bas’s life.
The bedroom door opened, and Bas appeared in the doorway. The scowl that had been on his face was replaced by a small smile as he looked at Ezra and Drew, bundled under the covers together. He took a step forward and halted before he swallowed.
“Having a sleepover?” he asked as he stalked into the room. He didn’t wait for an answer as he moved to the bed, lifted the covers, and climbed in next to Drew.
“Shit, you’re all cold,” Drew complained, but there was a smile on his face and affection in his voice.
“Deal with it,” Bas said as he wrapped himself around Drew. He pressed his cheek against Drew’s and sighed.
For a second they were all quiet, but then Bas spoke.
“I’m sorry for yesterday. I was an asshole.”
“No, you were just worried about me. I was the one who was out of line.”
“Nah. You were right. I do that. They’re not my parents, so I don’t understand.” Bas reached his hand out toward Ezra and linked their fingers. “It freaks me out. I don’t want to see you get hurt again.”
Drew looked down and swallowed hard. “The fact that I try to reconcile with my parents doesn’t mean I’m looking to change anything between us. I just… I’ve tried to let it go. I’ve tried ignoring them in return. And I can’t. It’s like an itch. It won’t leave until I’ve done something about it. And I owe it to my siblings. It’s not their fault we’re all in this mess.”
“I get it,” Bas hurried to say.
“Do you?” Drew asked quietly. “I’m not… I know things are not going to go back the way they were. I’m not sure I even want to. I don’t miss my parents anymore. Not like I used to, at least. I miss the memory of the family I had, I guess. What I do want is to be on civil terms with Mom and Dad. Maybe have dinner with them occasionally. I want my siblings to stop tensing up whenever I’m mentioned. I don’t want anybody to have to take sides anymore. There’s too much water under the bridge for us to be a real, close-knit family again, but maybe there’s an alternative that could work. A civil coexistence. At least to some extent.”
Bas was nodding. “I understand. You always were the better man out of the two of us, so it’s not really a surprise you’d want to fix things. And I’ll try harder. Next time somebody asks us to stay for lunch, I won’t try to run and hide anymore and instead ask if I can… I don’t fucking know, bring a lasagna.”
“Considering you’re the worst cook, that’d be more like a punishment.”
“It’s the thought that counts.”
Drew smiled and kissed Bas. “Thank you.”
Bas lifted himself up on one elbow and looked at Ezra. “All right?” he asked, the usual twinkle Ezra always associated with Bas back in his eyes.
“I’m good,” Ezra replied.
“I owe you an apology, too. I shouldn’t have stormed off the way I did. And the things I said about your family… There’s no excuse.”
“It’s not a big deal,” Ezra started to say, but Bas was already shaking his head.
“Don’t let me off the hook that easy. Make me grovel a bit.”
Ezra shook his head, unable to suppress the smile born out of sheer relief that things were back to normal.