Page 66 of These Family Ties
“Can I have another minute?” I almost didn’t ask, but if he can be honest with us, the least I can do is try to be honest with him.
“If you’ll share your M&M's.” He pulls two bags in different colors than mine from his pocket, tossing one at Cal. “Open the drawer behind your chair and grab the biggest bowl in there.”
“Got it.” Calden takes a bright pink bowl and places it between us. “Now what?”
“We dump all three bags in together, duh.” I laugh, remembering how we used to do this every chance we got growing up.
“Except this time, the chaos pixie isn’t dumping in Skittles and not telling us.”
“Holy shit.” Cal laughs. “I forgot all about that.
“Whatever, I make life more interesting.” I dump my bag into the bowl with theirs and shake it around a bit, mixing the flavors.
“You sure as hell do.” Aaron grins as I shovel a handful into my face-hole. “I’m sorry I fucked this up for so long, but you’re both safe with me. You don’t have to believe me yet, but just know that I’ll never stop trying.”
Chapter Five
“See this button?” Aaron pushes the red circle on the headphone cable. “You push it so we can hear you, okay?”
“So only you and Calden can hear me?” I ask, watching the video feed from the front of the building. “Why?”
“Well, anyone logged in can hear you unless you go in here.” He moves the cursor to the top right side of the screen and clicks on the three little dots. “There’s your name, mine, Calden’s, my father, and the rest of the office. You click on the individual name to speak directly to that person. The green dots beside the names are the people logged in, but not actively logged into our channel. The red dots are the people not logged in at all, and green with a secondary green ring are active on our channel. I know it’s a lot, but if you get lost or overwhelmed, you can just click here.”
I watch as he clicks on a chat bubble and adds me, Calden, and himself. “What’s your safe word, shortie?”
“Motherfucker.”
“Alara.” Calden chokes.
“I mean. It works, but maybe pick a funny little picture.” He snorts.
“The guy hyperventilating into a paper bag clear enough for you?” I raise a single brow.
“Hard to misinterpret that one.” If I see that in the chat, I’ll step in for Calden, and he’ll come to you. “Look, I know this probably sounds ridiculous, but it’s not. You’re in a medical office, and you have a medical condition. Just because your anxiety isn’t causing you to bleed from the ears doesn’t mean you aren’t still bleeding out.”
“How did you go from asshole to emotionally mature in a week?” I ask, only kind of teasing.
“Honestly?” He shifts from foot to foot. “I’ve been talking to my mom each night. She’s helping me see how damaging my behavior has been” –He stops looking me in the eye– “to all of us. We’re all a little fucked up. It’s time I stop hiding from it and fix it.”
“You’re making it really hard for Calden to hold a grudge,” I tease.
“Puttin’ in the work and not just the words.” He shrugs. “Are you two ready?”
“I can see her from the booth?” Calden asks, pointing at my screen. “Just like her?”
“Yup.” Aaron points to the camera above the door. “You’ll see everything that camera sees. You watch for the patients leaving the office, grab their keys, and pull their cars around. And for fuck's sake, try not to look so brooding. The older ladies are going to eat you alive.”
“I’m not brooding,” Cal huffs, grinning like a cat who stole the canary. “I’m a poet.”
“Keep telling yourself that.” I take my seat and spin twice. “Oh my god. This chair is awesome. You two can go away now. I’ll be here, eating candy and spinning in circles.”
“She’s going to end up puking, isn’t she?” Aaron grimaces.
“Nah, she’s got this.” Calden nudges him. “And so do we.”
“Love you, Cal,” I say right as the phone lights up. “And thank you, Aaron. We won’t let you down.”
“I have no doubt about that.” He grins before turning and heading to the elevator with Calden.