“Thanks.”
Beau’s head snapped in Ethan’s direction. Had he just thanked his father for beating on Jimmy Reardon? Of course, thanks were probably in order because the man wasn’t going to stop until he realized exactly what his actions had caused. Not that this would slow him down any.
Curtis nodded his head, effectively ending the conversation in that subtle way he did that left anyone who knew him wanting to open up and tell him their deepest, darkest secrets. Curtis never pushed, never questioned, never made you feel weak. But he damn sure made sure you knew he was there if you needed him.
Beau envied Ethan in that regard. Curtis was exactly the opposite of his own father. He just hoped Ethan didn’t take that for granted because from what he’d learned in his life, that relationship between father and son was rare.
Chapter Thirty Three
Ethan could only assume Beau understood his need to be alone because he didn’t even have to request it when he found himself being dropped off at his house a short while ago. Beau had kissed him briefly in the truck, waited until he made it in the house and then disappeared down the driveway.
And Ethan had waited all of three minutes before he snatched up his truck keys and headed to Sawyer’s. Noticing the car in the driveway, Ethan had parked haphazardly behind it and now was standing on his brother’s front porch, waiting for him to answer the door.
It didn’t take long.
As soon as the door opened wide, Ethan stormed in, shoving Sawyer hard enough to send him back a couple of steps.
“What the fuck!” Sawyer growled, the fury on his face mirroring what had been boiling in Ethan’s stomach for the last half hour. Ever since he realized that Sawyer had ratted him out to his parents all those years ago.
“How fucking could you?” Ethan yelled, the hurt and anger morphing into an overwhelming concoction that wasn’t looking good for his brother.
“How could I what?” Sawyer hollered, slamming the front door when Ethan cleared it.
“You told them!”
Sawyer stood stone still near the door, staring at Ethan with what looked like remorse in his eyes.
“I had no choice,” he said after a few tense moments. “You could’ve died.”
“You promised. No one was supposed to know.”
“Ethan,” Sawyer started then stopped, thrusting his hands through his perfectly styled hair before turning and stalking off.
“What?”
Sawyer made it all the way to the kitchen before he stopped and turned back to face him. Ethan waited impatiently for his brother to continue.
“Do you even remember how bad you were hurt? Greyson wanted you to go to the hospital. Since you refused, I had to settle for trying to stop your fucking head from bleeding. You had a concussion, remember? I wasn’t allowed to let you go to sleep for hours. On top of that, your fucking nose was broken, and your face was so swollen you couldn’t open your eyes. That doesn’t include the damage done to your ribs. I never would’ve been able to forgive myself if something happened to you.”
Ethan listened, his brother’s recollection driving all of the memories forward. The pain had been excruciating. Even to this day, there were remnants of the agony in his bones. He wasn’t sure he would ever fully heal from it.
“So you told Mom and Dad?”
“That night, I called Dad. Not only was I enraged, I was fucking scared.”
To hear Sawyer say that was the equivalent of stomping all over Ethan’s heart. Never in his life had he heard Sawyer say that he was scared of anything. Yet he had put Sawyer in a position that no one should’ve had to be in. And though it pissed him off that he felt betrayed, Ethan suddenly felt ashamed of himself.
Turning and walking away, it was Ethan’s turn to shove his hands through his hair.
Why did everything seem to be changing? Fuck.
Ethan leaned over, gripping his hair tightly in his fists as he fought the emotional overload that swamped him. He was in pain. Physical. Emotional. No matter how he looked at it, Ethan’s world was changing, what he thought he never wanted before, he now knew he did. His fears were still choking him, pulling him up short, but he felt himself moving closer and closer to the light. And it scared the fuck out of him. He wouldn’t survive the pain again.
Sawyer’s hand came down on his back in a reassuring manner, but his brother didn’t say a word. He just stood there while Ethan did his damnedest not to fall apart. When he managed to catch his breath, he stood tall and turned to face Sawyer.
Sucking in a breath, he fully intended to thank his brother for saving his life, but that’s not what came out of his mouth.