Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76006 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76006 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
17
Rhys
Rhys had gotten home from work and was rolling out a homemade pizza crust when Emerson ambled through the door, appearing a bit distracted. It was the night of the playoff game that Emerson was attending with Neil. It felt like a big deal because Emerson never did anything for himself. It might’ve also been the reason why he was acting so cagey as he absently greeted them and went to his room to change.
Rhys put on a confident smile and promised the kids a fun movie night with homemade pizza and buttery popcorn even though he was exhausted from his chaotic week.
His mom had flown out for a couple of days, and since their house was undergoing repairs, she was staying in Sam’s room—Sam, of course, had loved the idea of using a sleeping bag in his sister’s bedroom, which was normally off-limits. His mom had been shell-shocked upon seeing the damage to their home. An insurance company representative showed up to assess the loss, promising that most of the destruction would be covered under natural disasters, which made him breathe a huge sigh of relief. Maybe Emerson was right. Shit happened, and that was that. He’d certainly had his share, so he’d definitely know.
Rhys felt like his very own walking disaster. While it was good to get back to work, it was also overwhelming. He remembered most of the staff, and the basic floor routine felt familiar, but the computer system and the product line did not. He struggled to keep up, feeling like he’d walked into a time warp.
Martin encouraged him to take his time, but by the end of his second day he’d come home frustrated. His mom confronted him about it that night.
“You’ll get there, honey. Be grateful you have a warm place to sleep and good friends. Those kids love you.”
“I am grateful.”
And he was, he really was. He didn’t know why he had such a short fuse lately, except that maybe it was because his life had been turned upside down yet again when he was just feeling like things were returning to normal. Plus, he’d read that brain injuries could affect things like your moods and personality to varying degrees, and he hoped that what he was feeling wasn’t going to be permanent. But he couldn’t deny that he liked being here with the Rose family. They made him feel safe and comfortable—and Emerson made him feel other things that he absolutely should not be entertaining—so he tried to shake his grouchiness. “I love them too.”
Before she left for the airport, Sam showed her the caterpillar chrysalises, and as he explained the process, Rhys thought about what Sam had said about him having a metamorphosis of his own. A complete destruction that was actually a transformation—wasn’t that how he’d described it?
Currently he was in the stages of ruin, and he didn’t know what was to come, but he was willing to wade through the dark to find out. Though it scared the hell out of him. His world had changed in the blink of an eye, and the storm damage had only added salt to the wound. What was that saying… When it rained, it poured.
Yeah, literally.
When Rhys had tried to talk to his mom about Carl, she’d waved him off, which was what she normally did when she didn’t want to rock the boat. For now, he’d leave well enough alone. Besides, maybe he was mistaken. It would make sense since his frame of reference had shifted from missing an entire year.
Emerson looked a bit nervous as he paced in front of the door, waiting for Neil to pick him up for the game. He’d changed into his broken-in jeans and a Rockets baseball sweatshirt that Rhys didn’t even know he owned, so that in itself felt a bit trippy.
When Neil came to the door and Emerson introduced him to his family, Rhys shook his hand, then returned to the couch, where he’d been fiddling with the remote while the kids decided on a movie.
“Wow, the Rose family really does look alike,” Neil remarked, and seeing them from his vantage point made Rhys feel strangely possessive of them. Though he was used to the red hair, fair skin, and freckles, he could understand how striking they looked as a group. He’d always thought so when he’d viewed them from a distance.
Neil was a good-looking guy, and as they debated grabbing stadium food during the game versus stopping somewhere to eat, Rhys saw a brief flash of something familiar in Neil’s eyes. He definitely recognized that look. Neil was attracted to Emerson, and now Emerson’s restlessness before he arrived made warning bells sound off in Rhys’s brain.
Was this a date?
No. Emerson was straight, wasn’t he? That development couldn’t possibly be something he’d missed in the last year, could it?