“You were half right,” Archer muttered.
Lucas shrugged. “It makes total sense when you think about it. Aiden develops a crush on Thomas, confesses his interest, Thomas spurns his advances, Aiden leaves humiliated and never comes back. Thomas wallows in his guilt.”
Atticus looked around at each of his brothers. He could tell their wheels were turning as they, like him, replayed every interaction he’d ever seen between the two of them, but he couldn’t remember even one significant memory that stood out to him. He really was self-absorbed. “Why now? Why would he suddenly petition the courts to dissolve his adoption decades later?”
“I don’t know, but he pulled the trigger on it and Dad is inconsolable,” Adam said. “Do you think Dad loves Aiden like that, too?”
“I told you, Dad’s not some pervert,” Asa snapped.
Adam rolled his eyes. “I’m not saying he was into Aiden back then, but maybe he is now? Maybe that’s why Aiden makes him, like…sad?”
Avi looked to Asa. “It kind of makes sense. When was the last time Dad even went on a date?”
“Then isn’t it better for everybody if the adoption is dissolved?”
“Not if Aiden’s cutting ties with all of us. If Thomas really is into him, then maybe he thinks he’s losing his only tie?” Noah offered.
August pinched the bridge of his nose. “Dad’s going to be humiliated once the press gets a hold of this.”
Asa and Avi looked at Lucas. “So…do we ask Dad?” Asa asked.
Avi nodded. “Yeah, like, do we try to get him to talk to us about his feelings for Aiden?”
Lucas frowned. “Why are you all looking at me?”
“Because you’re the one who thinks our brother wants to bone our dad,” Adam snapped.
“Andyou’re a shrink,” Archer reminded him.
Lucas reacted to the news as if he’d forgotten that bit of information. “Oh, yeah. Okay, so I think we can all agree that none of you are even remotely qualified to broach this topic with your father. You will literally ruin everything and leave him worse off than you found him.”
“Wow. Tell us how you really feel,” Archer said, amused.
“So, what do we do?” Adam asked.
Lucas shrugged. “Keep an eye on him. Make sure he doesn’t get too sloppy and humiliate himself.”
“Do not talk to Aiden,” Noah said. “Not about this at least. Technically, this isn’t our business.”
Once more, Archer scoffed. “Technically…”
“Do you have something to contribute other than snide comments?” Noah asked, giving what Atticus called his ‘mom stare,’ like he thought he could shame a room full of psychopaths.
Archer rolled his eyes. “Did you want me to contribute more? Do you truly wish to hear my opinion on the matter?” When nobody chimed in, he said, “Fine. I think Aiden never should have been brought into this family. He’s not like the rest of us in a number of ways, but more than that, Thomas didn’t want him for the experiment. He didn’t take him in because he was like us. He took him in because he was nothing like us. Why do you think he went and adopted Adam after he’d said there would only be six of us. He meant six psychopaths, not six kids.”
Noah winced. “Wow. Harsh.”
“What do you mean, nothing like us?”
Archer sighed. “Aiden isn’t a psychopath. Surely, you must have noticed that. Whatever problems he had, it didn’t come from a lack of empathy or remorse. It came from trauma.”
“That can’t be true,” Atticus said, knowing deep down it definitely was.
“I imagine giving five children everything you have, loving them, caring for them, meeting their every need, knowing they can never love you back, probably gets pretty lonely. Maybe he thought Aiden could be the one who loved him back. Which, if that was Dad’s angle, he got it, just not how he’d pictured it.” Archer dumped more whiskey in his glass. “Careful what you wish for, am I right?” he asked, gazing at everybody over the rim of his glass.
“This family’s a fucking nightmare,” Atticus muttered.
Jericho looked out over a sea of younger faces. Not as many as he’d hoped, but more than he’d imagined given the short notice. He’d asked them to meet him after work in the back of the shop, in the space he’d created to keep them safe and out of trouble back when he was barely old enough to do the same for himself.
