The woman he loved looked up at him, wide-eyed and pleading. His brother watched him, waiting for him to say something. But what was there to say?
The truth.
“Forget this shit,” Jordan muttered as he carefully removed Ivy’s hand from his arm then headed toward the stairs.
Fuck.
“It was me,” Sean admitted before he could overthink it. Those three words were like releasing a trigger, and the shot echoed throughout the hallway.
“Yeah, itwasyou!” Jordan whirled on him, jabbing his finger at Sean’s heart. “It was you who thought you could risk everything and take that goddamn cocaine across town in a fuckin’ stolen car. You who thought it was a smart idea to put your whole fuckin’ future on the line and take away the last thing Mom had that was good in her life.”
“There was no other choice!” Sean shouted back.
Jordan met him in his rage, advancing until they were chest to chest.
“There’s always a fucking choice,” Jordan growled.
“W-wait, what?” Ivy’s voice broke through Sean’s tension. “Are you saying…what I think you’re saying?”
“That I went to prison for seven fucking years to save my brother’s ass? Yes, that is exactly what we’re both saying.” Jordan’s words were a blade, cutting through every part of the neat life Sean had built for himself in Portland. Then Jordan stepped away, putting distance between them. “But that was the whole point, brother. I did it so you could have all of this.” He spread his arms wide. “So excuse me for thinking that after everything, you’d be a little more receptive to a visit.”
“Oh my God,” Ivy whispered.
Sean finally looked at Ivy. Her hand covered her mouth, like it was her turn to feel nauseous, and he couldn’t blame her.
“Ivy—” He reached for her, but she stepped away, not stopping until she’d backed into her apartment door.
Fumbling for the doorknob, she stammered, “I just need—I need to not be here right now. I need to think. You should—You should talk to your brother.” And she was gone.
Before he even had a chance to take his next breath, she was gone.
“You’re a goddamn fool,” Jordan said from behind him. And even though it was his brother’s voice, he heard their mother talking.
“You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” Sean muttered, still staring at Ivy’s apartment door.
“I don’t need to know what I’m talking about. I know what just went down. And what I saw was you being a damned fool.”
Sean let out a harsh expulsion of breath before stalking over to unlock his own apartment door. He opened the door wide and gestured for his brother to go inside.
Jordan glowered at him, then headed for the stairs.
“Where the hell are you going?” Sean demanded, patience running thin, a pulsing throb kicking up behind his left eyeball.
Jordan paused at the stairwell. “Look, I shouldn’t have come. You’ve been avoiding me for years, so I am not sure what made me think coming here was a good idea. But I wanted to see you. You’re my brother. We’ve been through a lot, and I wanted to believe that we could have some kind of relationship again. Ivy made it sound possible. But I can see now that isn’t going to happen, so there’s no point in me hanging around.”
The throb behind Sean’s eye turned into a full-on pounding in his head. “I was caught off guard. Just—” Sean rubbed his palm against his eye. “Just come inside, and we’ll talk.”
A scowl etched Jordan’s already hard features. “No thanks, brother. I heard you loud and clear: you don’t want to see me.”
When Jordan tried to leave again, Sean shot forward, grabbed his brother’s shoulder, and jerked him back. The muscles beneath his fingers bunched reflexively, preparing to react. But his brother’s control was greater than his, because Jordan didn’t move let alone strike.
For several beats, Sean stared at him. Guilt, relief, anger, joy, grief. It all hit at once. “I do want you here.” His voice sounded like it was being scraped over a cheese grater. “I wasn’t prepared for that…confrontation.” He gestured vaguely around the hallway.
Jordan took his time studying Sean until he found whatever he needed to see and sighed. “Go apologize to the lady first.” He had their mother’s tone going on again.
Hell. Sean rubbed the spot between his eyes.
Ivy’s expression when she’d realized the truth was cemented into his head. Her shock and utter devastation made him feel like shit. Shittier than he’d already been feeling. He frantically tried to compartmentalize everything that was threatening to overwhelm him.
