“Not well enough, or I wouldn’t be trying to talk sense into you now.”
Connor gulped. “We thought you’d be too busy playing house with Beck and Heavenly to come.”
“You mean you hoped. But here I am…”
“Nobody’s making you stay,” Jack shot back.
“Don’t be a disrespectful shit. I can still put you down with one punch.” Seth studied his brothers’ faces—near replicas of his a decade ago, but filled with a wariness that hadn’t been there last summer. Beneath their defensive postures, he caught glimpses of the boys who used to climb into his bed during late-night thunderstorms.
Connor stomped to the fridge and snagged a couple of beers. “Want one?”
Seth shook his head. “No, thanks. Tell me precisely why you two rocket scientists decided to take Gia to Mom’s house?”
“She and Carl were supposed to be away all weekend,” Connor explained. “We wanted more room so we could spread out. At home, the TV is bigger, the beds are more comfortable, and the kitchen is prime.”
“Yeah, Mom always stocks the good food,” Jack added. “We figured we’d throw some steaks on the grill and make a weekend of it. No harm, no foul. Until Mom came home early.”
Seth stared at his brothers, seeing so much of his younger self in their cavalier attitudes. Before Autumn and Tristan. Before he’d learned that the universe could rip away everything he held dear in a single heartbeat.
“I’m here because Mom isn’t just upset. She’s threatening to disown you both.”
Seth’s announcement seemed to suck the air from the room. Connor, clutching his beer, actually staggered back. Jack closed his eyes and cursed.
“Seriously?” Connor demanded. “Would she really?—”
“In a heartbeat. No more tuition, no more rent money, no more grocery allowance. Kiss your degrees goodbye unless you can suddenly afford to finance the rest of your senior year yourselves.” Seth gestured around the apartment. “And judging by this disgusting place, you don’t seem responsible enough.”
Jack’s face had gone parchment white. “She’s that pissed?”
“She’s that ashamed,” Seth corrected, watching the twins flinch. “Every time she replays what she walked in on, she worries about nosy Mrs. Patterson from church finding out. Or Father Heasley asking pointed questions about her sons’ moral character.”
Seth paused, the weight of his own hypocrisy settling in his chest like a stone. When he eventually came clean about Beck and Heavenly, Grace would face the same gossip he was warning the twins about. The same whispered conversations after church, the same pointed looks from neighbors with moral sticks up their asses.
“Jesus, it’s not like anyone got hurt,” Connor protested.
“You were hurting her. When you flaunt your arrangement in public, you’re risking her reputation. Her standing in the community—which she’s spent decades building. While you two are picking up your flavor of the week, Mom’s at home weighing whether or not to pull the plug. Unless you do something fast, you’ll be on your own.”
“What the fuck…” Jack began to pace.
“Look, I know this sounds hypocritical coming from me.” Seth frowned. “When I tell Mom about my situation, she’ll have to deal with the same shit. But at least I’m giving her time to adjust gradually, not blindsiding her all at once. And maybe by then…” He shrugged. “Who knows? We’ll be discreet during our visits here. Maybe she’ll be so focused on potential grandchildren that the neighborhood gossip won’t matter as much? I don’t know. But Beck, Heavenly, and I will figure it out together.” He met the twins’ stares. “The plan isn’t perfect. But it’s better than the alternative, which is losing our family. Sometimes in life, like now, you have to choose between bad options and worse ones.”
The apartment fell silent except for the sound of a neighbor’s TV bleeding through the thin walls.
“What do we need to do?” Jack’s voice finally sounded devoid of its usual cockiness.
“Yeah.” Connor nodded. “How do we fix it?”
Seth had never seen his brothers look so genuinely rattled. Good. Maybe now they’d finally understand the gravity of the situation.
“No more PDA. No more taking girls to Mom’s house—ever. And your sex life needs to be completely underground. Matt and Danny have both caught you in public with other girls over the years.” When their eyes bulged in shock, he skewered the twins with a stare. “So if you want to share, do it where no one can see.”
Connor looked ready to cry. “But you’re asking us to hide who we are.”
“No, I’m telling you to grow the fuck up.” Seth’s voice turned sharp. “You’re playing at relationships like they’re video games, moving from one level to the next without any real investment.”
Jack’s jaw clenched. “That’s rich, coming from you.”
Seth sent them an imposing stare. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
