I blinked in shock as she walked back over to where Santi stood with his friends. I jogged to catch up with her so I wouldn’t miss what she was saying.
“We can offer you food and shelter for another night. Do you intend to stay?” she asked.
Santi cocked his head to one side, “Um, yeah. This is my home.”
“This isourhome now. We’ve built this compound and secured it for our safety. We have a limited amount of food and supplies. We need to discuss it as a group and take a vote.”
“A vote? Joshua, what the fuck is she talking about?” Santi asked me. I was still reeling myself, from his sudden appearance and the fact that he might not be able to stay. It had never occurred to me that we’d need to vote on it. Santi and I were brothers.
“I don’t know. I didn’t know it’d be like this–”
“You can plead your case at our daily meeting,” Artemis told him curtly, coldly even. “I’d suggest you prepare your most compelling argument.”
Artemis, like Cipher, was an impenetrable wall when she wanted to be, and Santi, sensing this, didn’t try to argue furtherbut instead huddled up with his friends. I glanced around at the other Assholes.
“I’d better get back to the workshop,” Wylie said, nodding his head once before making his way to the garage.
“I’m still on duty,” Macon said and laid a hand on my shoulder. “Good to have you back, short stack. Try not to worry us like that again.”
“Sorry about your brother,” Teresa said, as if it had already been decided. She’d been hiding behind Artemis the whole time, shooting the newcomers wary looks. She stuck close to Artemis as the two of them walked away, leaving me to wonder, did all of the Assholes feel the same way? What if they forced my brother to leave? Where would he go? Would I have to choose between my brother or my family?
I stood there in the middle of the cul-de-sac, my home, feeling confused and betrayed because this wasn’t a choice I ever thought I’d have to make.
FIVE
CIPHER
As I layin bed with my arm aching, slightly drunk and staring up at the immobile ceiling fan above me–which, despite there being no electricity, appeared to move slightly in a hazy sort of way, suggesting that I may have been drunker than I thought–I tried, as always, to plan three steps ahead.
The arrival of Kitten’s brother had really ruined my already subpar day. I should be glad the dude was alive and well. Kitten was certainly happy to see him, and I wanted my boyfriend to be happy–sure, I did. So why did it feel like such a disruption to our relative peace and tranquility?
Part of it, I could admitonlyto myself, was that I was used to being the center of Kitten’s universe, and with his brother around, I might have to share in that attention. There was also the fact that Santiago was a shitty older brother, what with the abandoning Kitten last summer and leaving him to deal with their Rabid mother. Enter me, the ruthless killer. Yeah, I was still bitter about that.
Point was, I didn’t want Santiago coming in here and disappointing Kitten again, but that was largely out of my control. He either would or he wouldn’t. I couldn’t keep Kittenfrom his brother. That would be extremely controlling and uncool.
“Hey, tough guy.” Kitten entered the room, a cautious smile on his face.
“Hey, cutie. How’s things?”
“Eh.” He shrugged, looking unhappy.
I patted the bed beside me for him to sit down. “What’s that face for?” I asked, and he looked as if he didn’t want to tell me what was going on. “Kitten?” I prompted, using what he called my “dad” voice.
“Artemis said we’d have to vote on whether or not my brother can stay.”
I took a deep breath. So, Santiago wanted to join our happy home…permanently? What about his friends? We didn’t have enough supplies for an additional four people, not to mention any one of them could be malicious. Even in the best case scenario, they’d still be a pain in my ass.
I’d have to thank Artemis for taking the hit. I didn’t want to always be the bearer of bad news.
“I know it was probably hard for you to hear that, but that is how we do things,” I gently reminded him. We’d voted whether or not Kitten would join us. I’d voted against it because I was a short-sighted fool. And an asshole, hence the origin of our name. Wylie we’d adopted in a hurry during our flight from Promised Land, a unanimous decision, though never official. From the first time we’d met him, Wylie had vibed with us, not to mention his incredible skills as a machinist and engineer. But these four newcomers? Not so much.
“It’s the will of the group, I know,” Kitten said. “I guess I just thought family members would be automatic. Anyway, I brought you some broth.”
He handed me the cup, still warm, and I propped myself up against the headboard to sip at it. I needed to sober up. I neededa clear head for what was to come. Kitten grabbed an extra pillow and propped it behind me, then dragged the chair from under the desk and placed it next to the bed. Adopting his best bedside manner, he asked, “Did you take your meds like I told you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And no more drinking for the day?”
