51. Chapter Forty-Nine

Chapter Forty-Nine

Tatum

Two weeks later…

I’ll admit, this has not been the best few weeks of my life. It’s been shit. I’ve lost track of days more than once. Can’t recall the last time I showered. I’m not sure my business is still afloat.

My, how quickly you can fall into a depression. I crawl out of bed, my phone alerting me that someone is ringing the bell. The app is only half working though because it isn’t showing the camera and won’t let me scream at them through the mic to go the fuck away.

So, the only other option is to crawl out of bed and tell them to their face because whoever it is is pretty fucking adamant about seeing me.

When I swing the door open, the last person I expect to see is Dane.

Well, not true. The last person I’d expect to see here is Devon, but Dane is close .

“What the fuck is that smell?” Dane says, waving his hand in front of his face that’s pinched into disgust. “Is that…” He leans in close, taking a whiff and gags.

“If you don’t go in the shower right now, I’m calling the fucking cops.”

“And telling them what?” I huff.

“That there’s a health concern due to toxic gas.”

I scoff. “You’re an idiot.”

“Maybe, but at least I don’t smell like roadkill.”

“You’re being dramatic.” I turn and head inside the house.

“Like hell I am!” he calls after me, shutting the door.

I go back up to my room, and his footsteps follow.

“When is the last time you showered, bro?”

“I don’t know. Tuesday…”

“Today is Tuesday!”

I grab a pair of pants from my dresser. “Last Tuesday, I guess.”

“Try again. No way in hell do you smell that bad from just a week.”

I roll my eyes and go into my bathroom, knowing he won’t stop until I do what he says. I’ll admit the shower feels good. I have to wash my hair twice because it’s greasy. And I somehow grew a beard… I don’t know when that happened, but I make sure to shave it off. When I’m done, I walk into my room to find Dane with his shirt collar over his mouth and nose, spraying a can of air freshener around the room like he’s trying to cover up the smell of a dead body.

“Is that… is that cum?” He groans, pointing at my bed.

I go over to look at the spot he’s pointing at .

“Definitely not,” I say. “Drool, likely.”

He gags again, shaking his head.

“We need to talk,” he says, heading for the door. “Outside!”

I follow him down the hall and through the library to the back balcony. He drops into a chair, sucking in air as if the inside of my house is actually toxic.

“You need to air this house out.”

“I’ll get right on that.”

“Have you talked to Devon?”

I grit my teeth. “No.”

“Have you tried calling her?” He glances at me and I hold his gaze. Does he know something I don’t? Is he going to hand over information? I drop into the seat beside him, running a hand through my damp hair.

“Only a million times.”

He nods carefully, staring out at the backyard.

When I was a kid, I remember thinking how cool it would be to explore it. But I never got the chance because my father didn’t let me do things like that.

The silence is getting to me. Dane and I haven’t spoken since the charity event. And now he just shows up here to ask me if I’ve talked to Devon? I thought he was mad at me.

“Is she okay?” I ask suddenly, worried that the reason he’s putting aside his hatred for me is that she’s hurt and he’s come to tell me.

“Fine according to Summer. I haven’t talked to her either.”

She’s fine.

That sucks .

It’s not that I want her hurt, but she isn’t upset about any of this? Did she really move on so quickly? Without a care in the world, just like last time? How is she fine with this?

“I love her,” I blurt.

Dane looks at me, brow raised. Then he slowly nods. “Yeah, I got that from the smell.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“Obviously you’re not doing okay if this is how you’ve been living. I can only assume it’s because of her. Unless it’s something else?”

I sigh, leaning back in my chair. “It’s her. Mostly…”

“Mostly?” he asks, sounding offended on her behalf.

“My father is dying,” I admit.

“Shit,” he says, running his hands down his face. “I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

I shrug. “Such is life.”

We fall into silence again, this one a little more comfortable now that I’ve gotten some things off my chest. Not a lot of things, but I guess I hadn’t realized how holding on to the issue with my father was weighing me down. Just saying it to him has me feeling lighter.

“We’ve never had a fight like this,” Dane finally says.

“I’ve never done something so stupid before.”

“You got that right.” He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees and swinging his head toward me. “Do you regret it?”

“More than anything.”

“Yet you haven’t found her yet?”

I turn toward him. “Excuse me? ”

He shrugs. “Just think that if you cared as much as you say you do, you would have found her by now.”

“I’ve been doing everything I can to find out where she is. I’ve even gone to Summer’s apartment and job to beg her, but she won’t tell me. I’ve hired a goddamn PI!” Dane chuckles, rolling his lips between his teeth to stop from laughing. “What is so funny?” I shout, getting to my feet. “This isn’t funny at all. I’m a fucking mess. I’m lost. I don’t know what to do with my goddamn life after this.”

Dane gets up and moves in front of me, putting his hands on my shoulders.

“You’ll find her,” he says.

“What?” I snap at him.

“Just,” he begins, looking me up and down. “Take care of yourself. Get your shit together. Find my sister.”

He pats me on the shoulder, then turns to leave.

“So, you’re not mad at me anymore?” I call out, jumping to my feet.

He stops in the doorway, turning to face me.

“Oh, I’m fucking pissed. You hurt my sister. My twin . But obviously you’re hurt too. And I think that’s payback enough.”

“So that’s it then? You’ve just forgiven me?”

He shrugs again. “I think you’ve learned your lesson.” He pauses for a long moment. “Haven’t you?”

I narrow my eyes, then nod carefully.

“Then that’s it,” he says with a firm nod of his head.

He leaves. After staring at the door for a long time, I drop into the chair. I stay there until dark, which is when I go back inside and get back to figuring out where my girl is.