Chapter 40
CHAPTER 40
Scott stopped him with a hand on his sleeve as he was about to walk up to his bedroom. Ruby paused, glanced at the two of them and then slipped away upstairs to give them some privacy
He could tell that Scott was nervous from the way that he looked down at his feet and kept his gaze there. He took in several slow breaths before he finally spoke, and Alex waited patiently for him. “I. I just wanted to say that I’m sorry,” he said. “I caused so much trouble today and stressed everyone out, and you didn’t even hesitate to help me. And it’s not just that. I know that you and Ruby have been arguing a lot. I know that a lot of those arguments happened because of me. And I could have easily solved the problem and fixed everything if I had just spoken up. If I had just told you the truth, then maybe it wouldn’t have gotten that bad… but I didn’t.
Alex smiled and placed a hand on Scott’s shoulder. “You’re my little brother, Scott. I’ll always have your back no matter what. I always will. And I’m sorry you felt like you couldn’t confide in me.”
Scott swallowed hard and nodded, looking like his teenage self again. “You- you’re okay with it? You’re not ashamed of me?”
He frowned at his brother. “What? No. Why would I be ashamed of you? Nothing has changed and nothing will. You’re still my baby brother, Scott”
Scott gave him a look of confusion “Alex.. I’m gay. It’s not a phase, and it’s never going to go away. I’ve tried all my life to change, but I’ll never be attracted to a woman. And at some point, the entire world will find out.”
“Well, when you’re ready to tell the world, I’ll be right there with you, Scott. If that’s where you want me to be.” He smiled a genuine smile. “I’m not very good at this, I’m just not. You know that I care but I just don’t know how to put it into words. I don’t know what the right words to say are. I don’t know what you need to hear right now. All I know is that you’re my brother. And I’ll always love you the same way. Who you’re sleeping with shouldn’t even be up for conversation. What I’m trying to say is… I don’t care who you sleep with He narrowed his eyes into thin slits. “As long as it’s not my wife.”
Scott’s eyes filled with tears, but then he burst into laughter. “You were really worried about that? You thought I was sleeping with your wife? Ruby has always only ever had eyes for you, Alex Always you, ever since we were kids. I’m sorry I didn’t speak up sooner. But it’s Ruby bro.. she has a heart of gold, and you know she would never betray you. She’s nothing like Natalie.”
If he was being honest, he knew that already. He had been married to Ruby long enough to know that about her, but he had let his past blind him, and he wasn’t seeing things clearly. He smiled at Scott and nodded in acknowledgment “Does mom know?” He asked carefully.
Scott blanched and shook his head with an anguished expression on his face. “She doesn’t.”
“Do you want to tell her?” Scott looked at him with a longing in His eyes that was honestly so sad. “Do you want to tell her together?” He added.
Scott nodded, and Alex ruffled his hair. He honestly looked like his younger self right now, innocence and all had been so long since his little brother had looked that cute. “Just say the word whenever you’re ready. I’ll be with you.”
He nodded again, hesitantly taking a step closer before suddenly throwing his arms around Alex. Alex stood, frozen and shocked from the sudden display of affection for a couple of seconds, before he hugged his brother back.
Scon pulled away, still visibly emotional. “I’m sorry,” he said. “And thank you so much for today. For being there. I’m grateful to have you as my brother.” He smiled tightly when he was done and turned to walk away, looking a little flustered. It seemed like the day’s events really took a toll on him. His usual confidence and playfulness was completely absent, and Alex hated seeing him look so vulnerable
He watched as Scott walked in the opposite direction to go to his own quarters with slouched shoulders and slow steps and he couldn’t help but worry that Marcus had scarred his brother. And even worse than that, he didn’t know how to make it better. He was still worried about Scott when he walked into his bedroom, stopping in his tracks at the sound of the shower
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Chapter 40
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running Ruby fuck. He had gone out of his way to make her feel like she was nothing to him. Like she was indeed a mere tool to him. He had fucked up, really badly. He undressed quietly and hesitated before walking through the water curtain Ruby looked up in surprise as he entered and he paused, running his eyes over her. She looked so beautiful and ethereal standing there, with the water running down her body. He had missed her, he was just realizing it. He had missed talking to her, missed her body, missed her smile. He missed everything.
He walked
up to her and paused again. She leaned back against the wall and looked into his eyes. He searched her eyes with his, expecting to see all sorts of things, but he was wrong. There was no condemnation in her eyes, no pettiness or anger, no I told you so’s. There were never any games with her, no keeping scores. She only did things to protect her people. He should have known better, he should have known that she would never betray him. He moved closer to her and buried his hand in her wet hair. Her palms found his chest and she slid them up until her arms were wrapped around his neck.
“Are you okay?” She asked.
She should have been gloating at that moment, she should have been showing him how much of a fucking idiot he had been for not seeing the truth, for not believing her. She should be punishing him for the way he had treated her, for his mistrust and for the awful things he had said to her. But there was none of that. All he could see in those beautiful eyes of hers was concern. Concern for him, even at this moment that he didn’t deserve it.
He nodded and took another step closer, until there was only a sliver of space between their bodies with the water pouring down on them. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” he whispered in apology, “I’ve been so fucking horrible to you, baby. I’ve ignored. you, hurt you, called you all sorts of things. I was punishing you for a crime you didn’t even commit. And all this time, I was the fucking problem. This afternoon, when I followed you. Ruby, I expected the worst.”
She nodded knowingly and rose to her tiptoes. “I know. I saw the look in your eyes when you saw me hugging Scott on that hotel bed; it broke my heart for real. I saw the puzzle pieces fall together in your head, before it all clicked. I saw the pain in your eyes. Alex, I would never do that to you. I know you don’t believe in forever, but that’s what I promised the day I agreed to marry you. Even if this marriage is far from normal, I’m still your wife, forever. And you’ll always be the only one for me.
He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers, once, twice before he kissed her, savoring her taste. The way she made his heart race without moving a finger terrified and thrilled him all at the same time. He never expected to feel this about her. She rose and deepened the kiss, moaning into his mouth. She ran her hands over his body, her touch eager and desperate. She pushed him against the wall and he grinned against her lips, turning them around instead. He lifted her into
strongly his arms and pushed her against the wall, she wrapped her arms around him and her hands found their way to his hair.
*Tell
me you forgive me,” he said.
She smiled at him and tightened her grip on his hair. “That’s not how it works Alexander. Ask me for forgiveness if you want it. Don’t command it.”
He dropped his forehead to hers, and shut his eyes. “Ruby, will you forgive me for my stupidity? For the way that I’ve rested and hurt you this past few weeks? I have no excuse. It was just really shitty of me to do that.”
She cupped his cheeks and raised his face back to hers, her lips finding his again. She kissed him slowly, setting his heart ablaze. He exhaled shakily when she pulled away. “I forgive you, Alex. And I’m sorry for not telling the truth too, it just wasn’t my story to tell.”
“I know, I know.” He whispered, kissing her again.
She smiled against his lips and suddenly, all the weight on his shoulders was taken away.
