“See, that’s why I love you man. Just like that.” His brother snapped his fingers and continued. “You’re always there for me. I wish I was more like you.”
“That’s bullshit, and you know it. Everyone loves you. You are worth three of me.”
“Yeah, well I don’t like myself right now.”
Lorenzo decided to say fuck it to tough love. He closed the gap between them and grabbed Fernando in a fierce, bone-crushing hug.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too,” his brother wheezed out.
“What are you going to do?” He listened to Ando’s plans. They were solid, and Lorenzo couldn’t fault his choice in rehab. After Melanie died, they were all overjoyed Ando had seemed to have moved past her death, and by the fact he didn’t blame himself, that nobody noticed his brother’s way of coping. Lorenzo wanted to kick himself.
He was just happy his brother hadn’t died with her. Ando and Melanie had been on a friend’s boat not too far off Fisher Island, soaking up the sun on the front deck, when a speedboat had lost control, and crashed into the front of the vessel they were on. Melanie had died on impact while Ando had been thrown clear of the wreckage, but not without some damage. He’d had a concussion and some broken ribs but seemed to handle it in typical macho man style. He smiled and made people laugh, but, obviously, inside he was hurting.
With his brother’s revelation ringing in his head, Lorenzo felt his chest expand. Not once had he cried for his brother’s loss, but, now, with the evidence of the hurt Ando felt and was still feeling, his eyes burned and his own heart ached for him.
The slight tremor that wracked Ando’s frame was echoed in his own.
“Check us out. Both acting like little pussies,” Ando joked.
“Speak for yourself. Real men cry, don’t ya know.” Lorenzo held his brother by the shoulders and stared in his bloodshot eyes, seeing the pain and conviction in his dark orbs. “It’s going to be all right. I’m here for you. You know that, right?”
When Ando’s head nodded, and he saw his brother’s Adam’s apple bob up and down, it was like he’d just swallowed a huge lump. What the fuck? Did his baby brother think he’d be judged and found guilty?
He gave Ando a shake and, in a voice that sounded like gravel, said, “Whatever is going through your head, whatever you think is how I feel, or how Mom and Dad feel, isn’t the way it is. Yes, I’m pissed at your recent behavior, and, yes, I’ve wanted to smack you upside your thick skull. But never, and I mean never, have I ever given up on you. We all fuck up, and that includes me. However, it doesn’t change the fact that I love you and would do anything to help you. You need a month, or six months, you’ve got it. If, at the end of that time, you need more, it’s yours. You let me know what you need from me, and I’ll do it.”
“That’s it? Just ask and I shall receive?” Ando stared him in the face.
Clearing his throat took a little effort. “Yep, it’s that easy.”
“Fuck.” His brother scrubbed his hands over his face. “I need a shower, a shave, and a ride to the airport.”
“Boy, I know you did not just insinuate that you were flying commercial.”
Ando closed his eyes. “Shit, Ren. I wasn’t sure what everyone would say. I’ve screwed up majorly, and I just…I’m serious about this. I need help.”
Lorenzo exhaled. “That’s the first step. Give me your details, and I’ll call Dad. You know they’re gonna want to be there with you.”
The tension that greeted his words could be cut with a knife. Whatever internal conflict Fernando had needed to be squashed because there was no way their parents wouldn’t be involved. The air seemed to burst out of his brother in a rush as his eyes screwed shut and then opened with resignation, nodding his acceptance.
He spent another hour talking to his brother, and making the call to his parents. As had been expected, his mom and dad were only too happy to fly with their son to rehab. Once his office was empty, he began the process of hiring a fill-in for his baby brother. Sure, he could do it, and in all actuality he’d been doing it for the past year, but he’d still been able to take a break every now and again. His first thought was to ask Gia, but that wouldn’t be fair to her. The girl never accepted payment, and she had way too many designer bags, so she would either come in as a partner or they’d hire a manager. They’d asked her to partner with them when they’d bought their parents out, but she’d wanted to finish college and then wanted to explore her own business. If she wanted in, they’d left an open invitation.