I went to Gran’s room as soon as I walked in the door. Athena was there reading something on her tablet.
“How’s she doing?” I asked, fearful that I had spent too much time away.
She smiled up at me. “She’s fine. Sleeping peacefully.”
“Thank you for staying with her.”
I was seriously relieved to have the help. I knew nothing about taking care of someone medically, outside of reminding Gran to take her medicine when I remembered it myself.
“She’s comfortable,” Athena added, “I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”
“Do you want me to fix you dinner or anything?” I asked, unsure of what home nurses expected. I felt stupid after asking.
“Someday, that would be nice, but I have to get home to my little girl,” she said kindly.
“How old is she?” I asked, curious.
“Two. She’s with her dad, but he works the night shift at the hospital so it’s my time with our princess. She always wants me to make stuff that looks like a rainbow or a unicorn. She keeps me hoppin’ in the kitchen.”
“She sounds adorable.”
“She is. See you tomorrow. Call me if you need anything at all. Also, all of the emergency numbers are on the fridge.”
“See you tomorrow,” I waved as she left.
I looked down at Gran, who was sleeping tranquilly. I didn’t want to wake her, but I didn’t want to leave her either. All that talk of the scares KP had with Wenton growing up made me think of what I would soon be facing. I didn’t want to say goodbye, and I didn’t want to let her go. I was still a little kid in my mind. I wasn’t ready to grow up and so many new and confusing things were happening to me. I needed her. I couldn’t imagine a time when I wouldn’t need her.
Needing her warmth, I slipped into her bed like I had so many times before. It was plenty big enough, even with the IV and breathing stuff that the hospital had sent over, there was still lots of room for me to cuddle next to her.
I shifted in close and just listened to her heartbeat. I whispered quietly and told her about my day. Confessing about my changing feelings for KP, the wretched billionaire, I laughed. I could have sworn I saw her smile before I drifted off to sleep by her side.
CHAPTER TEN
KP
The drive home from Connecticut was long and lonely. Somehow, having Caitlin meet Wenton made me feel sad when I should have been feeling joy. It went well, and Caitlyn saw in my brother all that I did. As an artist, I knew she would capture his true spirit and that her portrait of Wenton would express the real him, inside and out. That wasn’t the problem. What plagued me was Caitlyn herself.
The more time I spent with this beautiful creature, the more I wanted to be with her. My insatiable desire to experience her body certainly wasn’t going away, but on top of it now was the need to share my life with her. I wanted to show her so many of the things I loved to do. I wanted to see her reactions to them and relive them through her eyes. I also wanted to try things I’d never allowed myself the opportunity to enjoy, like those crazy beach vacations I’d wanted as a kid or even a camping trip.
The closer I got to her, the more afraid of her judgment of my more obvious faults I became. I couldn’t fully subdue my lust. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t help but become aroused when I was with her. I kept it hidden well, but the need taunted me.
I went home to my lonely penthouse and watched the New York skyline, but even such a huge city seemed empty and barren. To distract myself, I booted up my laptop but just stared at the hundreds of emails filling the screen. Some were urgent, shoving me back into the life I’d ignored all day.
There was only one message on my phone that I felt was important enough to answer, so even though it was late, I returned the call.
Wenton answered on the first ring. “Yay, you called me back!”
“What are you doing up so late? You need to be in bed,” I chided.
“Naw, nurse checked in an hour ago, and I pretended to be asleep.”
He sounded okay, but I worried just the same. “What’s up, buddy?”
“I forgot to give you this week’s hunt.” His voice was serious as usual.
Shit. “Wow, I completely forgot too. Okay, hit me with it.”
Usually his scavenger hunt requests were fun and something I actually looked forward to doing. Most were easy to accomplish, and they often took me places I never would have gone without his quests. Some were harder to manage and took more than a week to accomplish, but this was all part of Wenton’s master plan.
“It’s gonna be a really hard one this time. I don’t know if you’ll be able to do it.”
“Alright. Hit me with it. I’m ready.”
“I want you to fall in love.”
Boom, blood roared in my ears.
If he’d grabbed my heart and ripped it right out of my chest, it wouldn’t have hurt more than what I needed to say next. “Sorry, buddy, I can’t do that.” I’d never told him no.
He sighed. “It’s time, KP.”
“No, it’s not,” I said, trying and failing to tease him. “I have a hundred more years before I have to think about settling down.”
“You’re not allowed to refuse a quest, remember?” He didn’t sound angry. He sounded sad. “And you might have a hundred years, but I don’t. Come on now, don’t disappoint me.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck, not now. He’s okay, I told myself. He’s fine. I’d pretended I didn’t even notice the graying tone of his skin or deep, dark circles around his eyes, which were starting to sag. His eyes had always been a little droopy and puffy — part of Williams Syndrome — but lately, those eyes were tired, world worn, and ebbing toward closure.
I wouldn’t say my brother was dying, but he was. Deep down in my heart, I knew.
He wasn’t supposed to live past the age of three, then ten, then fifteen. and he was twenty-nine. The doctors’ reports showed various ailments, all of which they were attending, but his liver and his heart were slowly failing. Bearing a transplant, they would both give out eventually. Transplants weren’t really an option for Wenton; they were too risky.
I needed to shut this shit down, bring the lightness back. “Oh, shut up, drama king, you’re fine.”
“You’re still gonna have to fall in love. That’s the next one.”
“Wenton, how do I take a picture of that?” I was desperately trying to guide him toward seeing the ridiculousness of this hunt.
“You have to send me a picture of flowers you buy her, carve her name in a tree, take her on a picnic. When she looks at you the way they do in the movies, take a picture.” He chuckled. “And the last thing you have to do is kiss her. Don’t worry, I’ll email you a list of these things.”
My heart was beating hard. “You’re impossible. How about I get you the director’s cut of ‘Till Death Us Do Part,’ you’ll love it. The director’s cut is this sappy, horror love story. It won’t be in the theaters.”
“Cool, send it over, but the task remains. Duhhh duhh duhhh duhhhh,” he warned in a menacing tone with his own brand of darkness.
I laughed, knowing I had to figure out a way to make him happy. “Oh my god, you’re impossible.”