I reach across and take Nate’s hand hoping it will help calm him down. His fingers twine through mine and I watch as he takes a deep breath. I look back at Jesse with worried eyes and meet his, looking exactly the same. We need to tell him about Phoenix before the news gets out and he hears it from someone else, but telling him right now with the guys and Brooke in the back seat probably isn’t the best… Oh, and we should wait until he’s not behind the wheel of a very large car.
I turn back to Nate and watch as he takes a few slow breaths and finally manages to get himself under control, though, little does he know, his world isn’t finished being rocked tonight.
One by one, we drop everyone off at their homes and before we know it, Nate is pulling down his driveway, though, I notice he didn’t bother stopping at my place, telling me he wants me here tonight, wrapped in his arms, which I really don’t have a problem with. I’ll just have to make sure I’m home early in the morning before mom realizes I never came home. Though, she’s been sleeping in a lot lately. I think it’s finally hitting her that dad’s not here.
Nate brings Jesse’s Range Rover to a stop and starts getting out. I meet him around front before looking over at Jesse. He gives me the briefest nod and I pull back on Nate’s hand, stopping him outside his home. “What?” he grunts looking back at me.
I look to Jesse with a cringe before looking back up at Nate. “We need to tell you something,” I say. “Something happened after you went for Jackson.”
“What?” he grunts again with impatience as he looks between me and Jesse.
“We know the secret,” Jess says. His eyes widen and he looks pissed off that we’ve waited to tell him. “Dude,” Jess continues. “It’s not fucking good.”
“Fucking spit it out,” Nate snaps impatiently.
Jesse lets out a breath and looks up at his brother with his heart on his sleeve. “Dad cheated on mom when she was pregnant with you. We have a sister.”
“What?” Nate gasps, taken back. His eyes narrow on his brother before looking to me. I nod, making hurt flash behind his eyes. I tug on his hand and give it a squeeze, letting him know he can lean on me if he needs. “Are you sure? Who told you that?”
“Phoenix,” Jess says. “She said it in front of everyone.”
“Fuck,” he roars, releasing my hold and running a hand through his hair as he starts pacing around. “Phoenix is always full of shit. Who’s this mythical sister?” he asks with a scoff as if the word ‘sister’ is dirty.
“It’s her,” Jess says. “Phoenix.”
Nate cringes. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding.”
“I wish I was,” Jess replies before pressing his lips together in regret. “It’s pretty fucked up if she is.”
Nate steps back and looks at his brother before understanding dawns. “Ugh,” he grunts. “You fucked her last year.”
Jesse lunges forward and gets in his brother’s face. “Don’t fucking talk about it,” he growls. “Ever again. It never fucking happened. Got it?”
“Yeah, man. Got it,” Nate grins before he slowly begins to sober up. He gives Jesse a serious look before shaking his head in disbelief. “You’re fucking sure about this?”
“Yeah, pretty sure,” he says. “I mean, why would she say something like that in front of everyone. Lying about it only makes her look bad and will probably fuck up her spot as captain.”
Nate thinks it over for a moment. “Fuck,” he curses low under his breath. “I guess we have to go talk to dad.” Jesse nods as he takes a deep breath. “You ready for this?” Nate asks him, knowing how badly this is going to break his heart if it’s true.
“Yeah,” Jesse says. “I mean. I can’t go on not knowing if it’s true. I’ll always be questioning if I fucked my sister.”
A smile lifts the corner of Nate’s mouth and even though this whole station sucks, Nate can’t possibly miss an opportunity to mess with his brother. I can just see it now, Jesse will never live this down no matter if it’s true or not. “Alright then,” Nate says. “Let’s go.”
I pull back on his hand, digging my feet right in. “I’ll um… maybe I should go. This is private,” I tell him. “I’ll keep my phone on if you need to talk after.”
“Fuck that,” Nate grunts, pulling on my hand. “You’re fucking it for me, Tora. If it’s personal for me, then it’s personal for you too. You’re coming with me.”
“Are you sure?” I grunt, looking up at him and then to Jesse. “I don’t want to intrude on this. I mean, it’s not going to be pretty.”