My stomach is in knots as I stare at him. I have no clue what he’s about to confess. Whatever it is, it’s ripping him apart inside, that much is clear.
The door opening once more startles both of us before Seb slips inside the room and passes Toby both a can of beer and a bottle of vodka.
He ignores the beer and instead downs a good few shots of the vodka before passing it back.
“Thanks,” I whisper when he passes me the same.
“You good with beer?” he asks, concern pulling at his brow.
“I’ll take whatever I can get right now.”
He slides onto the bed with me and wraps his arm around my waist, pressing his lips to my shoulder.
The alcohol burns, but it hits exactly where I need it to.
“Go on then,” I encourage Toby, who looks about ready to bolt, his face drained of blood, his eyes haunting.
He looks between the two of us for a beat before focusing on me.
“O-our mum, she’s… ill.”
I nod, needing a little more than that.
“She’s recovering from surgery from having a brain tumor removed.”
“What?” Seb breathes, disbelief coating his voice. “How don’t we know this?”
“Because my dad is a fucking cunt, that’s why.”
I look over just in time to see Seb’s mouth open and close as he tries to find some words.
“Go on.” Seb’s grip on my hip tightens, telling me all that I really need to know about his relationship with Toby.
They might have their differences, but what Toby told me that first day we hung out was true. They’d kill for each other. I see that in Seb right now. It might only be Toby and I who share the same blood, but in this family, that doesn’t matter.
“She was diagnosed a while back. Dad didn’t want to tell anyone, or cause unnecessary drama, because the doctors were hopeful that with some treatment everything would be okay.
“He was right. For quite a few years, things were okay. But then we started noticing changes in her. She’d be more forgetful, go to bed more often with headaches. She waved it off as nothing more than stress. It wasn’t until she had a seizure that she went to see a doctor.”
“It came back,” I whisper.
“Yeah. Well, it never really went away. Was just… controlled. Paused, I guess. Anyway, it had grown, and the doctors decided the only chance was surgery followed by more treatment.”
“And you still kept it a secret?” Seb asks, astounded.
“Seb,” Toby sighs, scrubbing his hand through his hair. “The man you see and the father I see are very different people.”
“What do you—”
“He’s abused her for years,” Toby confesses quietly. “Us. He’s—”
“What?” Seb roars, releasing me and jumping up from the bed, his muscles pulled tight.
But Toby is faster, or just sees it coming and blocks his way as he marches toward the door.
“Don’t, Seb. I’m not telling you all of this so you can go over there and put a bullet through his head.”
“But—”