“We all know where he is, right?” I ask, assuming they’ve all jumped to the same conclusion as me.
“Yeah,” Theo agrees, scrubbing his hand down his face.
“Then we should go. All of us,” Alex announces. “Grab some vodka and go drown with him.”
“All for one and one for all,” Nico adds.
Theo holds my eyes, silently asking me what I think.
I appreciate the gesture, but we all already know the answer.
We’re a team, a unit, and if one falls, we’re all there to pick them back up.
“Stella, you’re with me,” Theo says.
“Oh, you’re gonna let me ride in the Ferrari?” I ask, teasing.
His eyes narrow in warning. “Do not touch anything. I’d hate to have to kill you too.”
“Ha, funny. I spoke to Emmie less than an hour ago. I know she’s in one piece.”
A disgruntled kind of groan erupts from his throat and everyone laughs.
“I’m still pissed off I missed it,” Nico mutters.
“Shouldn’t have spent so much time washing your tiny cock, man,” Alex jokes.
As wrong as it is to laugh at a time like this when Seb is drowning, it feels good.
I just hope we can all provide him with a similar kind of relief.
“Fuck you, bro. Everyone in this room knows it’s bigger than yours.”
“Jesus. Can we put the dick measuring to one side, maybe?” Theo asks, reaching up into the cupboard and pulling out a couple bottles of vodka. “Bro, you got weed?” Theo asks Alex, who taps his pants pocket. “Let’s go then. Come on, Princess.”
I follow the guys out of the apartment with Toby right in front of me.
“Are you sure you’re well enough for this?”
“I’m fine, honestly,” he says, looking over at me.
“Sure you are.”
“I’m not made of glass, Sis,” he says, throwing his arm over my shoulder once we’re at the bottom of the stairs.
“How’s your mom?” I ask.
“You mean our mum?” he asks with a smirk.
“Y-yeah.”
“She’s doing good. She’s excited to meet you.”
“You talked about me?” I ask, surprised. I know he was keeping things back because he thought her room was bugged.
“We went for a slow walk in the garden. Your dad and Aunt Penny are sorting something out.”
Nerves and excitement collide at his words and my stomach turns over.