The door opened, and his best friend appeared, his expression going from surprise to concern.
“What happened?”
“I might have messed up, Ash.”
Ash stepped aside, allowing Sloane into the apartment. “How bad?”
Sloane ran his fingers through his hair. “As in ‘can I sleep on your couch for a few nights’ bad.”
“Shit.” Ash closed the door and walked with him into the living room. Sloane cursed under his breath when Cael waved at him from the couch where he was curled up with a fluffy blanket. Of course Cael would be here.
“Hi, Sloane,” Cael greeted cheerfully.
“I’m sorry. I’m interrupting.”
Sloane made to turn when Ash caught his arm.
“Don’t be an ass. Give me your jacket.”
Sloane handed over his jacket. This was a bad idea.
When Ash returned, he dropped down onto the couch beside Cael, giving his hair a playful tug and chuckling at Cael’s poke before he settled against Ash. It was odd seeing him so at ease in his relationship.
“Sweetheart, Sloane’s gonna be crashing here for a few nights.”
Cael studied Sloane, his head cocked to one side, the worry written all over his boyish face. “What happened? Is everything okay with Dex?”
“No,” Sloane said with a sigh. This was going to be so much worse than he thought. Cael was just as protective of his brother as Dex was about him. Maybe Sloane was overreacting. Maybe Cael might understand where Sloane was coming from and could talk to Dex.
Sloane took a deep breath and told them everything that had happened with Shultzon, leaving nothing out, including his argument with Dex. Ash opened his mouth to reply, but Cael beat him to it.
“So you walked out on him? You accused his mom of walking away, and then you turned around and did the same?”
“Cael, it’s not the same. You don’t understand the history here. Everything Ash and I went through. My parents, this whole First Gen anomaly thing…. It’s complicated.”
Cael jumped to his feet, his anger coming off him in waves. “Don’t you dare tell me it’s complicated! It’s not, Sloane. Do you have any idea how this must all be killing him? Finding out about his parents, about what Shultzon did? It sounds like Gina was trying to help, and she was killed for it. How could you walk out on him?”
“I didn’t walk out,” Sloane insisted. Was he really so surprised that Cael would take his brother’s side in this? “I told him I needed some space, some time to think.”
“Away from him. You promised him you would both work through things together, and then you tell him you’re leaving him.”
“I can’t sort this all out around him. My God, Cael. He looks just like her. When I look at him, I think of the day I met her at the CDC Registration Office. I think about how she could have said something to my parents and said nothing!”
“Have you thought that maybe she couldn’t? Jesus, Sloane, they killed her! If she was gathering evidence, secretly investigating, don’t you think she knew the kind of people she was dealing with? Have you considered that Shultzon might be lying? Picking and choosing which truths to feed you?”
“Sweetheart, come here,” Ash said gently.
Cael shook his head. He grabbed his shoes off the floor before hurriedly putting them on. “I need to be with Dex. He shouldn’t be alone.” He gazed at Sloane, his gray eyes filled with hurt. “I’m disappointed in you, Sloane. He’s always been there for you, always. He’s risked his life, his reputation, his career, his future for you, and now, when he needs you the most, when he’s asked you for nothing more than to have faith in him, you bailed.”
“Cael—”
“If you weren’t ready to be serious about the two of you, you shouldn’t have marked him.”
The words were like a slap to the face, especially since the same thought had shamefully crossed his mind. He’d been so sure…. No. He was sure.
Cael turned, gave Ash a quick kiss, then stormed off. He snatched his jacket from the hook by the door and left, slamming the door behind him. Wow. So it was possible to feel worse than he’d been feeling before. Peachy.
“I’m sorry, Ash. The last thing I wanted was to mess things up for you.”