Torn Between Tides

Chapter Twenty

"Nah, when he was a kid he was way too obsessed with Hotwheels," Theo said, taking a bite of the chicken between sentences. "His room only had posters of cars and nothing else."

"I think I very vaguely remember this red remote control car that Colt had. He wouldn't let any of us play with it," Trevor added.

Roman grinned, glancing at Colt who looked annoyed at the brothers airing out his childhood dirty laundry but wasn't saying anything to stop them. Roman was thoroughly enjoying learning more about the other man, especially hearing what he was like as a kid.

"Because you literally broke everything that you touched," Colt retorted, pointing at Trevor who was the youngest at the table. "You broke my favorite mug just last week."

"That was an accident!" Trevor exclaimed. "It accidentally slipped through my hold and met the floor. Not my fault."

"Yeah, it's not your fault that you were born clumsy," Colt muttered, shaking his head lightly.

"Exactly. Blame genetics. Take it up with my mom and dad," Trevor spoke.

"Oh please, you broke dad's cologne yesterday," Theo added. "A very expensive one at it too."

"My hands were wet!"

"Why were you even touching it with wet hands?" Colt asked.

"Because I had just taken a shower and my deodorant was over so I borrowed my dad's and—" Trevor paused. "I think I liked it more when the limelight was on Colt, not me. Oh God, I was like eight that time? I think. When Will broke your—"

Trevor froze, realizing whose name he had just taken. He looked at Colt, who had stopped eating too as he stared down at his plate. Roman kept his hand on Colt's thigh, making the werewolf glance at him as the swimmer passed him a smile. Theo was noticing everyone's reaction, wondering how this was going to go.

"My Nintendo," Colt continued. "And then he hid in your tree house because he thought I was going to get angry at him."

"You didn't, though, when you saw how scared he was," Theo said, his voice gentle. Colt shrugged as he took a sip of his beer.

"What was done was done. No point getting mad at him when he was already freaked out and apologizing," Colt explained.

"Plus you were always a softy. His puppy face worked like a charm, add watery eyes and a tear to the mix and you would give in within seconds," Theo recalled.

Colt and Will fought like any brothers would. They yelled and never missed a chance to annoy the other. But at the same time, they were also best friends. Colt was the only one allowed to mess with Will. Will had always been softer than Colt. Colt once saw some kids at school pushing him around, and even though he was only fifteen at the time, those kids went home that day with broken noses and black eyes.

Colt got suspended, but it was worth it. Nobody dared to mess with Will after that, knowing that his scary older brother wouldn't let it slide.

When Colt said nothing in return and didn't even meet anyone's eyes, an awkward silence took over the table. Roman squeezed his thigh again, reassuring him that he was there for him.

"Hey, Trev, what time are you going to go to Uni tomorrow? Maybe we could just go together?" Roman changed the topic, sensing that Colt had reached his limit when it came to talking about his family.

"I have morning classes tomorrow so fuck me. I'll be leaving around nine," Trevor answered.

"Works. Give me a ring," Roman spoke.

"Cool," Trevor nodded. "Oh, did you hear? Mitch Brookfield is back. He'll be participating in the tournament next week."

"Seriously?" Roman groaned, clearing not sounding too pleased with the news.