Collapse: Book Two (bxb) ✔️

5. Not certifiably, but close.

"You're sitting cozy in Vermont after abandoning me with our crazy family for Christmas. I'm pissed at you. What do you need?"

I snorted at my brother's way of greeting. "Hi, Puddin' Pop. I'm doing great. Thanks for asking."

August groaned. "I'm going to develop abandonment issues because of you. I haven't seen you since the beginning of September, Salem! Do you know how insane Papa is?"

I leaned back against the lounge chair in the sitting area of the resort. "No, I have absolutely no idea. Listen, I'm glad I showed up now. Kinda. I mean, I am. Ugh. I'm having a small crisis. You're my brother and you're obligated to listen to be bitch about it."

"Fine. I'm hiding in the office at the bookstore anyway. Talk to me."

"Raven is here."

He made a hissing sound like depleting a balloon. "Damn, Salem. Does it get worse? Or are we just ignoring him?"

"Kind of hard considering he's my bunk mate and partner for the short story we have to write. Try as I did, no. I'm not ignoring him."

"I will crack his head open. Continue."

Damn, he knew there was more. Typical. "I spent the first few days yelling at him, but he, uh, apologized. Listen, I realize this is kinda bad, but he told me there was an explanation, and I want to hear what he has to say. We were friends for ten years, and I can't make him love me back. And he did apologize which he never does. Not that he ever did anything that required one before. But he's my best fucking friend. Look at how you were with Sage when that whole sign language debacle happened. I trust that he has an explanation."

My brother sighed roughly. "Salem, you don't need my approval to forgive him. But if he hurts you again, I'm handling it. Not a joke. I never want to see you like that again. Never. Whatever his reason, I trust that you will make the best judgment. My job is to support you, not go against you. I only hope he handles your emotions far better this time."

I wrinkled my nose. "I suppose not everyone is so good at that. Think about Dad and Papa. We almost didn't exist. Papa forgave Dad. And Raven never hurt me before, so I feel like another chance is completely justified."

"There you have it. Just be careful. That's all I'll say. There's more fish in the sea or whatever."

I frowned. "I really like that particular fishy, though. Sad. But I'll... figure it out. We're going to talk about it."

"Great. Now have fun with that. Shit, Papa found me. Pray for my soul."

The call ended and I chuckled. I almost felt bad about leaving August to handle my parents on his own for Christmas, but then I remembered I was safe here while he was dealing with the hell back home.

I started getting back to work on our short story. I wrote a chapter yesterday after seeing Santa and Raven sent me his newest one. I had no idea what he was doing now, but I didn't want to go outside in the cold. Not when I had to help the resort with Christmas lights around the area they had their famous tree in.

We were all tasked with different things tonight before the Christmas tree lighting. So, I wanted to get some writing in before all of that happened.

Raven's chapter showed Kaiser having an insane amount of longing. We already wrote them in the resort, so now it was about pushing them to fix their problems so Kaiser could show Hayes some affection.

Did I still think Raven would kind of fall off on this portion? Absolutely. He wasn't affectionate, but whatever. We'd cross that bridge when we got to it. Hilariously enough, Raven did a pretty good job at writing Hayes's dialogue. And he didn't have any comments on how I write Kaiser, so I was going with a shot in the dark here.