If I Were Allowed To Love You

Thirty-Five

"What happened?" Ryan demanded the moment Theo entered the kitchen the following morning. He stared at his brother in confusion, but Ryan merely stared back, demanding an answer.

"I don't understand the question," Theo replied as he took a bite of cereal.

"Melissa and Lucas took a break," he hissed.

Choking on his food, Theo pounded his fist on the table as he attempted to swallow air. "When the hell did that happen?"

"I thought you knew!"

"I don't know shit. After Melissa woke up from her nap, I went out for a run. When I came back, I saw her sad and leaving, and she asked if I liked the kiss- Which I didn't lie about. But I haven't seen or talked to her since." He looked out the kitchen door and sighed. "I hope she's okay. This is going to be a lot for her to take in." He jerked his head to Ryan. "Is that why Lucas slept in the other guest room?"

Ryan shrugged.

"I assumed it was just because she was pissed at him."

"I feel like we're supposed to kick him out," he said, to which Theo glared at him for suggesting, "since Melissa was our friend first. But I know that's not what you want."

"You're damn right that's not what I want. I want him to-" He sucked in his lips and shook his head softly. "Unless Melissa kicks him out, we're not kicking him out. They're taking a break like she must have said. Did she say that?"

"That's what she said last night at the bar."

"Melissa went to a bar last night?"

Both brothers turned to face the kitchen door. Lucas stood in the doorway, a dejected look on his face. "Shit. I know the kiss upset her, but I didn't think she would go to a bar."

"She wasn't drinking," Ryan encouraged, suddenly concerned that Melissa used to be an alcoholic of some sort.

Lucas scoffed. "I know she doesn't drink. She gambles. We used to do it all the time when she first started at the circus. It was how she made money before she became the star of the show. She'd use her skills to make bets with unsuspecting people, essentially stealing their money. She only gambles whenever she's in dire need of money or she's depressed."

"Fucking people over is how she feels better. Seems logical to me," Theo shrugged as he took another bite of his cereal.

Rolling his eyes, Ryan said, "She almost got in a bar fight, but I was thankfully there with Francine. We were able to stop him from doing anything to her."

Lucas smirked. "Who's Francine? Your mate?"

"She's the leader of the werewolf community next to ours. Those two have been the best of friends for..."

"Over six years now," Ryan concluded on Theo's behalf. "We get dinner once a month to catch up on non-hunter and werewolf business. She's a close and personal friend of mine now."

Lucas smiled faintly, circling his finger on the countertop. "Sounds nice."

"You don't have any close and personal friends?" Theo questioned.

"It's not that, just...Forget it." He stared directly into Ryan's eyes. "If you need me to find a new place to stay, I will. Melissa told me not to for the night, but if you want me out, I understand. I did screw up yesterday."

"I think you're forgetting that I'm the one who kissed you," Theo interjected. "Not the other way around."

"But I still let you kiss me."

Ryan turned his back on the two as they suddenly grew silent. He poured himself a cup of coffee and walked out to the back patio. The moment the screen door was slid into place, both boys looked up at one another.