𝐕𝐄𝐗𝐄𝐃 ❷

𝟐𝟔. ✭ 𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐘 ✭

Brooks had been right. Any other day. Any other time. I would lose my complete and utter fucking shit. Unfortunately for me, luckily for the people around me, I am not about to do that, not with Monica and the baby inside. That doesn't change the fact that I want to flip a table, pick it up, and smash it over someone's head.

"Uh, Tor?" I've just been blinking at Brooks for what feels like an eternity. I'm afraid to open my mouth, unsure of the vile and vitriol that could potentially spill out of it. "Okay, you being completely silent is scaring me more than if you were losing it. What the hell is going on with you?"

I close my eyes and take in a deep breath, trying to get as zen as fucking possible, because everything is screaming at me to do otherwise. I had done some damage to myself the last time though so I really shouldn't. What'd the doctor say? Focus on your breathing the next time you get upset. Right. Breathing. In and out. In and out. In and—

"Are you practicing breathing exercises?"

My eyes fly open with, "if you want me not to beat the ever-living fuck out of anything or anyone around me right now then let me try to chill out."

"I— who are you and what have you done with Torey?"

"If Monica and Presley weren't here then you'd probably be dealing with a very different me right now." I take a deep inhale then blow it out. "My best friend probably wouldn't appreciate it if I had a global melt down in front of his wife and kid, so, you know. Woosahhh or whatever." Brooks tilts his head to the side, looking thoughtful. "What is that look all about?"

"I'm just proud of you is all."

"Thanks dad. That makes me so so happy."

"I'm just saying, this is kind of a big deal for you and I know it is. Just know somebody recognizes it. That's all." Why this man has to rationalize everything and make everything make sense I will never understand. "I should uh," he holds up his bag, "probably get unpacked."

"I'll join you."

"Alright." He doesn't say anything else before taking off toward the guest house.

As much as I'm glad to have Brooks back I will be sad to lose the guest house. I may just move into another room if Brooks doesn't mind. Sleeping in the same wing as Adri, like we did when we were kids, is not working out for me. Luckily, since it's mid-afternoon, staff had already cleaned up my mess from the previous night. As we walk into the bedroom I'm happy to see that there's fresh linens on the bed. At least he won't suspect I've been staying in here.

He tosses his duffel bag down on a chair next to the dresser, one that's filled with clothes for him. While he was away I went through some of his things out of curiosity and boredom. From the shirts, to the shoes, jackets, underwear and everything in between, it was all designer. All of it. My parents had spoiled him. One thing I had noticed was how everything inside of those drawers was folded the exact way he's putting things back into it— military style.

Once he finishes unpacking everything he folds the bag up and puts it in the closet. He slides off his shoes and socks then goes to the bathroom to place them in the hamper, I'm assuming. I look at the dresser and notice something I hadn't before. It's a bottle of cologne. It's an amber color and I wonder if it holds the fragrance that had been part of the reason I'd stayed in this room. Whether I liked it or not it had been something that had made a correlation in my brain and now reminded me of Dani as well, because for the last little while you don't get one scent without the other.

"It smells like you in here." Brooks states, leaning on the doorway to the ensuite.

Fuck.

"I'm standing in here so yeah, I would imagine it smells like me in here." He looks me over thoughtfully but doesn't say anything, just looks around the space knowingly. I hate how he fucking knows everything. "Alright, fine, yeah I've been staying in here because Adri is driving me fucking crazy and I need my own space." That sounded reasonable enough. He didn't need to know the other piece.