Gracious

Chapter 46

A/N - closer and closer to the end 🥹🥹

~~~

"Why don't we all just drop out and book a one way ticket somewhere?", I sipped my coffee a little slower, watching the conversation that was unfolding in the living room from afar and in silence.

"Where are you thinking?", Parker, one of Xavier's closest friends, asked with a chuckle, entertaining my brother's ludicrous ideas as always, "I'm down for whatever".

"My parents would kill me", Jake shook his head, stealing the bowl of popcorn out of Xavier's hold and placing it in his lap- the glare my brother was now giving him would have had him obliterated if looks could kill, "Zane would kill you".

"Someone with sense, always a pleasure to see", I mused from behind, Xavier's shoulders shaking with silent laughter before the others' did too, "how was the hockey game for you boys yesterday?".

"Best player right here", Jake shook Asher's shoulders roughly, earning himself an eye roll from the latter, "Xav got body checked".

"Again?", I narrowed my eyes at my brother and he surrendered, "and when were you going to tell me that?".

"Pft, never", he snatched the bowl of popcorn back from Jake and shoved a handful into his mouth, "you would've sent me to hospital for no reason, and I punched the dick".

"Good", I hummed, sipping my coffee again and letting my focus land on the silent figure who had joined the other four on the sofa in front of the tv.

I hadn't spoken to Alexander in three days.

Ever since our tension filled conversation in my office where he lied to my face and I may or may not have told him I didn't even recognise him anymore, not a single word had been exchanged between us.

I was certain our brothers thought we were being salty, that we were being stubborn and were waiting for the other to crack, but I was hurt, I wasn't being a prick for no reason...and part of me knew he wasn't either.

"You said you'd be at our game", Parker shoved Alexander's head slightly with a grin, obviously teasing, "got held up?".

"I was with a friend", he replied, his voice quiet and uncertain compared to how it usually was, if I was being entirely honest I couldn't say I'd heard him raise his voice at all since that day in my office.

"Does that have 'girl' in front of it?", Jake grinned, nudging the seventeen year old who just shuffled away from him.

"Or 'boy'", Asher lifted a shoulder, "could be boy".

"Can you all just shut the fuck up?", Alexander snapped, rising to his feet and storming out of the room, bashing into Caleb in the process, "watch where you're fucking going".

"Well aren't you just a ray of sunshine?", he scoffed, glancing at Xavier and his friends, then at me, "I need a word". I watched him for a moment, placing my half-empty mug down on the counter and cocking my head; the pair of us went to leave the room before I was called back.

"Uh, we didn't mean to offend him, or upset him", Jake's cheeks flushed as he scratched his head, "we were just teasing".

"It's not you", Xavier spoke up before I could, "he's been a mess for days". He didn't have to look at me to direct that statement towards me, I just sent a brief nod to his friends in a weak attempt to abolish their worries before following Caleb out of the room.

The environment in here was killing me recently.

~

Caleb leaned against my desk, the wood creaking slightly under his weight; how he'd gone from this tiny boy to a six-foot-three man was beyond me. I propped myself on the arm of the sofa opposite him, waiting for him to initiate the conversation.