“Then what are you doin’ here? What bullshit are you gonna feed me?” The ire grated through his tone like nails down chalkboard, mismatched gaze tinted with the reflection of the flames. His eyes were searching his face, skeptical of the mere denial of the claim, and nearly inclined to ignore it altogether. When the baby began to turn her head away, he straightened his posture to set the bottle aside and hoist his baby girl against his shoulder and pat her on the back. Cy, I’m sorry– “Do not call me that,” the musician snapped without hesitation, disdaining the idea of that name that might as well be from another lifetime spilling forth from anyone he deemed less than acceptable of it. He didn’t need another reminder of the shit he should have going for him right now, bracelets jingling with every pat and rub along Amaris’ back. His eyes followed Alec’s movements like he was waiting for him to make a misstep, narrowed into feral slits from the squint upon his countenance and watching him fall, hopelessly, over the side of the bench. Holy shit, he’s a hot mess. “I am not the person you should be apologizin’ to,” Hosea spoke lowly, reeling in his own fury to resist the emotion affecting the baby on his shoulder that he wanted to go back to sleep when she’d been burped, possibly spat up on him. Coward, coward, coward. The word announced in lashing tongues, swarming around his brain like angry bees stirred within a hive, jostling his senses as angrily as an earthquake with tectonic plates bound to break apart and scrape together. “You just– oh my God, Alec.” His eyes rolled up to the darkened sky, teeth gritted in totalistic agitation. His brother dealt with it all the time, he’d never run off the way Alec had. Standing up on his feet when he’d successfully finished his task and settled the baby back into the blanket and secured it over his free shoulder, zipping up his fur-lined jacket halfway, the older male stepped forward. “So what, you get paranoid out your ass and go back to livin’ on the streets instead of listenin’ to her when she was tryin’ to come up with solutions to keep you both safe? Instead of talkin’ to her and trustin’ that she knows what the fuck she is doin’? A part of marriage is she’s supposed to love your dumb ass through sickness and health, and she told me you wouldn’t fuckin’ listen, not even a lil’ bit. Not to mention you never even fuckin’ talked to her about that shit you pulled with the dealin’, you never once talked to her about your fuckin’ feelings, I don’t care if you think you’re jack shit as a husband or not, there’s a fuckin’ line between feelin’ like you’re not good enough and never communicatin’.” Stopping when the bench separated them, he cocked his head with furrowed brows and his features wrinkling, lifting a hand and forcing himself to jut his index finger– somewhere, anywhere. “Alice was willin’ to do whatever the fuck you wanted and turn tricks for you, and you need to work as a fuckin’ team. Instead you abandoned her, and you told her you were leavin’, and you’re here, talkin’ to my dumb ass, while she’s somewhere not fuckin’ knowin’ if you’re gonna come back, if you’re fuckin’ okay, thinkin’ you don’t fuckin’ love her. She’s heartbroken, and you can see that you made a mistake now, but you and I both know you didn’t fuckin’ go home because I’m the one that took her out for her fuckin’ birthday yesterday ‘cause you weren’t there.” Searching his eyes, Hosea took a step backward and lowered his hand, balling both into fists and shoving them into his pockets. Every synapse in him screamed for a cigarette but he saw hide nor hare of Heather to pass Amaris off to temporarily. “She’s my fuckin’ sister, Alec, and if you keep breakin’ her trust over and over, then yeah, she does deserve better than you,” the male concluded, “What does it make you look like, that you’re here now instead of goin’ home and ownin’ up to your shit? ‘Cause right now, she thinks you don’t want her anymore.” Rolling his shoulders, he let out an exhale that resembled a sigh and lifted his brows, blinking at him in placid, unnerving calmness now. “From the view up here, I don’t fuckin’ disagree.”
