He places his hand on my arm as he takes a seat in the open seat beside me. “What the hell are you doing?” I ask while gasping for air.
“I saw you were the only one planned to come on this trip, so I figured I’d tag along.” Bullshit. He didn’t just decide to tag along with me out of nowhere.
“Brax’, don’t play games with me. What’re you really doing here?”
“Fine, you caught me. Trying to save you from passing out on a plane. I mean Gem’, c’mon . . . why didn’t you just drive?”
“By the time I thought about it, it was too late. Now I’m stuck on this deathtrap and there’s nothing I can do about it.” I mutter, inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly. I count to five with every inhale and exhale, hoping this shit will work, but just like always it doesn’t seem to help me much.
He gives me an encouraging squeeze, “Just keep breathing. You aren’t alone and I’m here for you, okay? I’m here with you every step of the way.”
Brax’ is only a little over a year older than me but our dad jokingly referred to us as the twins, because we were always glued to the other’s hip. I don’t know why, but for some reason the two of us have been so much closer than the rest of our siblings.
“Okay,” I nod, agreeing to do what he’s asked.
“Just close your eyes and breathe in and out for me, alright? I have an idea, and I think it’ll work.” Just to appease him, I close my eyes and lean my head back against the seat.
Shuffling people boarding the plane can be heard, as well as a baby in the back of the plane who just can’t be settled, then the small chitchat of other passengers. Suddenly, softness is sliding over my ears and I realize Brax’ is putting some sort of headphones on me. The sounds of everyone on the plane begin to become muffled and the sounds of water dripping can be heard while someone whispers, guiding me through the anxiety I’m feeling in this moment.
Brax’ would be the first person I’d ever tell. Hell, he might be the only one who doesn’t disown me. I don’t ever see him being the type of man who can’t stand lesbians. He’s far too accepting. I’m safe with him, and if he’s going to be on this trip with me . . . alone . . . maybe it’s time I tell my brother the biggest secret I’ve been keeping from him.
I woke up just as the plane was landing, immediately joking how our deaths were imminent. Brax’ thought it was funny, but even I know he wouldn’t admit it. The only thing he was concerned about is if his little test worked. It did, so I might have to try this again next time. I’d just have to make sure someone I trust is sitting beside me. No way would I do this if I was on a plane alone. That’s just begging for trouble.
“When does the conference start again?” Brax asks as we’re on our way to pick up our luggage.
“Tomorrow at ten I think. I have the itinerary on my laptop, so in the morning we can go over it, divide and conquer if you’re okay with that?”
He nods, “Yeah, I was about to suggest the same thing. There are multiple vendors and it makes more sense if we split up. I have some classes I’d like to get certified in while we’re here.”
I nod, “Okay, actually, I do think they’re having a mixer at the hotel bar around two today, so we can meet people. An ice breaker so to speak.”
Brax’ chuckles lowly, “Of course they are. Any excuse to get sloshed in the middle of the day.”
Brax’ is unlike most people. He’s sober by choice. He doesn’t have a problem or anything, but he prefers to stay sober, not much of a fan of losing control, I suppose. “Will you come to the mixer with me?”
He looks at me like I’ve asked him the stupidest question. “Obviously, I need to save you from the old pervert bodybuilders who manage to weasel their way into these conferences. They’re not even owners, I don’t know how they manage to get access.”
“We both know how. They know the right people,” I hate reminding him how corrupt the world is, but it’s in every aspect of life. Whether it’s politics or the gym. We’ll never be able to rid ourselves of it.
We continue following the rest of the passengers to where our bags are and wait around the baggage claim for our suitcases. I twiddle my thumbs and look at my brother, the way he clenches his jaw as he stares, surveying the area.
“I’m gay.” It comes out before I even realize what I’ve said, and his face shifts into a shock filled expression, but then he laughs, and he laughs hard.
“Only took you two years to tell me.”
I furrow my brows, “What?” How could he have known?
“I figured it out two years ago, when we went to an afterparty for one of Clay’s big wins. You kept staring at this hot redhead on the dance floor.”
“You can’t be serious. You knew and you didn’t say a thing to me?”
Brax’ shakes his head, “Nah, it was up to you. I wasn’t gonna force you to tell me anything, Gem’.”
I wrap my arms around my brother and hug him. He pulls me in as close as he can against his chest and the tears come quicker than I can put them off. Brax’ slides his hand under my chin and forces me to look up at him, “Don’t you go crying on me like that, Smudge.”
It might seem odd, but him calling me by my nickname calms my nerves instantly and solidifies telling him was the right thing to do. I can only hope the rest of my family will be this accepting.
Chapter Six
Keira
I was able to get Sasha out and on a flight to Seattle, where she’ll be at one of Vic’s family’s addiction centers. My ex-husband and the father of my child is an Ortega. While they’re known in America for being the founding family of high-quality rehab and addiction centers, in Spain they’re known for something entirely different. Only, I had no idea until we were well into our divorce proceedings. I wanted sole custody of our daughter, considering Vic barely made time for us at the time, so I hired a private investigator to do a little digging. See if they could find something on him that I could use. What I discovered was far worse than I could’ve ever imagined. The investigator advised me to be cautious and give Vic whatever he wanted, even going as far as showing me photographs of what the Ortega family did to those who crossed them. To say it made my blood run cold is a massive understatement. It made me terrified of the man I married, not able to understand how he had a totally different life underneath it all.
I paid the investigator his fee and decided I’d keep the peace between myself and Vic. Only, things didn’t go as smoothly as I’d hoped they would. Looking back now, it must’ve been the same night, Vic showed up at my apartment and asked to come in. He made some bullshit excuse about wanting to say goodnight to Kaia. So naturally, I let him inside.
He held our daughter while he told me a story, how this man’s soon to be ex-wife had hired a private investigator to dig into the man and his family, and how the said investigator took a tumble down the stairs and sadly passed away. The man and his wife were in a nasty divorce battle, and the worst part of it all was their small child, who luckily wasn’t able to see the cruelty on either side. I remember the way Vic glared into my eyes and told me how the man vowed on his life to do everything to protect his daughter, even if it meant taking her away from the one person who loved her as much as he did.