Combust (The Wellingtons #1) (14 page)

PULLING UP to Mom and Dad’s house, I know this is going to be one hell of an interesting evening, and I’m not really sure what to expect. Christmas with the Wellingtons isn’t usually the most exciting affair. Dad and Branson talk business, Mom prattles around as she tries to make sure that dinner is perfect, Megan has her nose in a fashion magazine, and I usually stare at the television screen watching A Christmas Story, just biding my time until I can head back to my apartment. Every time my phone rings, Mom watches me expectantly, and I know what she’s doing. It’s what she’s done every year on Christmas ever since the very first one when Knox was gone. He would call the house, ask for me, and hang up unless I was given the phone. It took about two years for her to realize that he had no intention of talking to anyone but me. When I was younger, I didn’t understand it, but I loved my brother, and if he didn’t want to talk to anyone else, I respected that. It still bothered me to see the hurt in her eyes at his refusal.

This year, however, things are going to be way different. Earlier this year, Knox was injured in a bomb blast when he was overseas in Afghanistan. Once he was stable enough to come home, I stayed with him so I could help take care of him, but eventually, I had to go back to school for finals. I’d already missed the MCAT and I couldn’t get any more behind by missing finals as well. That’s when we met Charlie. She was sent to him by a local veteran’s assistance service to help care for him, and well, one thing led to another and now they’re together. Somehow, Charlie and the whole incident seemed to have put things in perspective for Knox, and with a little nudge from me, Knox finally came home. It wasn’t easy, but it’s been a few months now and everything seems to be falling into place.

With a deep breath, I get out of the car and make my way inside. Not bothering to knock, I open the door and am greeted with lively Christmas music and the sound of voices—more animated than usual. I hang up my coat and am about to head towards the kitchen when Knox comes down the hall.

“Hey, Coh. Merry Christmas,” he tells me, throwing an arm around my shoulder and bringing me in for a pretend choke hold.

“Yeah, yeah. You too,” I choke out.

He lets go and eyes me warily. “It’s about time you got here. Have a late night last night?” he asks, a gleam in his eyes.

I can’t help the huge grin that spreads over my face. “Let’s just say it was a good night for celebrating, and boy, did I celebrate.”

“Oh yeah? What was the ‘celebration’ for?” he asks, putting air quotations around celebration.

I can’t help contain my excitement, and I feel like a little kid on Christmas morning, which, incidentally, I am—except for the little kid part. I pull a piece of paper out of my back pocket and hand it to him, watching as he unfolds the sheet and then scans it up and down. His brows wrinkle and he looks back up at me.

“Dude, I have no idea what any of this means other than the fact that it’s addressed to you.”

Right. “Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. It’s my MCAT scores.”

He looks at me like I’m speaking a foreign language. “And? Did you pass?”

With a chuckle, I nod. “It’s not exactly pass or fail, but let’s just say I scored more than high enough to get into the program at UT—and on my first try!”

Knox places an arm on my shoulder and gives me a look. “I’m proud of you, kid. It sucks you had to put it off because of what happened, but I’m so damn proud of you.”

I shrug him off. “Hey, it’s not like you asked to be blown up. Plus, it gave me extra time to study, and since I knew I was going to be late applying to medical school, I took a few extra months to prepare. Taking summer classes helped, too, and this next semester is going to be a piece of cake. If I don’t get into med school right away, I’ll live. That’ll just free up my time for ladies,” I tell him, wagging my eyebrows up at him.

His shoulders shake with laughter. “Even from thousands of miles away, I created a monster. Come on. Everyone’s been waiting on you.”

I follow him down the hallway into the kitchen, where Mom and Charlie are putting the finishing touches on Christmas dinner. After placing kisses on both of their cheeks, I apologize for being late, and Knox doesn’t hesitate to mention that it was because of a girl.

“Oh, Cohen, are you seeing someone? Who is she? Did you meet her at school? Why didn’t you bring her with you?” Mom fires off each question in rapid succession before I can answer her. Ever since Knox and Charlie got to together, she’s been bugging me about relationships no matter how many times I tell her that it’s not going to happen.

I give Knox a glare and flip him off behind her back.

Charlie just snickers and rolls her eyes at us. “Knox, start putting food on the table and leave your brother alone,” she scolds him playfully, only to yelp when he pinches her ass and before doing as she requested.

Mom’s looking at me expectantly, and I let out a sigh. “No, Mom, I’m not seeing anyone. How many times do I have to tell you I don’t have time for relationships? And once I start med school, I’m going to have even less time for one. I’m just having fun. That’s all.”

She gives me a disappointed look and sighs. “When the right girl comes along, you’ll make time. You just make sure you’re not too busy to realize when she’s right in front of you.”

It’s not going to happen, but I don’t tell her that. I haven’t dated at all during college and I don’t plan on starting now. Sure, I’ve had casual relationships here and there, but there was always an understanding. It’s actually been fairly easy to find girls who don’t want a relationship, especially those on the pre-med track. They don’t want to be tied down any more than I do, and it’s worked out perfectly.

“Cohen, if I had told you eight months ago that Knox and I were going to end up together, what would you have said?” Charlie asks.

“Are you kidding? Eight months ago, I wasn’t sure one of you would’ve been able to deal with Knox for one summer, let alone end up dating him. When I left to go back to school, I was worried that, even though Knox made it back to the States in one piece, you’d end up killing him. You weren’t exactly on the best of terms when I left.”

She gives me a sweet smile, and I groan. Having had Megan as a sister-in-law for nearly ten years, I got used to being ignored. I can tell with Charlie that our relationship isn’t going to be like that. It’s like I’ve gained a sister I never had or wanted.

“Exactly, Cohen. Love happens in the most unexpected places at the most unexpected times. Even if you’re not ready. I’m not saying you’re going to meet the girl of your dreams next week or even next year. I’m just saying that if you do, don’t automatically write it off because you don’t think it’s the right time. Don’t let what could be the best thing in your life slip through your fingers because you’re a stubborn ass.” Knox enters the room and crosses to Charlie, who puts her arm around his waist. “Trust me. When I met your brother, the last thing I was looking for was a relationship. I would’ve told you that the timing was off and we’d have never worked out. Now, I can’t imagine my life without him.”

“Aww, Charlie, that was so sweet,” Mom gushes, wiping a tear from her eye. She’s been extra emotional since Knox came back into the family fold, and she has adopted Charlie like her own daughter. As happy as I am for my brother, just because he’s finally settling down doesn’t mean I’m anywhere near ready for that.

“Well, Charlie, if you two are any indication, then I still have seven years or so until it’s my time. Until then, I’ll continue to play doctor,” I tease, causing Knox to choke on a carrot and Mom to look at me with a confused expression.

Charlie coughs and then peers at me. “Cohen, your hair’s a little darker,” she comments, and I bring a hand up to feel my hair.

With a shrug, I respond. “One of the girls I was tutoring is a cosmetologist. She said I’d look hot with dark hair, so I figured why not?” I tell her, and she grins at me. It’s true. It’s taken some getting used to, but the dark hair actually works in my favor. It makes me look older and more like my brothers. Secretly, I love it.

Before I can say anything else, Dad takes that exact moment to enter the kitchen to figure out what the holdup is, and he nods a greeting when he sees me. We all gather up the rest of the food and move to the dining room, and I see Branson at the liquor cabinet, pouring himself three fingers of Scotch.

“Hey, Bran. Pour me one, will ya?” I ask, and he looks up at me.

My usually cool, collected, always-put-together brother has dark circles under his eyes and is in dire need of a haircut. It doesn’t look like he’s shaved in at least five days. Even his attire surprises me. His normal uniform of the day is an Armani suit, and it isn’t until after dinner that he even removes his jacket. Right now, he’s dressed in track pants, a UT Volunteers sweatshirt, and socks. To put it simply, he looks like shit.

“Hey, Coh. Yeah, sure,” he says, pulling out another glass and pouring me a drink.

I glance at Knox, and he just shakes his head. I figure we can talk about it later.

Everyone settles around the table, and I have to admit that it’s a really weird feeling. A good feeling, but a weird one. At the same time, as nice as it is to have Knox finally back home in Belle Meade, Branson’s whole demeanor is putting a damper on the mood. He’s silent all throughout dinner, opening his mouth only to eat or when someone talks to him directly. Other than that, he sits back, sips his scotch, and stares off into the distance.

When Knox volunteers to get dessert from the kitchen, I excuse myself to use the restroom and follow after him. His head’s stuck in the refrigerator before he pulls out a cheesecake and sets it on the table.

“Dude, what the hell?” I ask, and he stops to look at me. “I know you haven’t been around Branson much, but Jesus Christ. I’ve never seen him like that. Ever.”

Knox presses his palms against the counter, gripping tightly. “I don’t know, man. He’s been like that since we got here. Mom says that, until this week, things with the divorce have been going fine, but then he took this entire week off from work. No one had heard from him until he showed up here late last night, drunk off his ass, mumbling about always fucking everything up. I don’t know if it’s better or worse that I’m here. We’ve been talking over the past few weeks, and while we’re not best buds, I don’t want to rip his head off whenever I see him now. Any amount of anger I felt towards him is long gone. Now I just feel sorry for him.”

I let out a deep breath, shaking my head at how differently my brothers’ lives turned out. It seems Branson did Knox a huge favor when he started screwing Megan behind his back, and unfortunately, the consequences have finally caught up with him. Karma or not, he’s my brother and I hate to see him this way.

“Coh, it’ll all work out. I’m sure once the divorce is over and he sees that I don’t hold a grudge, things will look up for him. I don’t think he’s as much of an asshole as he pretends to be. I just don’t think he knows that yet. Try and talk to him after dinner, okay? I tried earlier and he didn’t really say much.”

Nodding, I follow him back into the dining room, where it’s more of the same until we move to the great room, where Mom and Charlie hand out presents. Once all of that hoopla is over, I take Knox’s advice, refill Branson’s glass—and my own—and settle on the couch next to him.

“Thanks, kid. Haven’t seen you in a while. How’s school going?” he asks, his voice just a little slurred, and I’m thankful that Mom let me know that he was staying here tonight. He’s already clearly in no position to drive.

I give him a quick recap of the semester that just ended, and he actually looks proud when I tell him about my MCAT scores.

“That’s awesome, Cohen. I know Dad gave you a hard time about medical school, but you were the smart one. You knew exactly what you wanted and you went for it no matter what anyone else said. When I was your age, I wish I’d had half the courage that you do. Too bad I was just a fucking pussy, which led to me making wrong decision after wrong decision…” he trails off before taking a long swig of his drink.

I know I probably shouldn’t push the issue, but this is the most open he’s ever been with me. It’s true what they say—liquor talks.

“What are you talking about, Branson? I thought you always wanted to take over Wellington Enterprises.”

He heaves a heavy sigh and leans closer to me. “It’s not that. I love my career. I wouldn’t change it for the world. It’s the rest of my life that I’d change. Those two,” he says, pointing to where Knox and Charlie and curled up by the fire. “Those two are fucking lucky. You meet a girl who makes you feel like your world’s going to explode without her in it, you fucking hold on to her. You fucking clutch her as tight as you can. Don't you dare let her slip through your fingers or else you’ll end up a washed-up thirty-two-year-old who tore apart his family for pussy that didn’t even matter. That’s the worst fucking part. What I did to Knox. Mom. Dad. Hell, even you. All for what? Pussy that didn’t even fucking matter.”

Without another word, he gets up from the couch and heads to the dining room to continue to drink his sorrows away. He’s had a healthy amount, and after that revelation, I feel like I could use some more, too.