Love Is Always Write Volume 4

lot. The sun he thought he'd seen peeking out when he'd first woken up was gone and the sky was dreary and gray.
    Either Zeb understood or was just waiting for Chad to respond because all that came through from the other end was Zeb's light breathing. Chad took another drink and rested his head against the cool window pane.
    "You know, they say the number one rule for a successful relationship is good communication." Chad spoke quietly, almost to himself. "I guess we didn't really have that, did we?"
    "No. I guess not." Zeb voice was a reflection of the way Chad's heart felt; sad and resigned.
    "Is that everything then? Your explanation?"
    "No."
    "Might as well tell me. There's nothing left to lose." He heard Zeb's sigh and some shuffling.
    "Okay." He didn't sound thrilled. "But, just let me say it all, alright?" Chad grunted an agreement. "It was your family."
    "You already told me you heard my brother..."
    "You said you'd let me talk," Zeb interrupted. Chad stayed quiet. "That wasn't the only time I saw him. I ran into him in town twice, and he came to a couple shows and stuck around for a few minutes after to say hi. He tried to play it off like he was being the good guy, like he was on my side to give me advice. But even if I hadn't overheard you guys that day I would have been able to tell it was for show. I'm usually pretty good at reading assholes." Zeb paused and it sounded like he was taking a drink of something. Chad settled in to the stinky chair and waited, afraid of what he'd hear his brother had done.
    "Some of what he said was so obviously bullshit, but other things, I could tell, were sincere. Like how he thought I wasn't good enough for you. He didn't straight out say that – you know, acting the good guy and all – but he suggested I at least get a real job if I wanted to keep you. That if I cared and wanted us to be anything more than one of your whims I needed to straighten up before you got tired of playing around with me."
    "What the fuck?" Chad put in, forgetting he was supposed to stay quiet. He wasn't so much surprised that his brother had been a jerk, but… "That's why you got the job at Glassworks?"
    "Yeah. The first time he came around I didn't listen to a word he said, but after a while I thought, you know, asshole or not he might be right. And then there was your mom."
    "What about her?" Chad felt something close to dread swim through his veins.
    "I think it was around February sometime – I remember it was close to Valentines because she said she was in town for some fundraiser ball with a Valentines theme. She came by the apartment while you were at work to meet me. I know you said your family was a bit uppity, and I could see some of that, but she was real nice. Hell, she brought cookies. We sat at the table and had coffee and cookies, like some formal tea party or something. It was – weird."
    "I'm sorry," Chad mumbled. "Why didn't you tell me?"
    "Because of what she said. That it was ridiculous that there we were, living together, and you hadn't even brought me to meet them yet. How she wanted to get to know the man her son was hiding, and how sad she'd been that we hadn't gone to their place for Christmas."
    "Shit." Chad swore under his breath and closed his eyes.
    "Yeah, you lied to me about that. So, it got me thinking. Why were you hiding me?"
    "You weren't the one I was hiding." Chad took in a deep breath. "I was hiding them. I was afraid that if they got anywhere near you they'd scare you away. And I guess they did." Chad went to take another drink of his coffee but finding the mug empty he set it back on the table with a bit more force and frustration than was necessary. "Fuck. My mom may have seemed nice, but she's cold as ice. That's what she does, she'll kill with kindness in a way that you don't see the blade coming. Trust me, if when she left our place she had you questioning me – that was her intent when she walked in the door."
    Chad got up to get a refill on coffee, the last in the small pot. "I wish you would have told me. But that's partly my fault. Back then, I held my tongue from saying too much that was negative about them. I guess… well, I guess I didn't want you to think badly of them. I was still trying to give them chances to be human and give a shit about me, but maybe I should have told you more of what they were like. Warned you."
    "They're your family. I didn't want to come between that." Zeb's voice was soft and sincere, and Chad felt something