âThen what are you doinâ here? What bullshit are you gonna feed me?â 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, Iâm sorryâ âDo not call me that,â 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 didnât need another reminder of the shit he should have going for him right now, bracelets jingling with every pat and rub along Amarisâ back. His eyes followed Alecâs 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, heâs a hot mess. âI am not the person you should be apologizinâ to,â 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 sheâd 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. âYou justâ oh my God, Alec.â His eyes rolled up to the darkened sky, teeth gritted in totalistic agitation. His brother dealt with it all the time, heâd never run off the way Alec had. Standing up on his feet when heâd 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. âSo what, you get paranoid out your ass and go back to livinâ on the streets instead of listeninâ to her when she was tryinâ to come up with solutions to keep you both safe? Instead of talkinâ to her and trustinâ that she knows what the fuck she is doinâ? A part of marriage is sheâs supposed to love your dumb ass through sickness and health, and she told me you wouldnât fuckinâ listen, not even a lilâ bit. Not to mention you never even fuckinâ talked to her about that shit you pulled with the dealinâ, you never once talked to her about your fuckinâ feelings, I donât care if you think youâre jack shit as a husband or not, thereâs a fuckinâ line between feelinâ like youâre not good enough and never communicatinâ.â 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 fingerâ somewhere, anywhere. âAlice was willinâ to do whatever the fuck you wanted and turn tricks for you, and you need to work as a fuckinâ team. Instead you abandoned her, and you told her you were leavinâ, and youâre here, talkinâ to my dumb ass, while sheâs somewhere not fuckinâ knowinâ if youâre gonna come back, if youâre fuckinâ okay, thinkinâ you donât fuckinâ love her. Sheâs heartbroken, and you can see that you made a mistake now, but you and I both know you didnât fuckinâ go home because Iâm the one that took her out for her fuckinâ birthday yesterday âcause you werenât there.â 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. âSheâs my fuckinâ sister, Alec, and if you keep breakinâ her trust over and over, then yeah, she does deserve better than you,â the male concluded, âWhat does it make you look like, that youâre here now instead of goinâ home and owninâ up to your shit? âCause right now, she thinks you donât want her anymore.â Rolling his shoulders, he let out an exhale that resembled a sigh and lifted his brows, blinking at him in placid, unnerving calmness now. âFrom the view up here, I donât fuckinâ disagree.â