Beyond Broken(109)

"Where are you?" Caleb asked. Thomas only hesitated another moment before he spouted off his work address only twenty minutes away. "I'll be there soon."

With one last lingering look at Maddie through the window, he backed out of the driveway and sped towards the freeway.

A short while later, Caleb was pulling up into a cluster of office buildings and he was just about to pull into an empty space outside of the building number Thomas had given him when he spotted the man in question towards the back of the lot. He was leaning against his Mercedes, smoking, and Caleb frowned before making his way over.

He slammed his car door shut, but didn't bother beeping the lock. "Since when did you start smoking?" Caleb asked, halting only a few feet away from Maddie's brother. The two didn't really look alike at first glance, which was why he'd never made a connection between the two of them, even in high school. But the more he looked, the more resemblance he saw, like the slightly upturned nose, or the similar shape of their mouths.

Thomas took another drag on his cigarette before tossing it to the ground, snuffing it out with the bottom of his boot. Even in high school, Thomas had never smoked. Caleb had smoked his fair share, marijuana included, but the man in front of him had always been straight-laced to the core.

Thomas pinned him with a glare. "Don't tell Maddie. She doesn't know." 

Caleb shrugged, but in reality he felt weird about keeping this from her. His uncle had died of lung cancer. If Thomas followed that same path, Maddie would blame herself. Alternatively, what Thomas did was his business.

He decided he'd worry about it later. The two of them stood in tense silence for a few moments. Thomas's gaze was planted firmly on the cracked, black pavement between them. He looked tired, Caleb noticed, with dark circles under his eyes. Caleb probably looked a little tired too, but only because he shared a bed with an insatiable, pregnant woman who had a thing for his kinks.

"How is she?" Thomas finally asked. His voice caught at the end, betraying his nonchalance and revealing his worry. He cared deeply for his sister, that much was clear. But his pride was too great.

"Pregnant," Caleb said, crossing his arms over his chest. Thomas's jaw clenched and Caleb relented, telling him, "She keeps herself busy. She's still going to class, working on campus, and she's shadowing a curator in the city once a week. She's keeping herself too busy, if you ask me."

"She was never one to take the easy way out," Thomas mumbled. Like a sponge, he seemed to absorb the information like water, yet Caleb could see that he still wanted more. "And she's … healthy?"

"The pregnancy is going perfectly," Caleb said, trying to keep the little hint of pride out of his voice.

If anyone had told him a year ago that he would be a father in a few months time and actually be happy about that … Jesus, he didn't know what he would've done.

"She has an appointment later today," Caleb offered. "Just a regular check-up, but I'm sure she would like it if you were there."

Thomas shifted on his feet. "I don't think that's the best idea."

"Look," Caleb bit out. "You need to get over whatever the hell your problem is with me. It isn't fair to Maddie. You can hate me all you want. I don't care. Just be there for her, okay? You're her brother and you two not talking has been wearing on her for months."

"She probably doesn't even want to see me now," Thomas murmured, swallowing.

"What are you talking about?"

"The things I said to her last time … they were ugly." Maddie's brother sighed, shaking his head, before meeting Caleb's eyes. "I don't hate you, Caleb. We were friends once after all and I'm just overprotective. I would've acted the same way had it been any other guy. Everything … it was all just anger and frustration. And every day that passed without me responding to her, or reaching out to her, it just got harder and harder."

Caleb's brow furrowed in irritation. "Just come today. Trust me when I say she wants to see you."

"I don't know," Thomas said softly.

"It's at three o' clock," Caleb said sharply, rattling off the address. "If you want to make up with your sister today and move past whatever this is, then I'm sure I'll see you there."

With that, Caleb turned away and climbed back into his SUV, before pulling away. For Maddie's sake, Caleb really hoped that Thomas would be there.





* * *





"These things always make me nervous," Maddie confessed to Caleb, staring out the passenger window as he pulled off the freeway towards her doctor's office. "For some reason, I always expect bad news."