Jackson let his smirk relax into a soft smile. “You gave him your last name.”
My thumb swept over the inside of Marshall’s wrist, and I swallowed again. “I did.”
“Can I ask why?”
There was no malice in his question, simply genuine curiosity. That was the only reason why I responded. “I didn’t want him to wake up alone, and the staff were… unwilling… to let that happen without a lawful reason.”
He raised an eyebrow before his expression cleared. “Ah. Yeah, I ran into a couple of idiots during my brief stay.” He shook his head slightly. “It wasn’t everyone, but you know what the loud ones are like.”
Annoyed that we still had to deal with homophobic bullshit, especially at a hospital, I sighed, because, yeah, I knewexactlywhat the loud ones were like. Would there ever be a time when people could just let others live their lives in peace?
“You love him.”
Immediately, I wrenched my eyes from Marshall’s serene face to stare at Jackson. “What?”
The soft smile remained on his face, and he nodded at Marshall again. “I’m not surprised. Not after seeing you two together yesterday.”
I blinked. God, was it only yesterday that we’d visited Jackson here at the same hospital? It felt like a million years ago.
“It’s okay, Dan. I’m glad you’ve finally found someone.” His lips twitched. “He’ll keep you young.”
“Hm…,” I grumbled, scowling at him until he laughed. Apparently, the age gap between me and Marshall was still a sore subject for me, but I appreciated the fact that Jackson felt at ease enough to joke with me. It had been far too long since that had happened.
“All right, all right,” he said, chuckling to himself even when he put his hands up in surrender. “Rose and I dropped Bucky and Lucy off at my place before we came here. They’re all welcome to stay until we can figure out a solution for your current housing issues.”
“Thanks, Jackson,” I said softly, feeling my eyes well. I bit my lip to stop the tears from spilling over. God, I was such an emotional mess today.
“You’re welcome to join us. You know I’ve got the room.” He paused to aim a soft look at Marshall. “Marshall, too, if he needs a place to stay as well.”
Wondering if this was his roundabout way of thanking us for helping him out yesterday, I frowned at his generous offer. Where my house had been a sprawling four bedroom because he and I had intended to adopt more children until we’d learned of the extent of Rose’s needs, his home was a compact threebedroom. It would be a tight fit for us as well as a boisterous dog and a tiny kitten, but I reminded myself that beggars couldn’t be choosers. If he was offering, I’d be idiotic not to take him up on it. “Are you sure? Marshall mentioned yesterday that he wanted to stay in Rockdale for a while, but with what happened this morning….”
Doubt wound its icy tendrils up my spine, sending my mind racing. Maybe he’d want to leave Rockdale now? Maybe he’d be better off going home to his family—
Oh fuck. His family. I felt the blood drain from my face at the realization that they didn’t know he was in hospital.
“Dan?”
My jaw snapped shut before I tried to swallow down the knot that had suddenly appeared in my throat. My eyes flicked back and forth between Marshall and Jackson guiltily. “His parents don’t know what happened. I don’t know how to get hold of them. I don’t even know where his phone is, let alone if I can get access to his contact list.” I ran my free hand through my hair, stalling when I realized how much I was shaking. “Fuck, Jackson, what do I do? I can’t tell the hospital staff. They’ll know I’ve been lying to them about being married—”
“Ooh! Is that why Patriarchal Marshall has our last name on the nameplate thingy on the wall?”
I cringed at the sound of Rose’s excited question, then glared at Jackson when he grinned at me completely without remorse.
Given how lost I was in my spiraling thoughts, I’d not heard the door open, but he had. And he hadn’t said a word to warn me.
Fucker.
Dreadfully slowly, I turned around to find Rose standing in the open doorway laden with multiple water bottles and a huge variety of snacks. Her wide eyes sparkled with glee, beyond eager to hear more. I couldn’t say that I blamed her for her avidcuriosity, considering that I’d spent multiple years adamantly drilling into her that lying was bad.
I was such a fucking hypocrite.
Fuck.
“Um….” I blinked. How did I explain this? “Well….”
“I guess it makes sense,” she said, traipsing into the room to dump her purchases on the bedside table with a rattle. “You’ll be married for real soon anyway.”
My eyes widened. “We’ll be what now?”
