Nodding, I reached for my phone. “Anything you want in particular?”
“I’m a simple guy. Just pepperoni is good with me.”
“Okay.”
Unlocking my phone, I was pulling up the pizza place’s number when Creed called my name. “You good?” he asked when I looked up at him.
“Why do you ask?”
He licked his full mahogany lips and shrugged. “You just don’t seem like yourself.”
Clenching my phone tightly, I rolled my shoulders back and sat up straighter. “Today was rough.” I went on to tell him about his brother. “Sorry I didn’t call you sooner and tell you. I just was so angry with your parents that I jumped right into work and got lost. They’re such assholes!” My eyes widened. “Sorry.”
He chuckled. “You’re good. They are assholes. Have been my whole life.” His shoulders lifted and fell again. “It’s fucked up that they didn’t think to call you and keep you informed. Rome’s gonna pull through this. He’s too damn stubborn not to.”
I sighed and my shoulders fell forward. “You’re right about that, but still it pisses me off that I’m about to be his wife, yet your parents don’t seem to give a damn about that.”
A gasp left my mouth when Creed grabbed my chin and forced it up. “Don’t let my parents get to you. They thrive off intimidation and power. They’ve been bullies my whole life and the best way to beat bullies is to not show them they bothered you.”
“I know that, but still. I hate when my voice is taken away. They should respect me more.” My grip grew tighter.
Creed’s stare was warm and comforting. It caused me to feel weird and my stomach to twist oddly.
“The reason my parents get along so well is because they’re just alike. They’re stuck up snobs and narcissists. They believe flashing their money around gives them the right to treat other people however they want. Growing up I’ve seen them easily disregard someone once they held no use to them. Rome is their golden child and when it comes to him they have tunnel vision. No one is gonna get through to them when it comes to him. If you keep letting it fuck with you, you’re gonna be miserable until my brother wakes up.”
Creed released my chin. “I know you want a say in Rome’s treatment but one thing you don’t have to worry about is him not getting the best care. My parents would empty their bank account if it meant making sure he makes it out of this a hundred percent.”
My brows furrowed as Creed turned to leave. The way he spoke about his parents was so impersonal, but I knew he was right. I had never seen parents doting over their child as much as the Thorntons did. As much as I would love to be involved in the decision making, I could at least be at ease knowing he would be getting the best care money could buy.
Chapter 7
Creed
I’d been back home in West Pier for almost two weeks now and it didn’t seem like my brother was going to wake up anytime soon. Since being back I’d only been up to the hospital once and that was including when I first got back. It seemed like my parents, mainly Mom, spent most of their time at the hospital and I had no desire to be around them, causing my limited time to see my brother. Nakyra made sure to keep me updated. She spent a good amount of time up there enduring my parents’ nonsense.
I had just come back to the house after spending a good amount of the day at the West Pier office on conference calls. Although I didn’t live out here, our logistics office was still based here.
My plan was to change and leave back out. I headed for the steps but paused seeing Nakyra on the couch and her hands moving quickly and fluently. She had her phone propped up on what looked like a selfie stick. I looked around and didn’t see Bella, figuring she was out back.
Leaning on the wall with my arms crossed, I watched her as she communicated with whoever was on the other end of the phone.
Nakyra finally looked up and her eyes grew once she noticed she wasn’t alone, causing a small smirk to form on my face. Pushing off the wall, I headed for the couch and took a seat next to her. The woman she was talking to looked just as surprised to see me.
“How do you sign hello? How are you?” I asked, facing Nakyra.
With confusion still plastered on her face, she moved her in the direction to show me.
Facing the phone again, I repeated the gesture with a smile. “Hey,” the girl replied.
“Oh you’re hearing?” She snickered and nodded.
“This is my cousin Summer. Summer, this is Creed,” Nakyra stated.
“Oh… soyou’rethe brother. I don’t see the resemblance at all,” Summer said.
A chuckle left my mouth. “Hopefully that’s a good thing.”
“Oh, it’s agreatthing. Hopefully your personality doesn’t match your brother’s either.”
