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xenyasplacex · 12 days ago

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Baby Trapped— Chapter 3

Summary: Another Sacrifice has to be made

Warnings: Physical abuse, emotional Abuse, Chris having a horrible partner, Swearing, crying

i think that’s it, if i’ve missed anything please let me know

A/N: HEYYYYYYY….so urm…this is really late. I apologise. Pls don’t murder me xx

chapter 2 — Chapter 4

Chris sat in the driver’s seat, his hands gripping the wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white. His chest ached, and his vision blurred from the tears he tried so desperately to hold back. Adriana babbled softly in the backseat, completely unaware that her father had just cut ties with the only family he had ever truly known.

He felt hollow. Numb. The weight of Aaliyah’s words echoed in his mind

“You don’t need them, Chris. You need me.”

Then why did it feel like a part of him had just died?

The car ride home was quiet, except for the occasional sniffle that escaped Chris. He couldn’t let Adriana see him break down, even though it felt inevitable. As he pulled into the driveway of their home, he exhaled shakily, trying to gather himself before stepping inside.

He had no idea what version of Aaliyah would be waiting for him.

Would it be the woman who smiled sweetly and kissed him like he was the only person in the world? Or would it be the tyrant who left him with bruises and a fractured body… and soul?

As he stepped through the front door, Aaliyah was already sitting on the couch, legs crossed, scrolling through her phone like nothing had happened. When she heard him enter, she turned to face him with an expectant look.

“Well?” she asked.

Chris swallowed the lump in his throat. “It’s done,” he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.

Aaliyah grinned, standing up and walking towards him. She cupped his face, her thumbs brushing over the faint remains of his bruises. “See?” she cooed. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

Chris didn’t respond. He couldn’t.

She sighed, rolling her eyes before taking Adriana out of his arms. “Dinner’s in the fridge if you’re hungry,” she said nonchalantly before heading upstairs.

Chris stood frozen in the entryway, feeling like a stranger in his own home. The walls felt like they were closing in, suffocating him. His mind screamed at him to leave, to run, to take his daughter and never look back. But his body refused to move.

Instead, he found himself walking to the bathroom, locking the door behind him. He turned on the faucet, splashing cold water onto his face. He gripped the edges of the sink, staring at his reflection. His eyes were bloodshot, his face hollow, his skin paler than usual. He barely recognized himself anymore.

“You’re pathetic.” Aaliyah’s voice echoed in his mind. “A coward.”

Chris let out a humorless chuckle, shaking his head. Maybe she was right. Maybe he was a coward. If he wasn’t, why hadn’t he left? Why had he let her strip away every piece of his identity until all that remained was… this?

A shell of the person he used to be.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. His heart leapt as he pulled it out, praying it wasn’t Aaliyah checking in to make sure he wasn’t talking to his brothers. But when he looked at the screen, his stomach dropped.

Nick: I know you’re not gonna answer, but when you finally realize the truth, we’ll be here. We’re never gonna stop fighting for you.

Chris’s breath hitched, his thumb hovering over the message. He wanted so badly to respond, to tell his brothers how much he missed them already, how much he hated himself for what he’d done. But he knew if Aaliyah ever found out, she’d make good on her threat. She’d take Adriana away from him.

And that? That was something he couldn’t survive.

So with a deep, shuddering breath, Chris deleted the message. And with it, the last remaining piece of himself.

He started at himself in the mirror, really started at himself. Then he let out a low sob… then another… then he completely and utterly broke down.

The house in San Diego was big. Bigger than Chris expected. The high ceilings and massive windows made it feel cold and empty, despite the expensive furniture Aaliyah had picked out. The dark brown wood floors— the ones he’d been punished for having an opinion on— creaked slightly under his feet as he carried the last of the moving boxes inside.

“Be careful with that,” Aaliyah snapped from the kitchen. “It’s fragile.”

Chris didn’t even respond. He just set the box down and exhaled, his hands resting on his hips as he took in his new reality. This was it. His new home. His new life. No brothers just a short drive away, no safe place to run when things got bad.

Just him, Aaliyah, and the daughter he was trying so hard to protect.

Adriana was in the living room, playing with the few toys Chris had unpacked for her. She was giggling to herself, stacking blocks and knocking them over, completely oblivious to the tension in the air. She didn’t have a care in the world, didn’t seem to understand the danger she was in. Chris envied her.

“Chris, are you even listening to me?” Aaliyah’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

“Huh?” He turned to face her.

Aaliyah sighed, rolling her eyes. “I said, we need to start setting up Adriana’s room today. I don’t want her sleeping in our bed anymore. She’s getting too old for that.”

Chris hesitated. Back home, whenever Adriana had nightmares, she’d crawl into bed with him, curling up against his chest as he stroked her hair until she fell asleep. It was the only time he ever really felt at peace.

“I don’t know if she’s ready—”

“She is ready.” Aaliyah cut him off sharply. “You baby her too much. She needs to learn independence, Chris.”

Chris clenched his jaw, but he nodded anyway. There was no point in arguing. There never was.

Hours passed as they unpacked more boxes. Aaliyah gave orders, and Chris followed them like a well-trained soldier. He barely registered what he was doing anymore— just moving, organizing, doing whatever he could to keep the peace.

By the time Adriana’s room was set up, the sky outside had turned dark. She was curled up in her new bed, hugging her stuffed elephant, her little chest rising and falling peacefully. Chris sat beside her, brushing her curls away from her face.

“I love you, Adi,” he whispered.

She stirred slightly, blinking up at him with sleepy eyes. “Love you too, Daddy,” she mumbled before drifting off again.

Chris stayed there for a moment, just watching her. He wished he could freeze time— stay right here, just him and his daughter, where everything was safe. But reality was waiting for him just outside that bedroom door.

And sure enough, when he finally stepped into the hallway, Aaliyah was there.

“Chris, come to bed,” she said, her voice softer than usual.

He hesitated. A part of him wanted to tell her no, that he wanted to sleep on the couch, that he needed space. But that part of him had no fight left. So he nodded and followed her to their bedroom.

As he lay in bed beside her, staring up at the unfamiliar ceiling, Aaliyah rested her head on his chest, tracing lazy patterns on his skin. To anyone else, they might look like a couple in love. But Chris knew better.

“You made the right choice, you know,” she murmured against his skin. “Cutting them off. It’s just us now, the way it should be.”

Chris didn’t say anything. He just kept staring at the ceiling, feeling the weight of his choices suffocate him.

He had done what she asked. He had sacrificed everything.

So why did he feel more trapped than ever?

The next morning

Nick sat in the passenger seat of Matt’s car, gripping his phone as the little blue dot on the screen slowly moved south.

“I knew he wouldn’t get rid of the car,” Nick muttered. “She probably forced him to block us, delete our numbers, cut off every possible contact, but she forgot about the one thing Apple never fails at— AirTags.”

Matt, gripping the steering wheel, squinted at the road. “Are we really sure about this?” he asked. “Like, really sure? Because I feel like we’re two seconds away from committing an actual crime.”

Nick scoffed. “Since when do you care about crime?”

“I don’t know, Nick, maybe since we’re literally tracking our brother like two psychopaths in a rental car.”

Nick waved him off. “Relax, we’re just checking in. We don’t have to do anything, we just… need to make sure he’s okay. Besides, if we were actually criminals, would we have stopped for snacks?” He pointed to the open bag of Doritos in Matt’s lap.

Matt sighed. “Fair point.”

They had planted the AirTag under the backseat of Chris’s car, i was a long shot— they weren’t even sure he still had the car after moving— but the moment they saw his location pop up, they knew they had to go.

The problem? He was four hours away.

“Okay, okay,” Matt said, refocusing. “We’ve been driving for, what, 3 hours now? Where’s he at?”

Nick zoomed in on the map. “Still in San Diego… looks like he’s at… oh, great. A HomeGoods…that one” He said, pointing to a huge furniture store.

Matt blinked. “HomeGoods?”

Nick groaned, tossing his phone onto the dashboard. “She’s got him furniture shopping, Matt. Chris hates furniture shopping. remember when he refused to furnish his room because he didn’t want to go to a furniture store until he was old and saggy?…She’s broken him.”

Matt gasped dramatically, making fun on Nick. “Oh my God. Do you think he’s picking out decorative pillows right now?”

“Worse. I bet he’s debating curtain patterns.”

Matt shook his head. “Nah. Not my brother. Not Christopher Sturniolo. This is worse than I thought. We need a plan.”

Nick crossed his arms, going back to the actual matter at hand. “Okay, obviously we can’t just storm into HomeGoods and rescue him—”

Matt smirked. “Can’t we?”

Nick gave him a look. “No, Matt, we can’t. That’s how we end up on national news. What we can do is wait outside, see if he’s alone, and—”

Before he could finish, the AirTag location updated. Chris’s car was moving again.

“Shit! He’s leaving!” Nick shouted. “We gotta go, we gotta go!”

Matt threw the car into drive so fast that Nick nearly slammed into the dashboard. “Follow them!” he yelled.

For the next fifteen minutes, they tailed Chris’s car through the streets of San Diego, keeping a safe distance like they were undercover FBI agents.

“Dude, he drives so slow,” Matt muttered.

“He’s got a kid in the car,” Nick reminded him.

Chris’s car eventually pulled into a quiet neighborhood. They watched from a few houses down as he got out, lifting Adriana from her car seat while Aaliyah walked ahead into the house.

There he was. Their little brother. Right in front of them.

Nick and Matt sat in silence for a moment, watching Chris disappear into the house.

“…So now what?” Matt asked.

Nick sighed, rubbing his face. “I have no idea.”

They had tracked him down. But getting him back? That was going to take more than an AirTag. Nick and Matt sat in the car, staring at Chris’s new house like two FBI agents on a stakeout.

“We should just go knock on the door,” Matt said.

Nick turned to him with the most are-you-stupid expression he could muster. “Yeah, great idea, Matt. And then Aaliyah calls the cops, we get arrested for trespassing, and Chris has even more of a reason to cut us off.”

Matt groaned, slumping in his seat. “Then what do we do, genius?”

Nick drummed his fingers on the dashboard, thinking. “We need a plan.”

“You need a plan,” Matt corrected. “I was ready to storm HomeGoods.”

Nick ignored him, watching the house. Chris had gone inside, but his car was still parked in the driveway. That meant he wasn’t planning on going anywhere soon.

“I say we wait a little,” Nick suggested. “Maybe catch him when he takes the trash out or something.”

Matt scoffed. “You really think Aaliyah lets Chris take out the trash?”

“…Good point.”

The two sat in silence for another minute, watching the house like professional spies. Then, Matt suddenly perked up. “Wait! I got it.”

Nick sighed. “Oh God.”

“No, seriously, listen,” Matt said, eyes lighting up. “What if we order him a pizza?”

Nick blinked. “What?”

“Think about it,” Matt said excitedly. “We send a pizza to his house, but when the delivery guy shows up, we’re the delivery guys.”

Nick stared at him for a long moment. “You want us… to pretend to be Domino’s?”

Matt grinned. “Exactly.”

“…That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Well, what’s your great idea?”

Nick thought about it for a second. “…I can’t believe you’re going to make me do this..”

Matt smiled. “I mean, what’s he gonna do? Not open the door for a pizza?”

Twenty Minutes Later

Nick and Matt stood outside Chris’s front door, decked out in their very professional pizza delivery disguises— which consisted of the sweats they were already wearing, baseball caps and sunglasses they found in the car.

“This is so stupid… we don’t even look like delivery guys, and when have you ever seen 2 people deliver 1 pizza.,” Nick muttered.

Matt knocked on the door. “Too late now.”

Footsteps. The door cracked open.

Chris stood there. His face was unreadable, just… staring at them.

Nick cleared his throat. “Uh. Pizza delivery?”

Chris blinked.

Matt held up the box. “Large pepperoni?”

Still nothing. Chris just stared. His expression unreadable, like he couldn’t decide if this was actually happening or if he was hallucinating from stress.

Then— footsteps.

Aaliyah’s voice, getting closer. “Chris? Who’s at the door?”

Chris’s eyes widened. Without hesitation, he snatched the pizza box out of Matt’s hands, shoved a crumpled twenty-dollar bill at them, and slammed the door shut.

Nick and Matt stood there, frozen.

“…Did he just—”

“—Yeah.”

A long silence.

Matt sniffled. “At least he paid for the pizza.”

Nick and Matt stood there in stunned silence, staring at the closed door like it had just personally betrayed them.

“…Did he seriously just take the pizza and shut the door in our faces?” Nick finally asked, his voice full of disbelief.

Matt sniffed dramatically. “Not even a ‘Hey guys, I miss you’ or ‘Wow, thanks for risking your dignity to bring me pizza.’ Just boom— door in the face.”

Nick crossed his arms. “Unbelievable. We raised him better than this.”

Matt turned to him. “We didn’t raise him.”

“We basically did,” Nick argued. “I mean, we share DNA. That’s like— I don’t know, a third of parenting.”

Matt rubbed his temples. “Okay, genius, what now? Because our brilliant plan just ended with us getting paid like actual pizza delivery guys.”

Nick thought for a second, then smirked. “We spy.”

Matt groaned. “Nick, we can’t just spy on him.”

Nick pointed at him. “That’s exactly what we can do.”

Inside the House

Chris stood in his living room, holding the pizza box like it was a bomb about to go off. Across from him, Aaliyah was eyeing him suspiciously.

“Who was that?” she asked, arms crossed.

Chris forced a laugh. “Uh… just the pizza guy.”

Aaliyah narrowed her eyes. “They looked weirdly familiar.”

Chris shrugged, opening the box as casually as possible. “Yeah, I dunno. Maybe you’ve just seen too many pizza guys.”

She didn’t look convinced, but before she could question him further, their daughter Adriana toddled in, saw the pizza, and gasped dramatically. “PIZZA!”

Chris immediately seized the distraction. “Yes! Pizza! Let’s eat!”

Aaliyah shot him one last suspicious look but let it go, sitting down at the table. Chris let out a quiet breath of relief.

He had barely gotten away with that.

Meanwhile…

Nick and Matt were crouched in the bushes outside like two of the worst spies in history.

Nick held up his phone, zooming in on Chris’s window. “I can see him. He’s eating our pizza like we’re just some random Uber Eats drivers.”

Matt sighed, adjusting his position. “Do you think he’s actually okay? I mean… the dude flinched when we showed up.”

Nick’s face hardened. “No. He’s not okay.”

Matt looked at him. “Then what do we do?”

Nick exhaled, watching through the window as Chris laughed at something Adriana said. It was forced. Fake.

Nick shook his head. “We get him back.”

Chris sat at the dining table, picking at his slice of pizza while Aaliyah scrolled through her phone across from him. Adriana was happily munching on a piece of crust, humming some tune she made up. The moment should have felt normal, domestic even, but Chris couldn’t shake the tension in his chest.

Aaliyah had barely said a word to him since he sat down. That was never a good sign.

Finally, she set her phone down with a sigh and looked at him. “So, who was really at the door?”

Chris froze mid-bite. “I told you. The pizza guy.”

Aaliyah leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. “Chris. I’m not stupid.”

Chris swallowed hard, feeling the familiar dread creep up his spine. He kept his tone even. “Ali, it was just the pizza guy.”

She stared at him, unblinking. “Then why did you look like you saw a ghost when you opened the door?”

Chris’s grip on his crust tightened. “I—” He scrambled for an excuse. “I wasn’t expecting the food to come that fast.”

Aaliyah scoffed. “Bullshit.”

Adriana looked up at the word. “Bullshit!” she repeated cheerfully.

Chris and Aaliyah both whipped their heads toward her.

“Adi, no,” Chris said quickly, eyes wide. “That’s a bad word.”

Adriana just giggled and went back to eating, completely unbothered.

Aaliyah sighed in frustration and pushed her plate away. “Look, I don’t know what you’re hiding, but if I find out you went behind my back, Chris…” She trailed off, letting the weight of her words hang in the air.

Chris forced himself to meet her gaze, nodding as if he wasn’t completely unraveling inside. “I swear, I’m not hiding anything.”

Aaliyah studied him for another long moment before finally leaning back in her chair. “Good. Because I’m so sick of feeling like I can’t trust you.”

Chris nodded again, chewing his food mechanically, pretending her words didn’t feel like a slow knife to the gut.

Lying to Aaliyah never ended well.

But telling the truth?

That could be even worse.

Chris lay in bed that night, staring at the ceiling, his mind racing. He could still feel the weight of Aaliyah’s stare from dinner, like she had burned her suspicion into his skin. He knew her too well—she wasn’t going to drop it. She was going to watch him, wait for him to slip up.

And if she found out Nick and Matt had been here?

He didn’t even want to think about what would happen.

Aaliyah shifted beside him, scrolling on her phone, the brightness illuminating her face in the dim room.

“Chris,” she said suddenly, not looking away from the screen.

His whole body tensed. “Yeah?”

“You changed your passcode.”

Chris’s heart nearly stopped.

“What?” he asked, forcing confusion into his voice.

Aaliyah turned her phone off and looked at him. “I tried to check something earlier, and it was different.”

Chris swallowed. He had changed it—just last week. He had told himself it was just to have a little privacy, just in case. But now, hearing Aaliyah say it out loud, it felt like he had committed a crime.

“I—I must’ve forgotten to tell you,” he said quickly. “I can change it back.”

Aaliyah didn’t blink. “Why’d you change it in the first place?”

Chris felt the mattress beneath him turn into quicksand. “I don’t know. Just… thought I should.”

Aaliyah sat up slightly, tilting her head. “You don’t know?” she repeated, voice sharp.

Chris exhaled, rubbing his face. “Ali, it’s not a big deal. You can have the new one.”

“That’s not the point, Chris,” she snapped. “The point is you didn’t tell me. You hid it. What else are you hiding?”

Chris clenched his jaw. This was how it always went—she would dig and dig until he had nothing left to give. Until she backed him into a corner so tight he couldn’t breathe.

“You know what? Forget it,” she said bitterly, throwing the blanket off her legs as she got up.

Chris sat up. “Ali—”

“I’m taking a shower,” she cut him off, grabbing a towel and heading to the bathroom.

The second the door shut, Chris let out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. He rubbed his hands over his face, heart pounding.

This wasn’t going to end here.

She wasn’t going to let it go.

And if she kept pushing—if she really figured out what he was hiding—he was screwed.

The night had settled into a deep silence, the kind that made every creak in the house sound louder than it should. Chris stood in his bedroom, staring out the window, watching the headlights of a car parked at the end of the driveway. Matt and Nick had been sitting out there for what felt like forever, looking like they had no intention of leaving anytime soon.

Chris swallowed hard. He knew what this meant—they weren’t giving up. They were here, outside his house, waiting for him to make a decision. Waiting for him to tell them what was really going on.

But he wasn’t ready. Not yet.

He took a deep breath, leaning against the window frame. His pulse quickened as he saw Matt and Nick talking, their heads close together, probably strategizing, probably trying to figure out how they were going to get him to crack.

They weren’t going to leave without a fight.

Chris glanced around the room, his mind racing. He knew he had to get out there, but not yet—not yet.

With a quick glance over his shoulder, he quietly opened his bedroom door, trying not to make a sound. The last thing he needed was Aaliyah hearing him sneak out.

He tiptoed down the hallway, his heart pounding in his chest. When he reached the front door, he peeked out through the blinds and saw Matt and Nick standing by the car, looking up at the house like they were expecting him.

Come on, Chris, he thought. Just tell them to go.

He reached for the door handle and quietly stepped outside, the cool air hitting him like a shock to his system. He carefully closed the door behind him, not wanting to alert Aaliyah to his movements.

“Matt. Nick,” he called out in a low voice, his heart pounding in his ears.

They both turned, surprised, but their faces softened when they saw it was him. Nick’s eyes widened, and Matt’s face immediately lit up.

“There you are, man!” Nick said, his voice a mix of relief and frustration. “We’ve been waiting for hours. What the hell, dude?”

Chris held up a hand, glancing around nervously. “What are you doing here?” he whispered. “You need to go. Now.”

Matt leaned forward. “Chris, you’re not fooling anyone. We know something’s going on. You’re not okay, and we can see it.”

Chris shook his head, taking a step back toward the house. “I can’t do this right now. Aaliyah’s in there. If she finds out, it’s over.”

Nick crossed his arms. “What’s over? I mean, seriously Chris, you really think you can just cut us off like this and act like nothing’s wrong?”

Chris clenched his fists at his sides. “I don’t have a choice. You need to leave.”

Matt took another step closer. “Chris—”

Chris cut him off, his voice harder now. “Listen to me! You need to go.”

There was a long silence as Nick and Matt exchanged glances, both of them looking like they were weighing their options. Chris could see the concern in their eyes, but he also saw the frustration, the hurt… and the fact that they weren’t going to leave without something…anything from him.

“Fine,” Chris muttered, his voice quieter now. “Meet me tomorrow. Denny’s. Midnight.”

Nick raised an eyebrow. “Denny’s?”

“Yeah, Denny’s,” Chris snapped, not having the energy to argue. “I’ll meet you there, but right now, I need you to leave.”

Matt looked like he wanted to say something, but Chris didn’t give him the chance.

“Just go,” he urged, his tone softer. “Please.”

Nick let out a frustrated sigh but nodded. “Fine. We’ll be there.”

With that, Chris turned and walked quickly back toward the house, not daring to look back. He could hear them talking in hushed voices behind him, but he didn’t want to hear it.

When he closed the door behind him, his heart was still racing. He stood there for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts. He couldn’t believe he had agreed to meet them.

But he knew he had no choice. They were his brothers, and no matter what he had to do to protect his daughter, they had to know the truth.

He had to face it sooner or later.

He just hoped tomorrow didn’t come too soon.

Chris barely slept that night. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Matt and Nick standing outside, their faces full of concern, their words echoing in his head. We know something’s wrong.

He knew they wouldn’t let this go.

By the time morning rolled around, Chris felt like a zombie. Aaliyah barely looked at him as she got ready for the day, which, honestly, was a blessing. The last thing he needed was her picking up on his nerves.

“Don’t forget, we have a meeting with the interior designer at three,” she reminded him flatly as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

Chris simply nodded, staring at the steam rising from her mug, pretending to care.

“Also,” Aaliyah continued, scrolling through her phone, “I want to start looking at preschools for Adriana soon. Somewhere nice, not one of those basic-ass ones where they just let the kids finger paint all day.”

Chris blinked, forcing himself to engage. “Yeah… makes sense.”

Aaliyah side-eyed him. “You good? You look like shit.”

Chris forced a laugh. “Didn’t sleep well.”

Aaliyah just hummed in response, clearly uninterested in further conversation. Good.

Chris kept his routine as normal as possible. He helped Adriana with breakfast, took a shower, and went through the motions of his day. But the whole time, his mind was stuck on one thing—midnight at Denny’s.

The hours dragged. Every minute felt like an eternity. He spent the day dodging Aaliyah’s mood swings, pretending to care about kitchen backsplash colors, and making sure he didn’t say the wrong thing. By the time night rolled around, he was exhausted.

Adriana was asleep by ten. Aaliyah crashed not long after, but Chris waited. He had to be sure she was fully out before he made a move.

By 11:30, the house was dead silent.

Chris sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the clock, his leg bouncing anxiously. He knew sneaking out was a risk, but he had to do it.

Carefully, he stood up, tiptoeing to the dresser where he had left his keys earlier. He held his breath as he picked them up, terrified that the small clink of metal would wake her.

Nothing.

He exhaled slowly and moved toward the bedroom door.

One step.

Two steps.

Aaliyah stirred slightly in bed, shifting onto her side. Chris froze, barely breathing, waiting to see if she would wake up.

After a few long seconds, she was still.

Chris pushed forward.

He slipped out of the bedroom and down the hall, avoiding the floorboards he knew would creak. His heart was pounding so hard he swore it would wake the whole damn house.

By the time he made it to the front door, his hands were shaking. He slowly twisted the doorknob, wincing at the faint click as it unlocked.

The night air hit him like a wave.

He did it. He was out.

Chris didn’t waste a second. He jogged to his car, started the engine as quietly as possible, and rolled out of the driveway. As soon as he was a few blocks away, he finally let out the breath he had been holding.

Almost there.

—

The Denny’s parking lot was nearly empty when he pulled in. The neon lights buzzed softly, casting a yellow glow over the pavement.

Inside, at a booth near the window, sat Matt and Nick.

Chris parked and took a second to compose himself. He checked his phone.

11:58 PM.

Perfect timing.

He stepped out of the car and made his way inside.

As soon as Matt and Nick saw him, they both sat up straighter.

Chris slid into the booth across from them.

Nobody said anything at first.

Nick was the first to break the silence. “You actually came.”

Chris let out a humorless laugh. “Yeah. Guess I did.”

Matt leaned forward. “Chris… what the hell is going on?”

Chris stared down at the table. His fingers traced the edge of the menu, his mind scrambling for the right words.

He had been avoiding this conversation for so long.

But sitting here, across from his brothers—the two people who had been with him since birth—he realized something.

He didn’t have to do this alone.

Chris swallowed hard, finally looking up at them.

“I need help.”

Chapter 4

A/N:

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