Thwarted - 43. Chapter Forty-Three

“I can’t believe Jackie outed you to your dad. I thought she supported you.”

Mark leaned back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.

“I don’t know what the hell is going on with her. She’s suddenly acting like all she cares about is Dad’s approval.” Mark rolled on his side and propped himself up on one arm. “I’m serious Trey. She seemed to enjoy hurting me.”

“Do you think it’s just grief?”

“I don’t know; I’m hoping maybe Brent will have some answers for me.”

“When is he supposed to get there?”

“No clue.” Mark groaned and raked his hand over his face. “He said he had to take care of a few things and then he’d be here.”

“Are you going to be okay?”

“I don’t really have much choice, do I?” The last thing he wanted to do was worry Trey more than he already was, but he wasn’t going to lie to him. He suspected he wasn’t going to like anything Brent told him, but he’d deal with it, no matter how much it hurt. “At least I’m not being blindsided this time and am actually expecting to hear the worst.”

“I’m sure Mom or Dad would be there if you wanted them to.”

Mark didn’t doubt it. Unfortunately, they weren’t who he wanted by his side. He understood why Trey wasn’t there, and there wasn’t anything they could do about it, but while it was comforting to have Gary and Diane on his side, there was no substitute for Trey. He wasn’t about to tell him that, though.

“I know they would be, but I’ll be okay. I suspect Brent isn’t doing too well either and he doesn’t know your parents. He might not be comfortable talking in front of them.” It was an excuse, nothing more, but it was true enough. Besides, Mark wanted a chance to talk privately with Brent.

“I’m sorry I can’t be there.” Mark could hear the anguish in Trey’s voice. “Damn it! This fuckin’ sucks. If you were my spouse I’d be able to take emergency leave.”

“The military wouldn’t recognize a marriage between us.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I do, and you’re right. It sucks, but it is what it is.” Mark slid off the bed and walked over to the window. He needed to move, be doing something. Waiting around for Brent was driving him nuts. The only thing making it tolerable was talking to Trey. He pushed the heavy drapes aside and glanced out, hoping to see Brent and Jackie’s car in the parking lot. “I wonder if Brent knew.”

“Knew what?”

“Huh?” Damn, he must have spoken that last thought aloud. “Oh, I was just wondering if Brent had any idea how Jackie actually felt or if he was as surprised as I was.”

“I don’t know. I’m guessing it was a shock to him too. I mean, if he already knew, why would he be coming to talk to you?”

“True.” Mark let the drapes fall back into place and moved back to the bed. He flopped down on his back and stared up at the ceiling. “What do you think he wants to talk about?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. Most likely what happened at your dad’s.”

“He’s not my dad.” Mark swallowed, Gary’s words echoing in his mind. Diane had been out of the room when Gary had confronted David and hadn’t heard everything that was said, which meant Trey most likely didn’t know. Somehow he doubted they were just words to Gary, the man had meant them. “Trey, your Dad”—Mark swallowed hard—“stepped in when things started going bad.”

“I’m not surprised. Dad can get pretty protective; do I even want to know what happened?”

“He told, let’s just call him David, he’d be dealing with him if he touched his son again.” He still couldn’t believe it. He’d known Diane and Gary were there to support him, but that went above and beyond.

“Okay, I don’t think Dad meant to upset you by calling you his son.” Trey sounded confused. “Do you want me to talk to Dad?”

“No! It didn’t upset me. It just surprised me, still does actually. I just wasn’t expecting it.” Mark shrugged, forgetting for a moment Trey couldn’t see him. “We went to leave and that’s when I found out they had Mom cremated before I could get there.”

“I still say that’s bullshit. I can’t understand why Jackie would do something like that to you. You’re her brother.”

Mark bit back the words. He still wasn’t going to tell Trey the so called reasons Jackie had given. He about wept in relief when his phone beeped with another incoming call, saving him from answering. He glanced at the screen and saw Brent’s name displayed.

“Hey, Brent’s calling, can I call you back?”

“Of course. Call me as soon as you’re done. Love you.”

“Love you too.” Mark clicked over to Brent and was suddenly nervous. He had to clear his voice before he was able to speak. “Hello?”

“Hey Mark.” Brent sounded tired. “I’m on my way.”

“You okay?” Tired wasn’t even the word for it, Brent sounded exhausted.

“I’m”—Brent must have exhaled into the phone—“I don’t know what I am. It should take me about ten minutes or so to get there and we can talk.”

“Okay. I’ll text you the room number.” He could just tell him, but with the way Brent sounded, Mark wasn’t sure he’d remember it.

“That works.”

The phone went dead. Mark texted the room number and headed to the bathroom to clean up. He didn’t know how long this little meeting with Brent was going to last, but he didn’t want any interruptions. He was back in the bedroom lying on the bed when the knock on his door sounded. He rolled to his feet and strode over, pulling it over. So much for no distractions.

He’d expected Brent, he hadn’t expected for Brent to have Matthew with him. He also hadn’t expected Brent to have bags with him. His brother-in-law looked up at him, red-rimmed eyes telling him more than words that things were beyond bad.

“Can we stay with you tonight?”