The Seasons

Chapter 12

Warren frowned at his partner but didn’t say anything. All eyes landed on Summer as he awkwardly stood up, climbed over the table to the drinks, and grabbed the vodka. He silently poured himself shots one after the other and drowned them. Autumn frowned, he was about to stand up to stop him, but Neo grabbed his arm and shook his head. Autumn desperately turned to look at Summer, who poured another shot and drowned it. But he begrudgingly sat down.

“Ah, s**t, man,” Blue whined, frowning. “I was so close too. Warren, come on, we’re leaving.”

The duo left the bar hand in hand, which was the cue for the majority to leave. Wing, Cairo and Thorne all left, with father and son arguing and Wing being the mediator. Alexander and Micah went to the back, returned with their boys sleeping in their arms, and left.

While the rest piled out, Jem and Grey set up for the cafe. They swapped some decorations and pulled the two rolled-up paintings from the wall. They covered the bottles of alcohol behind the bar while adding colour to the cafe. They swapped the tissues for dried flowers in vases, wiped everything down, and sorted out the seats. Autumn silently watched Summer get drunk. When his face turned red, and he slowly started slurring his words, Autumn stopped him, much to Summer’s annoyance.

Autumn held Summer around the waist as he turned to look at Grey and Jem. “I’m taking him home, and if I'm not sleepy, I’ll return to help.”

“It’s fine, Autumn. You should look after the drunk one. Winter said he would come help.”

“No, not him. He had his heat. He needs to rest and take his injection. If he comes back, send him home with someone,” Autumn said, frowning. “Don’t let him stay.”

“Yes, we get it.

“Oh, and make sure you two get some rest too. I don’t know how long you’ve been awake but don’t over-exert yourselves, especially you, Grey.”

Jem sighed but nodded. “We got it, Autumn. Take Summer home, get some food and water, and let him rest.”

Autumn eyed the boys once more and nodded before he gently picked Summer up and left the bar. It didn’t take long for him to reach their house, and he went in, shutting the door behind him. He went straight to Summer’s room, placed him on the bed, and removed his slippers.

He turned around and planned to get himself food and water, but Summer grabbed his hand. “Don’t go, Autumn,” he slurred. “Please, stay with me.”

Autumn smiled a little. “I’m only going to get you some water. I’ll be right back, I promise.”

He grabbed some water and returned to the room to see Summer under the duvet. Leaning up against the white headboard, he lazily smiled when his eyes landed on him. He held his hands out, and Autumn sighed, walking up to the bed and giving him the glass. He took a seat beside him as the two men watched one another.

“Why did you drink so much, Summer?”

“I wanted to.” Autumn wasn’t sure what type of response he was expecting, but this wasn’t it.

“Summer, what is going on with you?”

“I want Slaine to bite me. I want to be a vampire,” he mumbled. “I want to be with you. I don’t want to die first and leave everyone behind. I don’t want to leave you behind.”

Autumn frowned when he felt his phone buzz in his picky, but he ignored it to stare at Summer’s flushed cheeks and hazy eyes. He missed it, and it stopped buzzing. Until it buzzed again, he groaned as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, and his heart jumped into his throat when he saw the caller ID.

How long had it been since he last spoke to her? Ten years? Twelve? His hands trembled as he slid the answer button. He was quiet when he heard her voice, his eyes glued on Summer, who was beginning to fall asleep.

“Hi, mom,” he whispered as he stood up, but his eyes landed on Summer’s hand clinging to his shirt. Smiling faintly, he sat back down and readjusted Summer so he was sleeping more comfortably.

“There’s someone I want you to meet.”

He blinked a few times as the words settled in. “Oh?” he whispered.

“Yes. She’s from a nice family, respectable too. Autumn, You’re in your thirties now. You should be married by now. You’ve disappointed us once by running off with your friends to run that stupid bar. The least you can do now is marry that girl.”

Oh. Oh. Oh.

He stared down at Summer and his hands which were still tightly clinging to his shirt, and then he focused on his mother’s voice as she continued talking about this woman. Autumn had already disappointed them enough, and when she compared him to his older brother, he returned to his senses. Of course, no matter how hard he tried, his brother, Sam, would always outshine him. In his parents’ eyes, Autumn running The Seasons was a disappointment, unlike their older son, who worked for Rex Superno. And he blinked back tears as he ran his hand through Summer’s hair.

“I’ll meet her,” he rasped. “Just text me the details.”

~*~