Coming Home (Pierpoint View #1)

Chapter Twenty-Six - Brooks

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Brooks

I finally have more than one day between games and I have enough of a break to do what I’ve been wanting to do for the past month.

After practice this morning, I drove back to the apartment, not even staying for my usual meal with the guys. I pack a bag, shove whatever’s clean into it and head back down to the truck, waving to the old man next door whose just got home. He flipped me off, which is to be expected, we did just beat Edmonton in a game last night five to one.

I take my phone out my pocket, dialing Gray’s number, and just as I think he’s not going to answer and I’ll be sent to voicemail, he finally picks up.

“What?” His gruff voice sounds over the phone. I wish I could say that him answering the phone as if he hates me is a result of what happened with Summer but he’s always answered the phone to everyone like this. He’s never much liked how much people rely on phones.

“Hey, are you free today?” I ask, exiting the elevator, heading to the truck.

“No. ”

“Are you still pissed at me?” I ask. I thought once I’d asked Fred to help with Summer forgiving the others, Gray wouldn’t be so mad at me.

“Yes.” He pauses. “Not really.”

I look up at the sky, asking for patience with this man. “So are you free or no?” I say, slamming the car door behind me.

I hear him let out a deep sigh on the other end of the phone, “Yes. Why?”

“I’m getting a flight to town, I need you to pick me up from the city.”

“Are you going to say please?”

God give me strength. “Please, Grayson, can you pick me up from the airport?”

“Why are you coming home?” he asks.

“I have something to do, so is that a yes or not?” I ask, completely exasperated by this whole conversation.

“Fine, send my your flight details.” And then he hangs up.

A place my phone in the cup holder, ignoring the buzz that I’m sure is either the guy’s or Grayson and keep driving to the airport, my mind only on one thing.

Making amends with Summer. I need this girl in my life and I’m going to make damn sure she knows it.

The flight is only under 2 hours long, but it felt like 10. There was a father with two young kids sitting behind me and they were causing havoc the whole flight. They can’t have even been school age, still very young, but they were everywhere. One of them even climbed round to my row of seats and started messing around in the seat next to me that was empty.

He was cute for a kid, but I don’t know how anyone can handle two kids on a plane by themselves, especially those two.

It was even havoc getting into the airport, I was so focused on getting a flight that I hadn’t even booked a seat on yet that I forgot that it was well into the hockey season and I wasn’t wearing a single thing that could hide my identity, hell I was even wearing a Coyotes t-shirt. It got to the point where airport security had to guide me through the whole airport until I got to my gate.

Not the best start.

And now… Grayson is late.

As soon as I got the details of my flight, I sent them over to him, he just sent a thumbs up emoji, the best I can hope for him at this point.

But now, I’m on Vancouver soil but my brother is nowhere to be seen and I’ve been waiting here for nearly an hour. I even had to rifle through my bag to find something to put on that could try and disguise me, at least a little bit. It doesn’t stop the long furtive looks and the whispering aimed my way though.

I call him but no answer.

“Fucking Grayson.”

Just as I go to head into the airport to try and rent a car, I see Grayson in his new truck. He bought one after I wailed on him about how he needed to get his own truck now he’s back for good and he finally relented.

“About fucking time.”

“Just get in,” he says, one hand hanging out the window, a cigarette between his fingers.

“Put it out, Gray.” Is all I say.

He ignores me and purposefully takes a puff, letting it out in my direction. “ You sound like Alex.”

I fan the smoke away. “Yeah, she talks a lot of sense.”

“That she does,” he says slowly. He throws the butt out the window and closes it, the car warming up now that the cool winter air isn’t flooding in. “Why are you here anyway?”

“I told you, I have something to do.” I shrug, enjoying the plush leather of the seats on his truck in comparison to my own.

“If it has something to do with Summer—”

I interrupt him before he can ream me out again, “I know, you said to leave her alone—”

“I think you should it.”

“But I can’t not talk to her, she hasn’t answered my calls—”

“I said you should, she deserves an explanation.”

“And I need to talk to her, tell her my side before she makes the decision to right me off. Wait…”

“Brooks, she told me she wanted to speak to you too.”

I stare at the side of his face, not believing him. “Are you fucking with me?”

He tuts and says, “No. I wouldn’t mess around with this.”

It’s the best news I think I’ve been given since I found out I could return to hockey. She still hasn’t answered any of my calls or texts though so if she wanted to speak to me wouldn’t she do that already, I’ve made myself pretty clear that I want to hear from her.

“Why won’t she answer my calls then?” I ask.

He shoves my shoulder and I almost hit my head on the window beside me. “What the fuck was that for?”

“I don’t gossip,” he says, eyes never leaving the road.

“Don’t tell me this shit then,” I say rubbing my shoulder. It’s the newly healed one but every now and again, it still twinges a little, especially when it gets shoved by an asshole.

“How are you doing anyway?” I ask. It’s not often Gray and I have heart to hearts, we’re not that close, but I do like to check in on him from time to time. I mean, don’t get me wrong, we’re closer than we were but there’s only so much progress we can make when we’re in different provinces majority of the year.

“I’m fine.”

“Oh really? Then whats with the attitude?”

He huffs, his scarred hands tightening around the steering wheel. “Alex asked me what we were the other day.”

“And..?” I ask, not understanding the issue. They were basically a married couple at this point, at least that’s what Summer would tell me before she started ignoring me and from what I’ve seen, as corny as it sounds, they seem perfect for each other.

“And? What do you mean and? I don’t know what we are, I thought we were just having fun.” He shrugs.

I raise an eyebrow, “Are you dumb?” I ask. Just having fun? I know neither of them thought this was just fun.

“Don’t give me shit just because I gave you shit. I’m serious.”

“I think you’re more a dick than I am, if you think that. Summer and I hadn’t even got together but you and Alex, you’ve been joined at the hip for the best part of a year. Hell, you’ve slept together for fucks sake.”

I love my brother but we’re cut from the same cloth it seems, we both seem to have trouble when it comes to women.

“Shut up. ”

“No! What did you say when she asked you?”

“I didn’t say anything, she kind of just got up and left,” he says, shrugging.

“Have you spoken to her since?”

He shakes his head. “I didn’t know how to approach it.”

I laugh at him, at us, about how we’re both in the same situation as each other. Grayson doesn’t look pleased at the humor I find in his situation.

“Will you shut up? This isn’t funny.” He pouts like a child that didn’t get it’s way.

“I just find it funny that you called me, reamed me out for doing the exact same thing you’ve just done.”

“It’s not the same thing. You lied to her, turned her against the town.”

“That’s a little dramatic, Gray.”

“It’s not, it’s exactly what happened,” he says.

“At least I’m fixing my mistake. What are you doing?” I reply.

He shoves me again. “Fuck off, and help me figure it out. You know I can’t—” He cuts himself off.

I know what he’s trying to say. Since coming back from the Navy, he’s been shut off emotionally. He doesn’t speak about what happened, but I know it was something bad, hence why he started going to Alex in the first place.

“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to help me plan my apology and I’ll help you plan yours.”

He looks at me, aghast. “What the hell do I need to apologize for?”

I give him an incredulous look, “Are you serious?”

The rest of the drive to town was spent going round and round in circles, me trying to help Grayson understand where he went wrong and what he should do to rectify the situation, him trying to defend himself even though he knows he’s wrong because he can’t admit that we both made a similar mistake.