24

Graham Birch

I guess I could say that the next few days blew by quickly. Spencer went to Amelda Sherman's trial to support her. And to no one's surprise, she won her case against him.

Spencer was waiting for another long trial to come. But Fergus, his old boss, ended up just giving him a large settlement. Apparently, he just wanted to get everything done. And from what Spencer has told me, Fergus has lost his job, his wife, and most of his friends.

So, where does that leave us? Together. Because throughout this entire time, we stuck next to each other. I was there for Spencer, and he was there for me.

We left LA after that and returned home. Juniper was eager to greet me, jumping on me and licking my face. Holly was... somewhat eager to see Spencer. Though, that just might be how cats are.

Life returned back to how it was. Well, kind of. Spencer and I knew that we wanted to strengthen our relationship.

"Uh, Spencer?" I asked him. He was cooking something in the kitchen and waved at me to tell me he was listening.

"Yeah?"

"Now that the trial is done, what do you plan on doing? Got any jobs aligned?" I asked. "I mean- I'm not saying I'm getting tired of you! Obviously! It's just, well, staying inside must be getting boring for you!" I word-vomited out.

He let out a chuckle. "I'm thinking of something." He said. "For now, I want to spend this time just getting my mental health back in shape."

I set up the table and then fed Juniper and Holly.

Spencer poured the almond milk I made him into his coffee.

"And what about you, Graham? Anything you've got planned?"

"Work." I said. "Oh, my sister! She's visiting soon!" I told him.

"Really? Am I going to get a chance to meet them?"

I nodded. "Yes! My sister has been dying to meet you! She's also bringing her husband and daughter."

Spencer and I finished our food and then went our separate ways. He stayed indoors while I went out and got my hands dirty.

"Looks like the pears are ready for harvest!" Someone yelled. I turned and saw Rick Ginkgo walking towards me with a trolley.

"A delivery?" I asked.

"Yes." He replied. I opened it and pulled out a small box. "What is it?" He asked.

I scanned the package inside. "I think it's some book..." I muttered.

As I picked it up, I saw it had my name and... Clancy, my older brother. I slowly lowered the book while Rick looked at me confused.

"Something wrong?" He asked.

"N-No." I stuttered. "It's just, nothing." I said. Rick raised an eyebrow but didn't pry.

"I should head out. Let me know when we can do a double date again. Emile has been wanting to share some recipes with Spencer."

"Yeah, sure." I muttered. Rick left while I took a seat on a chair and looked at the book.

I knew what it was. It was a photo book that our mom made for us when we were growing up. I scanned the pages and saw that different photos from different memories were plastered on the scrap book.

At the end of the book, there was a handwritten note that was new.

'Graham. I know that what I did was unforgiveable. I hope one day we can go back to how things were. I hope we can be brothers again.'

He spelt unforgivable wrong. I don't know why that was the first thing I thought of. The biggest thing I should be thinking about is how did he get my address?

Surely my sister didn't give it to him, right? My sister hasn't spoken to my brother ever since that night. She only talks to my parents because my parents, being who they are, are probably holding something over her head.

They did it to me. And they'll definitely do it to her.

"Juniper, how good are you at barking?" I asked him. Juniper had his tongue out while looking at me. "Not good, I guess."

I knew if he knew my address to send me a package, he could come here.

My hands began to freeze as the book was open on the page of the two of us hugging one another during a trip. We were all smiles. Anyone could look at this photo and think we'd be brothers forever.

Flashes from that night began to go through my head. I could still remember the loud fireworks and my mouth faintly tasted like fruit punch.

Juniper had begun to rub his head on my torso. I rubbed his soft fur, trying to calm myself down.

Despite this, I had to get up and continue working. I didn't dare to touch the book again. Only to bring it inside and put it under the couch.

Spencer came around with Holly and joined us for dinner. I found it funny how Holly already had his own spot next to Juniper's bowl.

"Graham!" Spencer shouted. I jumped and turned to him. "You've been spacing out for a while. Is something on your mind?" He asked.

"Uh," I stuttered.

He already knows what happened between me and my brother. And I want Spencer to know everything since he was open to everything that happened to him.

"My brother sent me something." I said. Spencer stopped and his face dropped.

"How did he find out where you live?" He asked.

"I was wondering that too." I replied.

"Something feels off." He said. He sat and began to serve the food. "I'll be on the lookout since I'm always home. I'll let you know if anything happens."

"Got it." I said.

"It's clear that your brother is trying to get back into your life. Whether he's doing it for good or bad intentions, I don't know. But I never trust a Greek bearing gifts, so we should keep our senses up." Spencer said.

"How can you tell?" I asked.

"Growing up in LA, around all types of poshy people, you're able to distinguish people who give free lunches and those with actual good intentions. Because no matter what, they will always hold an olive branch and sword in both hands." He told me. "Now, eat your food!"

After dinner, I showed the book that my brother had sent me to Spencer. He was quiet as he scanned through all the pages.

"What should I do with it?" I asked when he finished looking at the pages.

"Hm," He pondered for a bit. "Do any of these memories bring you any sort of joy?" He asked.

"No, not really." I truthfully replied. "I just feel indifferent now. I know they're just memories now and that I'll never feel like I did back then now."

Spencer then had a small smirk on his face. "Then why don't we burn it?" He suggested.

I raised an eyebrow. It didn't sound like a bad idea. It's not like I have any attachment to a few photos.

"Yeah, let's do it." I said.

Spencer eagerly lit up the fire pit outside, making sure the fire was big enough.

"Here, you do the honors. Do you want to burn each picture individually or throw the whole thing?" He asked.

I opened the book and pulled out a few photos. "Let's start small." I spoke.

I threw the first few pictures in the fire. Each one burned away into nothing but ashes. Part of me grew sad at seeing it. But another part just wanted to end this.

After throwing a few more, I decided to throw the entire book inside. I saw bits of tissue paper rising up and glitter started to sparkle. This was what I needed to do.

"Better?" Spencer asked me.

"Much better." I said, letting out a large sigh of relief. "I feel like a bunch of weight got lifted off my chest."

"Let's head inside." Spencer said, grabbing my hand and taking us in.

As soon as we ended up on the couch, Spencer climbed on top of me and began to kiss me. I leaned back on the couch as he firmly planted himself on my lap.

"Spencer..." I moaned out as his lips ended up on my neck.

"Does that feel good?" he asked softly, muttering into my ear. Spencer bit on the area under my ear.

"Yeah," I grunted out. My hands went down to grab him from behind.

He pulled away and looked at me.

"Graham, do you want to do it tonight?" he asked, his face turning red.

I nodded quickly without a second thought. "Yeah. I've been wanting to ask you for a while but didn't know how to bring it up." I replied.

Spencer placed a kiss on my forehead.

"Let's go to your bed. I don't feel comfortable with the animals watching us."

I turned my head to the left and saw Juniper and Holly were also on the couch and looking at us. I felt embarrassed.

"Right." I said. Spencer's legs tightened around my waist. I stood up and carried us upstairs while still kissing.

As I set him on the bed, I took in a good look at the man I had fallen for. Spencer began to undress in front of me. While I wasn't sure if I was ready, I knew I wanted him regardless.