Something in the Way He Needs (Family 1)

Holy shit, what had he done? If Daniel hadn’t been planning to leave him to join BWI, he’d no doubt do it now, even if it wasn’t to go on tour. The pain in Asher’s gut was so intense his vision went gray around the edges. He leaned against the doorframe to keep himself from collapsing.

“Asher,” Riley said, reminding Asher that he wasn’t alone. He looked up, but couldn’t respond. Hell, it felt like he couldn’t breathe. “The way your boy kept looking over his shoulder when we were waiting for that cab told me I wasn’t the one whose company he wanted. Better late than never. Isn’t that what they say?”

Asher didn’t know who they were or what they said. But he knew he had to go to Daniel, apologize, and come up with a way to get him to stay. Because after living with the sweet, funny, kind, sexy man for the past several months, Asher knew he couldn’t go back to being alone, couldn’t go back to a life without Daniel at the center of it.

Chapter 22

ASHER was disappointed when Daniel’s phone went straight to voice mail, but he wasn’t surprised. He slipped his phone into his jacket pocket, put the key in the ignition, and started driving home. Almost half an hour later, he still hadn’t come up with the right words to say. “I’m sorry” wasn’t going to cut it.

The apartment was dark when he walked in. “Daniel,” he called out, even though he knew there’d be no response.

He rubbed his hand across his head, took in a deep breath, and then shuffled through the great room into the bedroom. Daniel wasn’t there, either. Asher sat on the edge of the bed, clasped his hands over his spread knees, and closed his eyes. He was so damn tired. And he ached. Bone deep.

With a sigh, he picked up his phone and called Daniel again. Voice mail.

“It’s me. Listen, I… shit. I fucked up, Daniel. I know that and I’m sorry and I want to tell you that I’ll never do it again, but I feel like I….” Long sigh. “Please don’t make me do this in a recording. Come home, okay? Just… please, sugar, come home.”

He didn’t remember falling asleep, but the next thing Asher knew, light filled the room and he was lying on top of his comforter, fully dressed, shoes included. He had a crick in his neck, his back was sore, and his feet were numb. But none of those things compared to the pain he felt in his chest when he realized Daniel hadn’t come home.

Asher sat up and scrubbed his palms over his eyes. They felt dry and gritty. He looked around the room again, as if Daniel had magically appeared in the last few seconds, which he hadn’t, then sighed as he unfolded his tall frame and stood up. He walked into the bathroom, shedding shoes and clothes as he went, and stepped into the shower, not bothering to wait for the water to heat up.

After absently running the soap over his body, Asher rinsed off and then stepped onto the bath mat. He didn’t know how long he’d been standing there when he realized he was cold and dripping. He reached for his towel, his arm feeling unaccountably heavy, and wiped it over his face and body, then let it slip from his hand onto the floor.

A quick check of his phone showed no missed calls, so he walked over to the closet. And that was when he noticed that Daniel’s clothes were gone. He choked back the tears that threatened, pulled on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, stuffed his wallet, phone, and keys in his pocket, and grabbed his jacket. He was standing on the sidewalk outside of his apartment before he realized he had no idea where he was going. His brain felt murky and he just couldn’t seem to think straight.

Where would Daniel go if he wasn’t home? Would he go to his brother’s place? Not knowing where else to try, Asher headed to Oliver’s apartment.

The door swung open seconds after he knocked, and a furious Oliver glared at him. “Fuck you, Asher. Get the hell out of here,” Ollie shouted, and then he slammed the door. Lovely. Asher didn’t move, just stood there with his hand poised to knock again, when Oliver opened the door again. “Fine, you can come in, but only because Danny told me I couldn’t be mad at you.” He glared at Asher, disgust clear on his face. “Asshole.”

“Daniel’s here?” Asher asked hopefully, choosing to ignore Oliver’s rant.

“Pft, you think I’d let you in if Danny was here after the way you treated him? Nah, man, he’s gone.”

“Gone?” Asher felt like he’d been socked in the stomach. “Gone where?”