No Good Deed - Marie Sexton Page 0,51
to do if this came to blows. To his surprise, Phil only rolled his eyes.
“Enough,” he said. He couldn’t step between them—there wasn’t enough room between their puffed-out chests—but he did his best. “That’s enough. We all know you’re both big brutes, all right? I’d suggest you drop your pants and measure except we’ve all seen each other naked too many times to bother.” He turned to Gray. “We won’t solve anything this way, and you know it.”
It was a smart play. Gray may not have been in love with Phil anymore, but he still had a soft spot for him. Gray sighed and took a step back. “Fine.”
“That’s better.” Phil brushed imaginary wrinkles from the front of his shirt and straightened his collar. “I swear, the two of you—”
“He started it,” Warren grumbled, just enough humor in his voice to make it a joke.
Charlie almost chuckled, except at that moment, Phil turned on him. “You too, Charlie. Take a seat.” There was no anger in his voice, but it was unmistakably an order.
Charlie and Gray took opposite ends of the couch, refusing to look at each other. Phil took the armchair that Warren usually occupied. Warren stayed standing, his hands on his hips.
“What the hell is this?” Gray asked. “You brought us here to scold us like children?”
“Well, you’re acting like a child,” Warren snapped, “so it seemed appropriate.”
“Warren,” Phil said quietly. “We talked about this.”
Warren swore and took a deep breath, making an obvious effort to rein in his temper. Phil stepped in, taking control.
“Warren and I have been debating whether we should intervene or just wait for the two of you to make up,” Phil said, calm and reasonable like always.
“I’ll give you a hint,” Gray said. “You picked the wrong one.”
Warren pointed a beefy finger at Gray. “And you picked the wrong time to throw a temper tantrum.” He looked back and forth between them. “Gray’s still dealing with the fallout of the bombing. Charlie’s going through hell. Phil’s grandfather is in the ICU, and he and River are caught up in this mess with Charlie. And I came home tonight to find Taylor with a razor blade in his hand, crying because the family he depends on is falling apart.”
“Jesus,” Charlie said. “Is he okay?”
“He’s talking to his therapist right now, but this shit isn’t helping.” He glared at Gray. “It’s time for you to stop being an asshole. Friends stand together in times like this.”
“Even after they stab you in the back?” Gray said.
Warren rolled his eyes. “Give me a break. So he’s seeing Jonas. So what? Taylor was with Phil before he was with me, but you don’t see us fighting over it.”
“It’s not the same thing,” Gray grumbled.
“Why?” Warren asked. “Because it’s me and Phil? Because it doesn’t involve you and your giant fucking ego?”
Gray started to stand, but Phil beat him to it, stepping between them. “Stop.” He turned to Warren. “Gray’s right. It’s not the same thing. Taylor and I were never as serious as Gray and Jonas.”
“Exactly!” Gray said, but Phil turned on him next.
“Shut up, Gray. Warren’s right too. You’re being a conceited prick.”
Gray swore, turning away to pace the room, obviously still furious but unwilling to take it out on Phil.
“We’ve been through a lot together,” Phil went on. “The four of us have weathered just about everything. We’ve had secrets. We’ve had disagreements. But we’ve always stood by each other.” He turned to Charlie. “Charlie, I’m assuming this thing with Jonas is more than a passing fling? You wouldn’t jeopardize your friendship with Gray otherwise.”
Charlie’s cheeks burned, but he nodded. “It’s more.” Gray swore again, but Charlie kept talking. “We stayed apart for six years because of Gray. I’m not losing another day just to spare his feelings.”
“So much for being friends,” Gray snarled.
“Gray,” Phil said, turning to him. “You and Jonas may have lived together, but you made each other miserable the entire time. You moved on years ago. You’re married to Avery now. You said yourself before Charlie arrived that Jonas means nothing to you.” Gray grumbled under his breath, but Phil kept talking. “You and Charlie are like brothers. You’ve been friends since you were teenagers. Are you really going to let this ruin everything?”
Gray stopped pacing and turned to face them. He looked at them each in turn. Phil, then Warren, and finally, his gaze landed on Charlie. There seemed to be a hundred questions in his eyes, but Charlie figured it