“Gee,” I mutter. “I wonder where I got that from.”

“… but he is my brother and he belongs to me. I’ve raised him. I’ve cared for him. I’ve held him when the panic attacks became so fucking strong he couldn’t breathe. He’s stronger than anyone else I know, but he can still break, and if you’re the one to break him, then may God save you from me. You’re still a member of this family, and I love you, but if you hurt him, Dominic, I will end you.”

“I’ve never wanted to hurt him. All I’ve ever wanted—”

“Doesn’t matter now,” Bear interrupts. “You can have your say, whatever it is, and I won’t stop you. But panic disorder is a very real thing, and the panic attacks can be extraordinarily harmful. Do not do anything to set that off, you get me?”

Dominic watches Bear, and I think there’s a very real possibility that Dominic is going to reach down for his Taser and shoot Bear in the face. That would be a perfect end to this already magnificent day.

“I get you,” he finally says.

Bear’s eyes soften, but only just. “Do you need us to pick up Ben? It has to be close to the end of your shift.”

Ben?

Dominic shakes his head. “He needs his routine, you know? Can you call Anna? He knows her. She’s on the emergency contact list, and it’ll be easier.”

“Sure. It’s fine. I can have her bring him here. Just remember what I said, okay?”

“You’re wrong, though,” Dominic says.

Oh, shit.

Even Otter’s eyes widen.

“About what?” Bear asks, his voice going dangerously low.

“About Tyson belonging just to you,” Dominic says. “You know as well as I do that from the first moment I laid eyes on him, he belonged to me too. Maybe even more than you. The moment he followed that ant outside, he was mine.”

Uh. What?

“Now might be a good time for you to leave,” Otter says, stepping around Bear, who is beginning to do his best impression of turning his face into a tomato. Otter whispers something in Bear’s ear, and Bear snarls at him at first, but then deflates. He looks over at me, and that same indiscernible look from before flits across his face.

“All you need to do,” Bear says, sounding defeated, “is remember to just breathe, okay?”

I nod, unsure what just happened. This feels like one of those dreams where you know you’re dreaming but can’t do anything to stop it.

Bear lets Otter pull him away. “And take those cuffs off him,” Bear says over his shoulder. He sounds livid. “As much as he deserves them, they’ll only make things worse.” He doesn’t look back.

I’m still watching him disappear into the Green Monstrosity when Dominic moves in front of me. He leans down into the car and pushes me forward. His breath is hot and harsh on the back of my neck. His big hands fumble with the cuffs until the lock releases. Blood rushes into my wrists, and the skin feels like it’s buzzing. I can smell him. Something like October leaves. Maybe like rain. His chin scrapes against my shoulder, and I think, You are done with this. You are over this. It has taken you four years, but you’ve beaten it. There is nothing for you here. This place is memories of a time when life sucked but then got okay again. That’s all. You have come home to say good-bye because this is the beginning of the rest of your life.