Landon knocked on the door again. His brother had to be home. Rafael didn’t go anywhere else. Rafael finally opened up, rubbing his face and pulling his pants up on his hips.

“Lan?” Rafael squinted at him.

“Hey.” Landon smiled nervously. “Could I crash here tonight?”

“Yeah. Yeah!” Rafael nodded quickly, stepping aside and gesturing for Landon to enter. “Of course. Come on in. Just … just let me get rid of someone.”

“Get rid of …?” Landon trailed off when he saw the short redhead poke out from the bedroom to see what was going on.

“Babe, who was it?” the girl asked, stopping when she saw Landon. Her eyes got wide and she looked down at where she was wearing only Rafael’s shirt. “Sorry!” she squeaked, ducking back into the bedroom. She smiled sheepishly at Landon on her way back out, fully dressed this time, kissing Rafael on the cheek on her way. “Call me,” she said, closing the front door behind her.

“Sorry if I … interrupted something,” Landon said, trying to fight a laugh. 

“You didn’t,” Rafael assured him and took a seat on the couch. “So, uh … what’s up?” That wasn’t the question he wanted to ask, but Where is Hope? How is your nearly-dead brother? Why are you here? didn’t feel right.

“I …” Landon furrowed his eyebrows like he was thinking hard. “Do you have vodka?”

Rafael leaned back, taken off guard by the answer. But he nodded. “Yeah.” He stared at Landon, trying to read what was wrong by his expression. “That bad of a day?”

“You have no idea, but I am not drunk enough to tell you about it yet.” 

Once the two of them were halfway through the bottle, Landon started to talk.

“I’d start by telling you that my brother is in a coma,” Landon said slowly, staring at the bottom of his glass. “But he was also sleeping with my wife.” 

A heavy silence falls over them.

Rafael finally managed to speak through the shock. “Hope …”

“Slept with my brother.” Landon nodded and pressed his lips into a flat line. “And you want to know the worst part?”

Rafael shook his head slowly, but still leaned forward in horror like he wanted to hear. “I don’t think I do.”

“I … I don’t think I care.”

“Like …” Rafael was afraid to suggest it. “Like you don’t love her anymore?”

“No, no. Not at all.” Landon was quick to shake his head, furrowing his eyebrows deeper, as if he was trying to figure it out himself as he spoke. “I’m hurt that she lied to me. Or maybe angry. That she went behind my back. Both? But I - I don’t actually care that she slept with someone else. Like … maybe it doesn’t matter as long as it’s my bed she’s sleeping in at the end of the day.”

“So I take it you went through denial and anger in the hospital?” Rafael laughed.

“What?” Landon glanced up.

“You know, the five stages of grief. This -” Rafael motioned to Landon pouring more vodka into his glass. “- this is bargaining. ‘She can cheat on me. We’ll be fine.’”

“That’s not what I’m - I know ‘once a cheater, always a cheater.’” Landon could hear how crazy he sounded when he said it out loud. “I’m saying I don’t think I care if she does it again.”

“Yeah, you tell me that again when you’re sober, alright?” Rafael groaned as he stood up, ready to stagger to his bed and fall asleep. “I will see you in the morning.”