Chapter Twenty - Thalia
CHAPTER TWENTY
Thalia
I WAIT UNTIL Sebastian is dead asleep before I dare to call Owen. I got lucky I had my phone in my pajama pockets, or I’d be stuck here all night. Zeus is a smart dog, but not smart enough to retrieve my phone on command. Instead, he’s decided he’s too tired for this bullshit, and is asleep in his dog bed by the fireplace.
I don’t know what to do right now. I fear I’m way out of my depth here. After calling for the fourth time, my brother finally picks up the phone. “You better be dying or have a good fucking reason for waking me up in the middle of the night.”
“You need to come over. It’s Sebastian,” I whisper, continuing to stroke my fingers through his soft brown locks.
“I’ll be there in five minutes. Don’t do anything stupid, Lia,” he warns before hanging up. I look down at Sebastian curled into an awkward position for someone of his stature on this couch. Despite falling into a deep sleep, he’s holding tightly to my legs .
He kissed me and I kissed him back. I wasn’t thinking, and it’s Sebastian .
Sorry, Owen, I already did something stupid.
At least Eric and I are broken up. We’re keeping our thirty-five marriage pact, but I have no doubt he’ll be able to find someone.
In all of Sebastian’s slurring, he said something about Eric, my phone, and leaving me alone. It was hard to understand him, but I was still trying to process Sebastian kissing me, telling me that Kiera’s pregnant, and he left her. I can only sort through so many thoughts at once. It sounded kind of like he did call to apologize and make things right, but Eric answered my phone for me. He had no right to do that. That would mean that Sebastian tried to apologize. It changes everything.
It’s been four years since we broke up. Bash remembered what day it was. I did too. I just didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that the anniversary of our breakup was two days ago. Is that a weird thing to keep track of?
Owen is true to his word, and walking through my front door less than five minutes after hanging up. He stops in his tracks quickly at the sight of Sebastian in my lap. I would have the exact same expression if I were him. “What the fuck?” he swears, motioning toward us. There is no us, though. Sebastian has so many things to work through, and figure out right now. I can’t be added into the equation.
“Sit down before you wake him up,” I hiss, and Owen gapes at me in disbelief.
“I should wake him up! The asshole is engaged to someone else, who is not you in case you forgot, Thalia. Why the hell is he here, let alone asleep in your lap?” He pauses to pace before continuing with his rant. “You fucking woke me up in the middle of the night to tell me you guys are back to doing whatever the hell you always do? It really couldn’t wait until morning?”
Did Sebastian not tell him what happened? What is going on? I rub my eyes tiredly because I’m exhausted. Sleep is a gift I rarely get, and tonight I actually was asleep when Sebastian started knocking on my door. “He isn’t engaged.”
Owen looks at me as if I’m an idiot. “I’m in the fucking wedding, and you were supposed to photograph it before you quit. I’m pretty sure he’s engaged to Kiera. Remember her? Short, dark hair, pretty blue eyes? Does any of that ring a bell for you?”
I scowl at him because I’m really not in the mood for any of this. I called Owen for help, not for a lecture.
“If you would shut up for a moment, I could tell you that he left Kiera. She cheated on him and is pregnant with someone else’s kid, Owen. The wedding is off, but thanks for being a jackass.”
“We’re talking about Kiera Davis, right?” he asks skeptically. I can’t blame him. It’s not as if I shared the information I had. It’s only fair to give him a moment to catch up, but I don’t appreciate Owen treating me like I’m stupid.
“Yeah, she might seem like the perfect princess, but she’s far from it,” I say bitterly, the argument we had the day I quit is still fresh in my mind. I can’t believe she tried to justify cheating by comparing us. Owen takes a seat, his eyes widening in realization.
“You knew.”
I look down at Sebastian to make sure he’s still sleeping. His mouth is slightly ajar, but his face is relaxed. I don’t think he’ll wake up because of how much alcohol I could taste and smell on his breath when he kissed me. I’m not sure how long it will keep him out cold, though. He’s always had a fast metabolism. Our grocery bill was astronomical those months we lived together.
Owen drags a hand through his blond hair, watching me expectantly for my explanation. I don’t really have one. “I didn’t know she was pregnant, but I knew she cheated on him.”
“How?” he asks, and I continue stroking Sebastian’s hair, keeping it out of his face.
“I walked in on her screwing her study buddy when I stopped by the house. Why else do you think I’d quit the wedding without explanation?” I ask Owen tiredly. I don’t need to ask what he thought because I already know. I can’t blame him and Blake for it either; I was the one who refused to explain so I know how quitting made me appear.
“What the hell, Thalia? I thought…” Owen trails off, looking a little guilty. “Blake and I thought it was because you still had feelings for him. Why didn’t you say anything to me about it? I’m your brother, you could have talked to me.”
“I didn’t say anything because it was my fault. Bash was at his grandparent’s house, and Kiera and I had plans to scope out wedding party picture locations on the estate they were getting married at. I tried apologizing for that stupid dinner, and we started arguing. I just snapped, Owen.” I pause to wrap my thoughts in order, kind of hard to do right now. “I told Sebastian to tell her so many times—about the house, the ring, the stupid proposal. I’m so tired of lying and keeping secrets. It’s exhausting. So I told Kiera everything, and it made me feel worse than I did before saying anything. I went to apologize that night and found them in the living room.”
“The living room? Seriously?” Owen asks, scrunching his face up.
“That’s all you heard there?” I ask incredulously, and he shrugs.
“It was the last thing you said so of course I got stuck on that,” he says, trying to crack a faint smile. “As you’ve reminded me so much in the past, I’m not Dad. I’m not going to lecture you because I don’t think you were in the wrong. He should have told her a long time ago. It wasn’t your fault; you didn’t make Kiera cheat.”
If Sebastian weren’t lying in my lap, I’d be hugging Owen tightly. “You have no idea how much I needed to hear you say that.” I can only hope that’s the same reaction Bash is going to have when I tell him that I knew.
“See? I am good for something other than being one of the best tight ends in the league.”
A choked laugh escapes from me because it’s such an Owen thing to say right now. “What do you think happens now?” I ask, motioning down to Sebastian who reeks of alcohol. If I had to guess, his body is 70 percent alcohol right now.
Owen shakes his head, looking sadly at his best friend. “I have no idea. What’d he say when he got here?”
“Before, or after he kissed me?”
“Shit. On a scale from one to ten, how drunk was he?”
I give Owen a skeptical look. “He found out his fiancée cheated on him and is pregnant before calling off his wedding. How drunk would you be?”
“That’s a good point, but I hope I never find out,” he says, shaking his head. “I don’t know what we do, Lia. ”
Sebastian shifts, but stays asleep thankfully. “I’m going to tell him that I knew she cheated,” I say quietly. It’s the right thing to do.
“Why? What good will come from telling Sebastian that you were going to let him marry Kiera, even though, you knew she had cheated on him?” Owen asks, and that’s exactly why I’m going to tell him.
“Because I won’t lie or keep secrets from him.”
Owen yawns and stretches out in the armchair he’s sitting in. Zeus pokes his head up, yawning loudly as well. “Do you still love Sebastian?”
“Owen, don’t—”
He shakes his head, watching me knowingly. “No, this is a question you have to answer, Thalia. Do you still love him?”
If Sebastian and Kiera aren’t together, and Eric and I aren’t together, maybe there’s a chance we can be something again. But not right now. He’s going to have shit to work through, and if he just pushes it down, it’s never going to go away.
Fuck, am I really considering this after Bash showed up drunk at my front door?
“Thalia?”
I brush my fingers across the stubble on Sebastian’s cheek. “Yes,” I admit, and Owen’s dark eyes look sad.
“Then why did you say no to him?”
He’s never asked me this before. I’m a little surprised Owen’s even asking me now.
“I didn’t say no. I needed more time, but Bash wasn’t willing to wait for me to get there.” God, I should have fucking said yes that night. All of this could have been avoided .
“You got your time, but lucky for you, I think he still loves you too.”
I sigh, shaking my head. “Does it matter? Sebastian hasn’t even been single for twenty-four hours, and you think he loves me?” It scares me that I still love him. What if I’m only holding onto the memories of the man I used to know? He apologized when he got here, but that doesn’t erase the things that were said the day of Mimi’s funeral.
“I do think Bash loves you. I don’t think he ever stopped. I saw how hard it was for him to try to move on because he thought he lost you.”
Sebastian has a funny way of showing it sometimes. “He told me I was the worst thing that almost ever happened to him, Owen. This was at Mimi’s funeral too after Sebastian said that the biggest mistake of his life was asking me to marry him. You don’t say that to someone you love. What if there’s too much history for us to overcome?”
My brother leans forward in the seat, his face showing exactly how surprised he is. “When did that happen? I was there, and you two stayed on different sides of the service.”
“After the service. I wanted to tell him…I wanted to tell him I was sorry, but I saw the ring on Kiera’s finger. I didn’t want to fight, but he was awful. I know he lost Mimi, and I was okay with being his punching bag that day, but what he said was cruel.” I look down at my lap, shaking my head. That was a horrible day, and I wish I could forget it, but I can’t.
Owen is rendered silent, scratching his jaw. It’s a few minutes before he speaks again. “I’m sorry, Thalia. I really am for not noticing all this stuff was going on.”
“I didn’t want you to. I’ve never forgotten how after we broke up, you offered to cut him out of your life. I want you to know how much that meant to me, knowing that you would pick me over him. Despite everything, I never wanted to put either of you in the position where you wouldn’t have the other.” I don’t want Owen to feel guilty, but it’s the truth. They’re best friends, and Bash doesn’t have a lot of people in his life that he can rely on. “You have your own life. Trust me, I wouldn’t pay attention to any of my shit if I weren’t directly involved in it.”
“You’re a really good person, Thalia,” Owen says, smiling faintly at me.
I roll my eyes, trying to play off the compliment, but it means a lot to hear him say it. “Thanks, I try.”
“He doesn’t deserve you,” he admits, staring at Sebastian. Owen clears his throat. “But I know that he knows it, and I’ve never seen either of you happier than when you were with each other.”
I blink back the tears threatening to spill, because my stupid brother is right. “Sebastian was going to marry someone else, Owen. Someone he loved, and that person cheated on him. He’s going to need time to process everything. That’s why it doesn’t matter if I love him or if he loves me. Bash is in no position to be with anyone for a while, and we both know it.”
This isn’t how I thought tonight was going to go.
I had no idea that Sebastian was just going to show up here and kiss me. I didn’t mean to kiss him back, except maybe I did? It’s too late, and I’m running on too little sleep to make sense of all this. My adrenaline rush from Sebastian showing up is starting to wane.
Owen shrugs as Zeus decides now is the time for pets as he nudges Owen’s hand. “I’m not going to disagree with you because you make some valid points, but I don’t think he was going to marry Kiera.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Mom called me last week to talk. She mentioned that Bash was having doubts when he drove to see them a few weeks ago. Mom said he didn’t seem happy like someone who was getting married should be.”
I tuck a piece of my hair out of my face, trying to adjust, but Sebastian is starting to get heavy. My leg is threatening to fall asleep. “I don’t know. It’s too late to think about this anymore tonight. Will you just please take Bash to your house? I don’t think it’s a good idea if he stays here tonight.”
I’m afraid that if he wakes up, we’ll end up having a conversation that we’re not ready to have yet. He needs to take a few days to try to at least get his thoughts in order. There’s plenty of time to have the conversations we need to have.
Owen stands up, stretching. “I agree. You might need to help me a little bit, though.”
“If he starts to fall, he’s going to take me down with him. At least you have a chance,” I retort, sliding my hands under his head to lift it from my lap. Owen nudges him a few times, before finally pinching him hard enough that I protest. “I said wake him up, don’t hurt him.”
“Then you try,” Owen says annoyed, taking a step back.
I ignore the fact that my brother is right behind me as I kneel on the floor next to him, I brush away the hair that had fallen into his face. “Bash, you have to get up. C’mon.” I shake his shoulder lightly, and he lets out a short puff of air, but no sign of movement .
Well I tried it the nice way, might as well try it Owen’s way. I flick him hard, right in the center of his forehead. He doesn’t budge. Are you kidding me?
I flick Sebastian one more time and nothing happens. “Do you have any other ideas that won’t ruin my couch or piss him off?” I ask, and Owen tilts his head to analyze the situation.
“We could pour water on him.”
“I said I don’t want to ruin my couch!”
Owen scoffs, crossing his arms. “If it’s just water, it will dry!” I shoot him an unamused look, and he rolls his eyes. “Okay, fine. What if we just roll him off the couch? Maybe he’ll wake up when he hits the floor.”
I let out a resigned sigh because I’m sure there are a million different ways I could do this, but none of them are coming to mind. “Can you do it without hurting him?” I ask, already regretting considering this idea.
“The point is to hurt him. You don’t really think he’s going to get away with saying that shit to you without a couple of bruises in return?” Owen asks, and I laugh quietly.
“Owen.”
“What? I think this way is better for my friendship with the idiot than punching him. It gives me plausible deniability.”
I throw my hands in the air, giving up. “Fine, just do it quickly.”
Owen grins widely at me before walking behind my couch, shoving Sebastian to the floor. I gasp at the loud thud, glaring at Owen. “Dude!”
Sebastian groans, sitting up slowly. “What the hell?” he mumbles, and Owen is beaming. I feel like maybe I shouldn’t be sending Sebastian with him if I ever want to see him in one piece again.
“Told you it would work,” Owen says triumphantly, leaning down to help Bash into a standing position. “Let’s go, asshole.”
“ Owen ,” I scold again. I have no problem calling Sebastian an asshole, but right now I think Owen could be a little more sensitive.
“Where are we going?” Bash asks, blinking quickly as his arm is slung over Owen’s shoulders. Owen is practically dragging him to the doorway.
“We’re going to my house because I need to sleep. I would have gone to bed two hours earlier if I’d known I’d be dealing with this shit tonight.”
Sebastian is moving slowly, his feet practically dragging. His current state only affirms my thought process that if there ever is going to be an us again, it won’t be for a while.
Following them out to Owen’s truck, I wait until Sebastian is lying down in the backseat. “Thank you for coming to get him,” I say to Owen as he pulls me into his arms for a hug.
“No biggie. I promise he’ll make it to my place in one piece, but you need to promise to start telling me shit. I can’t help if I don’t know what’s going on.”
I swallow the lump in my throat, nodding my agreement. “I’ll do better. I’m sorry.”
“I’ll check in with you in the morning; try to get some sleep, okay?” Owen says, but there’s a slim chance of that happening. I’ll probably spend the rest of the night replaying everything that happened tonight in my head.
“I’ll try. ”
Owen pulls away, ruffling my hair. “You guys will figure it out. Just give him some time, and stop thinking so much about the future. There’s no point in stressing about whether you’re supposed to be together or not. If it’s meant to be, it’ll be.”