Chapter 41 Brad #2
Kevin clenches his fist, but before he can make a move, I step in between them. There’s no fucking way he’ll ever put his hands on him again. And, he knows better than to mess with me. He won’t be walking out the same way he came.
“Noah! How dare you do that after everything you’ve done!?” Veronica gasps, rushing over. She sweeps Kevin into her arms, guiding him toward the couch.
“Noah didn’t do anything wrong,” I say firmly. “It was all me. I…I fell in love with him.” My eyes meet Noah’s, and in that glance, everything’s clear. We’re in this together.
Veronica laughs, sharp and bitter. “Love?! Fucking isn’t love, Brad. And frankly…sneaking behind my back is pretty disgusting.”
My brows pinch. “I don’t think you’re in any position to point fingers, considering what you’ve been doing with my so-called best friend.”
“Your age-appropriate best friend, Brad. Not your twenty-year-old son. You’re taking advantage of him! You’re sick!”
“Are you kidding me?” Noah steps beside me, voice steady. “I’m twenty-four. And since when have you even cared?”
“Noah—” I place a hand on his shoulder, steadying him.
“No, seriously,” he cuts in, eyes burning. “You checked out of my life the second dad left us. Pretending to care about me now? That’s a fucking joke. And don’t even get me started on Brad. He’s just another conquest to you.”
Veronica’s mouth falls open, stunned.
“No? Prove me wrong then. When did this even begin?” He motions between her and Kevin. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like we’ve given you a solid out.”
My eyebrows shoot up. Holy shit, I didn’t even think about that.
Veronica’s eyes widen as she flickers them to me.
“Veronica…when did this start?”
Her mouth opens and then closes, shaking her head slowly like her whole body doesn’t want to answer. She looks like a fish out of water.
The energy in the room shifts. Everything feels off. I step forward, really thinking about it. My stomach sinks, not wanting to ask what I know I should.
“Wait, Brad. Forget I said anything.” Noah softly places his hand on my shoulder but I shrug it off. I need to know.
“No, seriously. Answer the question, Veronica.” I repeat.
Kevin's eyes bounce between all of us, clearly not picking up on the sudden heightened tension. “You might’ve met her first. But I had her first. You really think she’s only ever been yours?” Kevin lets out a short laugh.
It’s like my ears fill with static. I’m not even sure I’m physically here anymore.
“Please tell me you two didn’t sleep together around the Stone & Creek company BBQ,” I ask, my voice tight, scared of the answer.
“Before the BBQ. Night of the BBQ. The day after. Hell, nearly every weekend since,” Kevin confesses, counting off on his fingers like it’s some twisted competition.
I pinch my eyes shut, piecing it together. The BBQ was held at my old place, exactly one month after Veronica and I started dating.
“All this time…” I mutter, stepping back.
If what he’s saying is true… It would mean she and I were intimate during the same month Kevin slept with her. The month Paislee would’ve been conceived.
“What!?” Kevin stands up, still holding his jaw. “What am I missing here—”
Noah pushes past me, stepping up to them. “All this time and you never thought of the possibility that Paislee might be yours? You really expect us to believe that?”
All the blood from Kevin's face is drained. I bet it looks a lot like mine right now. “We…we were being careful.” His eyes are wide, immediately looking at Veronica who is mighty quiet all of a sudden.
“Yeah, so were we.” I huff.
“Veronica?” Kevin asks, a shaky breath slipping out as he pulls off his hat. He wipes his forehead with the back of his hand, jaw tight. “Care to weigh in?”
She’s awkwardly biting her nail looking away from us all.
“Veronica…Vee…I need you to tell me…” I swallow deeply. “Do you know who Paislee’s father is?”
Her eyes widen, filled with tears as she buries her head in her hands.
“Everything happened so fast.” She cries.
“What would’ve been a one time—two time hookup, at most— ended up …
well…becoming so much more. Next thing I know, I’m pregnant and…
and…” She wipes her face, before taking a big breath in.
“No. No, I don’t know who the father is.
But, I wanted it so badly to be yours.” Her eyes plead to me for understanding.
“Holy shit…” Kevin mutters, clearly in a state of shock.
I hesitate to ask but I need to. If it’s the last thing I ever say to her, than so be it. “Why didn’t you just leave me?”
She looks up at me. She looks so distant. Like someone I never knew to begin with. Her eyes ping from me to Noah and back again. “Why didn’t you just leave me?” Here comes the uncontrollable sobs.
The answer hits me in the gut as she continues crying into Kevin's shoulder. “I just…I wanted us to be a family. A real one.” She sniffles.
There was absolutely nothing real about us. And now…now, I’ve heard enough. I’ve come to do what I needed to do.
Now it’s done.
All this time. Eighteen months. Being with her through the pregnancy. Keeping Noah at arms length. I’ve been fighting for a reality that might not have even been mine to begin with. I gave her pieces of me to keep Paislee close.
And now…I don’t even know if Paislee is mine.
I turn to leave, making my way to the door. Every step feels like I’m sinking.
Numb. Broken. Hollow. Nothing left to feel.
I was so scared of losing myself…but now I know I never had myself to lose.