Third Chances - Chapter 24
Rob
Fucking bitch. I tried to calm myself as I walked back into the room.
"Everything okay?" James asked.
"Everything's great." Thank God I didn't waste any more time on her. I had never met someone so judgmental in my life. It was one thing to judge me. It was an entirely different thing to judge my family. Fuck her.
"Movie time?"
"Yeah. How about I go grab us some dessert to eat while we watch?"
"That sounds great. I'll come too."
"No, I got it. Just finish your dinner and pick a movie.
I'll be right back." I needed to be alone for a second to cool off.
I walked back out of the room, happy to see that Daphne wasn't still standing there acting like she knew everything about everyone.
I had been so wrong about her. I was usually a good judge of character, but that girl was all over the map.
I hit the elevator button with my fist. Hopefully I wouldn't run into her tomorrow before we left, because I had thought of a whole list of new adjectives to describe her.
Arrogant and bitch were definitely the biggest contenders.
I stepped onto the elevator and hit the button for the first floor.
I couldn't believe I had thought she was sweet. She was anything but sweet.
I leaned against the elevator wall and pulled the card out of my pocket.
It read, "talk until the sun rises." I threw it on the ground.
I felt like such a chump. I wasn't a nice guy.
Why the fuck was I pretending to be? I didn't need a serious relationship to be happy.
I was happy exactly where I was. I loved my life.
I stepped off the elevator. There was nothing better than the freedom to do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted.
And whoever I wanted. I smiled at the girl at the counter of the small store I just walked into.
For all I knew, she was a complete psychopath too.
And sure, I could flirt with her. I could probably get her into my bed when she was done with her shift.
But I wasn't feeling it tonight. Tonight, I would hang out with my brother, who didn't have any problem, unlike the judgmental bitch thought.
Geez, she didn't even give me a chance to defend him.
Yes, James had problems in the past. But he was good now.
I wasn't in denial. It was just a fact. The girl that he was marrying saved him.
I had never seen him as happy as he was with Penny.
I was glad I was no longer pursuing Daphne.
She didn't deserve to hang out with James.
And she certainly didn't deserve to meet Penny.
I smiled when I saw the row of dirty magazines.
That was just what James needed so he'd stop groaning about being horny.
I grabbed one of the magazines and a bottle of lotion.
Tomorrow would be better. There was still time to salvage this bachelor party.
I wasn't sure why my focus had been on Daphne anyway.
It should have been on my brother. I wanted to give him the best fucking bachelor party ever. He deserved it.
I grabbed a few Tasty Cakes for dessert and stopped at the wall of freezers. My eyes landed on the pint of Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream. It was Penny's favorite. That would make James happy. Besides, I liked it too. I grabbed a pint of it and went to the checkout counter.
The girl at the counter blushed when she saw the magazine.
It didn't affect me at all. I was off my game.
I needed time to recover from the Daphne fiasco.
I had never jumped into something so quickly before.
Matt was right. I was lying to myself. I didn't even make eye contact with the girl when she gave me the total.
"Can I have a spoon for the ice cream?" I asked and slid her my card.
"Sure. One or two?"
"Two."
She looked slightly disappointed. Good. She didn't need to know the truth. Not that I was embarrassed. I'm sharing a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream with my brother. Leave me the fuck alone.
She slowly put the magazine into the bag. "Your girlfriend must be fun."
Was this chick seriously still going to hit on me after my weird purchases? "Nope. My brother and I just like to jerk off together and eat ice cream. Thanks." I grabbed my card and the bag she handed me.
"Oh," she said and laughed awkwardly.
"Have a good evening." I walked out of the store a little more cheerily and made my way back to my room.
When I opened the door, James was laughing.
I glanced at the T.V. He had found Wedding Crashers.
We had watched the movie a million times together.
I laughed and sat down next to him on the bed. "I love this movie."
"Me too. Do you think someone will try to crash my wedding?"
I laughed. "I think a ton of people are going to try to crash your wedding. It's the wedding of the season."
He smiled. "How did that happen?"
"Everyone loves you and Penny. That's how that happened."
He ran his hand through his hair. "I'm sorry if I scared Daphne away. I wasn't feeling well and..."
"Don't worry about her." She's the fucking worst. "I got you a couple things." I tossed the bag on his lap.
He laughed when he pulled out the dirty magazine. "Seriously?"
"Seriously. You need to unwind."
He laughed again. "Yeah, maybe. I don't really think I need this for that though. You could just give me my phone. I have tons of naughty pictures of Penny on there."
"Seriously? I promise not to look at that."
"I'll kill you if you look at them."
"I won't." I really hoped I could keep my word on that. Picturing her was one thing. Actually seeing her naked wasn't a good idea. "I'm going to let you talk to her in the morning. Mason has your phone right now, so I can't help you there."
"Thanks. I really do miss her."
"I know. Which is why I got you this." I pulled out the ice cream.
He smiled. "I am glad you and Penny are close. I don't know what I'd do if you two didn't get along." He popped off the top and grabbed one of the spoons. "This is one of the best parts," he gestured to the screen as Vince Vaughn started one of his long hilarious monologues.
I laughed and realized James wasn't laughing with me. I looked over at him. He had fallen asleep. I remembered seeing him like this sometimes growing up. He was always so stressed out, but when he was asleep he looked so calm.
How could he think he wasn't a good brother? Had I somehow made him feel that way? It hurt me that he thought that. James had protected me my whole life. He gave into Mom and Dad's demands so that I wouldn't have to. He gave up his life so that I wouldn't have to. He wasn't a bad brother. I was.
And that's why I took care of him when he was like this.
That's why I was the only one that didn't abandon him when he got so depressed that he fell off the wagon in college.
That's why I wouldn't let some fucking girl tell me anything about his problems. I knew his problems because I had caused them.
He was depressed because of what my parents did to him.
He took all the pressure off of me. And yet he was always there for me.
He came to every single one of my soccer and baseball games growing up.
He helped me with my homework. He bailed me out of jail.
He was always there when I needed him. I owed him everything.
Yet I wasn't the one who cured him. Penny fixed him, not me.
Or maybe becoming a professor and leaving New York.
I wasn't sure. But one thing was certain; I had failed him.
Especially when I was younger. He sacrificed so much for me.
And I just let him. No one should ever be judging him. They should be judging me.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. "James, I'm so sorry."
***
I woke up laying next to him in bed. I wasn't sure where Mason and Matt were. But I had made a promise to James and I wanted to keep it. I pushed his shoulder. "Get up."
He groaned in his sleep.
"Do you want to talk to Penny or not?"
His eyes flew open. "Do you have my phone?"
"No, Mason still has it I think. You'll have to use the phone at the concierge desk. But you have to hurry before they wake up."
"Right." He climbed off the bed and looked around for his shirt.
"Over there." I pointed to where he had stripped for Daphne last night. Daphne. Ugh.
"Thanks, Rob. I owe you one."
"No, you really don't."
He gave me a strange look. "What happened last night? I remember going to dinner, but..." his voice trailed off. "And my head kind of hurts."
"Go call Penny. I'll explain later."
James gave up looking for his dress shoes. He slipped on his flip flops instead and ran out the door. I tried not to laugh at how ridiculous he looked in a suit and flip flops.