Brynne #2
But that initial sting of his words sank deeper than I thought they could.
Sean was leaning against his car, and when he saw me, pushed off the shiny black metal. He smiled as if we were old friends running into each other. Like he was happy to see me.
“Get away,” I choked out, pointing at him. “I don’t want to talk to you.”
“For the record, I don’t think that about you,” he said, holding his hands up.
“But Theo—” His eyes flicked to the door, like he was waiting for him to appear.
“You should hear the shit he says about women who are bigger than a size zero.” He gave me a mock-sympathetic look, and my stomach rolled.
“You know, a few months ago, he…never mind. I shouldn’t say. ”
My gaze slid to him. “What?” He bit his lip, looking unsure. I turned fully toward him. “ What ?”
“I’m assuming he told you about our bet?”
Slowly, my heart sank in my chest, weighed down by words I knew I wasn’t ready to hear.
“What bet?” I rasped, my voice nearly inaudible to my own ears. But he heard me loud and clear.
He shook his head. “I shouldn’t?—”
“What bet?” I repeated, louder this time.
He glanced at the door again, then stepped closer. “We made a bet a few months ago,” he murmured, his voice conspiratorial. “He said he could fuck you before me.” Slowly, he dragged his heated gaze down my body—I’d never felt more naked in my life. “And I’m assuming he won.”
“No,” I whispered, but he nodded.
“Why do you think I took you out?” he asked. “Why do you think he’s been—” He shrugged. “I’m assuming he’s been into you since he got here?” He added air quotes around into you , and bile rose in my throat.
Theo had been oddly interested in me since he moved here. He’d been flirting with me more than he ever had before—and the app. Why would he message me on the app instead of texting? He said it was so we could pretend, but…was it?
And right out of the gate, he was talking dirty. He was flirting. He was coming on strong.
I glanced over my shoulder at the door.
Was it all for a bet?
“You’re serious?” I asked, and Sean nodded.
“Look, I know you hate me. I know you think I’m a piece of shit—and I admit it”—he held his hands up—“I’m not the best guy in the world. But I’m not lying about this. Ask him yourself.”
“You made a bet?” I repeated, the words still not making sense.
“We were at his place the night he found out about Scout. We were going out with our friends, and I saw your picture on Pulse. I thought you were hot, and he said, and I quote, ‘I bet I could fuck her before she ever looked at you’, and I took the bet. I know it was wrong but?—”
I wasn’t listening to him anymore.
A ringing filled my ears. My knees wobbled.
I wasn’t in my body; I was somewhere above it, watching me stumble down the driveway, hands clutching my elbows as if I could swallow myself whole.
A bet .
He’d made a bet.
“Get away from her!” Theo shouted, and I glanced over my shoulder, finding him storming from the house, now dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. I’d never seen him in a T-shirt before. Always a button-down. Never?—
It didn’t matter.
He wasn’t the man I thought he was.
Distantly, Sean’s car rumbled to life, and he sped past me, the rush of air whipping my tangled hair around my face.
I just needed to get away. I needed to clear my head.
Did I really believe Sean? He was a creep, and a terrible person. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that he might be telling the truth. Why lie about something like that? I could fact check with Theo. What did Sean get out of lying?
“Brynne!” Theo’s footsteps sounded behind me as he jogged to my side. “Come on, baby?—”
“Don’t.” He wrapped his hand around my wrist, and I ripped it away. “Don’t touch me.”
“What did he say?”
I shook my head. “Just take me home.”
“Brynne—” He grabbed my wrist again, and I spun toward him. Hurt, angry tears spilled from my eyes.
“I said don’t touch me.”
He lifted his hands as he took a step back. “Alright,” he said softly. “I’m sorry.”
My lips parted, but I didn’t know what to say. How to ask him. A scoff was the only thing that came out, and I flicked my hand dismissively.
“I’m walking home.”
“You can’t—” He let out a frustrated breath. “You live on the other side of town, Red. Let me?—”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Let me drive you,” he continued, his voice tight with anger.
“I’m fine.”
He kept following me.
“Brynne.”
“Leave me alone.”
I just needed a minute to breathe. I needed to get my head on right. I needed to think about what Sean said and figure out if I thought it was true. It was too fresh to think properly right now—I knew that.
Which was why I needed to get away from Theo.
But he was persistent.
“Brynne, let’s talk about this?—”
“Why can’t you just leave me the fuck alone?” I shouted, my hands balling into frustrated fists. “I’ve asked you a million times!”
His footsteps faltered, then stopped. My chest heaved with every breath, and slowly I spun toward him.
“What did he say?” he asked quietly.
“What do you think he said?”
His eyes, as blue as the sky above us, shifted between mine. “Baby, come on?—”
“Don’t. Call. Me. That.” More tears spilled out. “I just want to go home.”
“Alright. I’ll take you,” he said quietly. “I won't let you walk alone.”
I made it to the end of the driveway and saw a car driving toward us. I lifted my hand as Demi rolled to a stop, Scout in the passenger seat.
“Everything okay?” Demi’s smile slowly fell as she flicked her gaze between us.
“Can you take me home, please?” I asked quietly, my voice thick.
“Of course, honey.” She sent a questioning glance at Theo, but I didn’t look to know his reaction. Scout slid out of the car, her backpack on her shoulder. She watched as I took her seat, slamming the door behind me. “She had breakfast earlier, and we did her homework last night.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Theo said tightly. I shifted my gaze to him, peeking from the corner of my eye.
He was staring at me, jaw tense. Scout stood beside him, looking between us like she didn’t know what was happening.
“Brynne, can we talk about this?” I slid lower in the seat, and his shoulders fell. “Call me later, then. Please?”
I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t.
“I’ll see you later, Scoutie,” Demi said, then she turned around, and we rolled down the street.
Thick silence filled the car. I waited for the questions, for the interrogation. But it never came. Even when tears spilled down my face, and sobs quietly shook my shoulders, she said nothing. Only rested her hand on my back, letting me cry about her son.
Even if she asked, I didn’t think I could tell her the truth. She saw all her kids as angels, and I couldn’t be the one to tarnish that.
After an eternity, she pulled into my driveway and parked. Finally, she asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”
“I can’t,” I whispered. Her lips tightened slightly.
“Did he hurt you?”
How did I even begin to answer that?
Yes. No.
Yes .
How had everything gone so wrong so fast?
“Thanks for the ride,” I said, my voice raspy, almost inaudible. Demi sighed, but didn’t push as I fell from the car.
My hands shook as I unlocked the door and stumbled inside, pressing my back against the door.
“Thank god you’re home.” Mason’s voice carried through the house. “You have four raccoons now—are you okay?”
My chin wobbled as I stared at my brother. He said nothing as he rushed to me, his arms wrapping around me in a tight hug.
“It’s alright,” he murmured. “I’ve got you.” I held onto him, balling his shirt into my fists.
As we stood there, my heart shattered. I felt it. Slowly, it ripped itself apart, all the words and looks and touches—they meant nothing.
All I was to him was a bet.
“Do I need to kill him?” Mason asked quietly, trying to lighten the mood.
But I couldn’t laugh, or smile, or do anything other than press my face harder into his chest and sob.