Brynne
A week passed.
I didn’t get out of bed. I barely ate. I barely slept.
All I did was stare at the wall, tears constantly leaking from my eyes. I knew Mason was worried about me. I knew Trinity was worried.
But I didn’t care.
The initial shock of the bet wore off quickly and in its place was pain. This pure, unfiltered pain I’d never felt before. It ached down to my bones, my joints. Every inch of my body hurt .
I hadn’t heard from Theo since he left my house, and I wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. Maybe he’d given up and moved on. And that was what I wanted, wasn’t it? That was what I’d asked him to do.
To leave.
To forget we ever existed.
But a part of me hoped he would’ve fought a little harder. That he wouldn’t have given up so easily.
The bet hurt. Not only because I was reduced down to my body—again—but because I would never know Theo’s true intentions.
Maybe in the beginning he had pursued me for the bet, and somewhere along the way things got real.
Or maybe he was telling the truth, and he’d forgotten all about it, and he really wanted me.
Maybe it was all one big coincidence.
Or maybe it wasn’t.
The not knowing, the constant second-guessing was eating me alive. Theo said he loved me, but was it true? I couldn’t help but wonder if he only said it to get me back. To knock my guard down and manipulate the situation—manipulate me.
Could I trust anything he said?
How could he go from chronic playboy to committed boyfriend overnight? He couldn’t. That was impossible.
Sure, he could step up and be a dad. I knew that was never a question for him. He was a good man, that much was obvious—but was he a good partner? The person I could see myself spending the rest of my life with? The person I had to depend on the most?
I didn’t know.
And that was the hardest part.
Because I wanted it to be Theo. The morning after our date when I remembered him whispering those three words to me, I’d felt it deep in my soul—he was the one. But then everything went so wrong, so fucking fast.
A soft knock came from my window, and I froze. Probably a raccoon. There had been more of them hanging around recently. I glanced at the clock on my nightstand. Two in the morning.
I shook myself. It was definitely a raccoon.
But then it came again, a little louder, a little harder, and I sat up in bed. Mason was probably in the middle of working on a song, and I didn’t want to interrupt him if it was just a raccoon.
Then something started scraping along the window. The lock jostled, then slid easily aside.
A scream was trapped in my throat as I listened to someone lift the window. I was frozen . Every inch of me had gone cold. My now dry eyes were fixated on the window, on the billowing curtains.
Icy air blew in from outside, the crickets almost mockingly loud.
“Hello?” I whispered.
Hello? Who the fuck greets an intruder?
“Can you help me out here, please? I can’t get my leg up.”
I paused.
I recognized that voice.
My shoulders fell in relief. Fucking Trinity.
I switched the lamp on and climbed out of bed, my limbs numb from not moving at all in…a long time. Pulling the curtains back, I stared down at my best friend. She had a black ski mask over her face, a black hoodie, and black jeans. Her leg was hiked up, her foot nowhere near the window.
For a moment, we just stared at each other.
“What are you doing?” I asked, reaching out to help her climb inside. She let out a long groan as she twisted her body before falling to the floor. “Trin. It’s late.”
“Aren’t you going to ask if I’m alright?” she asked, inhaling dramatically. “I just broke into a house, for fuck’s sake.”
I held my hand out for her, and she happily took it, letting me pull her to her feet. She yanked the mask off her head, her blonde hair full of static. “Hi, bestie,” she said, smiling. “Got anything to eat? I’m starving.”
“Trin…” I sighed.
“Walk with me, talk with me,” she said, heading for the bedroom door.
“Be quiet. Mason’s working.”
“He’s working ?” She gawked at me. “Doesn’t he know it’s the middle of the night when people should be sleeping?”
“Tortured artist or whatever,” I mumbled. She laughed as she knocked on his door, then raced past. I couldn’t help the smile that tugged at my mouth as she hid behind the wall, just her frizzy hair poking out.
Mason’s door swung open. “Are you okay?” he asked breathlessly. I peered over his shoulder into the room. Everything was normal, but there was something up with him.
“Yes,” I said, drawing the word out. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Why are you sweaty?” I folded my arms over my chest, fully taking in his appearance.
His hair was a mess. His face was coated in a fine layer of sweat. His cheeks were flushed.
“Oh, my god!” Trinity screamed, jumping out of her hiding place. Mason jolted, pressing a hand to his chest. “You were jacking off!” She pointed at him, her mouth open in shock. “Gross!”
“I was not!” he cried, his eyes widening. “No! No—why are you even here?”
“Who knew the Mason Hughes slaps the monkey!” She tipped her head back, cackling. “Oh, TMZ is gonna love this.” She lifted her phone, and he raced down the hallway. Her flash went off a few times before he wrenched the phone out of her hand.
He held it high above his head, watching as she reached up, jumping a few times to grab it.
“Cheater!” she cried. “Brynne, tell him to give me my phone back.”
“Tell her to delete the pictures!”
“Now, be nice to each other, children.” I laughed.
I froze.
That was the first time I’d laughed in a week. That was the most I’d said in a week. The most I’d moved in a week.
The most I’d lived in a week.
“Trin, delete the pictures and don’t tell TMZ Mason was…doing whatever he was doing.”
“I was writing,” he huffed out. “And playing guitar. You know how sweaty I get when I play.”
“God, you’re digging yourself even deeper, dude.” Trinity laughed, slapping him on the shoulder. “It’s okay. Everyone does it.” She stuck her lip out. “Oh, no. Did you never have the sex talk? Sometimes your body goes through changes. And those changes are completely natural?—”
“ Shut up ,” he grumbled, shoving her phone back at her. “I’m going to bed.”
“To finish jer?—”
“Goodnight!” he shouted, slamming his door.
We glanced at each other, then dissolved into a fit of giggles. She threw her arm around me, resting her head against mine. “I was serious about the food, B. I’m starving.”
“Did you forget to eat again?” I asked as we headed to the kitchen. She pushed herself onto the counter and watched as I padded around, scrounging snacks.
“Scout’s been stealing all my food,” she said, and I glanced at her.
“Why has she been doing that?”
“Apparently, Theo has been eating all her food. So she comes over after school and stocks up. Which really means she’s stealing all of my snacks.”
My stomach dropped at the sound of his name, but I forced myself to stay casual. To not react.
Instead, I focused on piling crackers on the plate. “Why has he been doing that?”
Trin tilted her head to the side. “You don’t know?”
“Know what?” I peeked at her from the corner of my eye.
“I guess he eats his feelings when he’s sad,” she said softly. My throat tightened. “It’s so weird that you’re both sad at the same time.”
“I’m not sad,” I said too defensively. She snorted as she kicked her shoes off, leaving them in the center of the floor.
“Sure. And I’m not the Queen of Trivia Night.” Sarcasm dripped from her tone, and I rolled my eyes. “You’re going to tell me what’s going on eventually. Might as well tell me now.”
“You know,” I said, turning toward her and resting my hip on the counter. “I never realized how alike you and Theo are.” She tilted her head to the side, confused. “You’re both incredibly arrogant.”
Laughter erupted from her, and she rocked backward, resting against the cabinets. “I am not.”
“You are.” I nodded, a smile twitching my lips. “I don’t know how I never realized it before.”
A seriousness I wasn’t used to seeing from her fell across her face. “What happened on the date?” she asked quietly. “Mom told me she drove you home the next day. Did Theo—did he do something to you?”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the question. “Did he assault me, you mean?” Her eyes shuddered, but she dipped her chin in a slight nod. “Trin, come on. It’s Theo. Of course not.”
Her shoulders fell and she let out a long breath, like she’d been bracing herself for the worst. “So what happened?” she asked, nearly begging.
I turned back to the plate of snacks, my lip between my teeth.
Even though I still felt like I couldn’t trust him, trust the words that came from his mouth, I missed him .
For the last week, I’d fought with myself, going back and forth about the possibility that he was telling the truth—he didn’t remember making the bet.
It didn’t sting any less. It didn’t make it okay.
But…
I glanced at Trin. “You really want to talk about this?” I asked cautiously. “He’s your brother.”
“And you’re my best friend,” she said simply.
I took a deep, slow breath. “Before I start, I want you to know I never meant for any of this to happen,” I said quietly. “I never meant to like him. I never meant to feel anything for him, but…it just happened.”
And then I told her everything.
From the first message, to the last day I saw him. It all poured out of me. Messy and heartbroken. I was terrified of losing her because I hid this relationship with her brother, but she was right—she was my best friend, and nothing, no one , could come between us.
She munched on crackers as I wrapped up the story, now sitting on the counter opposite her, a bottle of wine clutched in my hand. I took a swig, then handed it to her. Red stained her lips, and I knew I looked the same.