32. Needed Support
32
NEEDED SUPPORT
“W hat the fuck, Foster,” Braylon shouted at him on Monday morning.
He hadn’t given his brother a reason when he said he needed to meet with him and maybe should have.
But why bother Braylon on the weekend when he was spending time with Lily?
Because if Braylon knew, then West would, then Laken, and it would get to his mother.
Aileen Carlisle would be on the first plane to New York if she heard what he’d done.
What he didn’t know was if it would be to smack him or tell him he did the right thing.
“I came to you,” he said. “I don’t think anything is going to happen.”
“Bullshit,” Braylon said. “You came to me because you think something will happen.” Braylon stood up and went to his phone while Foster sat there in his brother’s office. “Yeah, can we come see you?”
Braylon put the phone down. “You just called West?” he asked.
“Yes,” Braylon said. “Let’s go.”
“He doesn’t even know I’m here,” he said.
“Don’t kid yourself. I told him you were coming in when I saw him on the way in.”
His shoulders slumped. “Why?”
“Not because of this,” Braylon said. “Maybe I thought it had to do with Charlotte. I don’t know. I figured if you needed support we could be there for you.”
He couldn’t fault his brother for that. He was coming here for support but not for the kind with his girlfriend.
“There is nothing going on with Charlotte and me,” he said.
“Even after what you did in front of her?” Braylon asked.
His brother was calmer now. Braylon rarely blew up and if he did it was only briefly.
“She said she didn’t believe I had a temper,” he said. “She knows it now.”
Foster had thought for sure she’d be afraid of him, but she didn’t seem to be. That was one good thing.
He’d thought the past three weeks since their trip to Amore Island had been great.
There was no pressure for them to move faster than what they were doing.
No talk of love either.
He knew how she felt. She knew how he did.
It was working for them.
They got to West’s office, walking by his secretary and going in.
“What’s going on?” West asked. “Everything okay with Charlotte?”
“Do you guys think I’d be coming here if I had relationship issues?”
“No,” West said. “You’d be holed up at home and no one would hear from you in weeks if not months and that would be the first sign that there might be a problem. But it’s not like you to ask to meet either.”
“It is if Foster loses his shit and attacks someone,” Braylon said.
West leaned back in his chair, but made no other motion. No rolling of the eyes. No sighing. No lecturing.
“Tell us what happened,” West said.
“That’s better than Braylon yelling at me,” he said.
“Braylon raised his voice?” West asked, lifting an eyebrow. “Thanks for the warning.”
Foster grabbed a chair and sat down. Braylon was on the couch and West stood up to join them off to the side where they normally met as family.
No way he was sitting in front of his brother’s desk as if he was going to get detention from the principal.
“Charlotte’s ex won’t leave her alone,” he said.
“You mentioned that he showed up months ago,” West said. “Has he again?”
“It’s been three times. Once when she wasn’t home. When she went to visit her sister Memorial Day weekend. Then he stopped last month or so. I don’t remember. I installed security cameras and it's all on there to get the date. Then again this weekend.”
He’d had her pull the footage of what happened on Saturday.
He was pretty impressed with his moves when he saw himself flying through the air and tackling the guy that his girlfriend used to be in a relationship with.
Maybe there was more force behind it for those reasons alone.
Then add on the fact that Landon made Charlotte doubt herself and her feelings.
Yeah, he could have just walked up and gotten in the guy’s face. Or even shouted first.
He didn’t think and just acted.
“Go on,” West said.
“Yes,” Braylon said. “Get to the best part.”
“Landon came over on Saturday. He walked close toward her. I saw it happening. I was mowing the lawn and on my way to intervene. He grabbed her arm and yanked her forward in front of his face.”
“And you reacted and tackled him?” West asked.
“Yes,” he said.
“Good,” West said.
“What?” Braylon asked, his jaw dropping.
He might have been as shocked as Braylon was over West’s response.
“Braylon, you would have done the same thing if one of Lily’s exes did that to her. Hell, you came to her defense before you even knew her name.”
Guys were hitting on Lily in the coffee shop and Braylon had enough and walked over to pretend to be her fiancé. Their ruse turned into an actual relationship.
“But I didn’t get physical,” Braylon said.
“You would now if someone did to Lily what happened to Charlotte,” he said. “Don’t lie to me.”
“I don’t know what I’d do,” Braylon said.
Foster turned to his oldest brother. “And you would have done the same thing, West. You played the same game with Abby as Braylon did when someone was hitting on Abby in a bar. You didn’t know her either.”
“I’m not sure I would have done what you did,” West said. “I’ve got a little more control than you, but I sure the hell would have intervened and then thrown my weight around.”
“I did that too,” he said. “ My way. ”
“And your way brought you here,” Braylon said. “Which means you’re worried there is going to be a problem.”
“I don’t think so, but Charlotte is concerned. She said Landon was there because it was making the rounds she was dating me and embarrassing herself over it.”
“Embarrassing herself dating you?” West asked, smirking. “And how is that?”
“Actually, Landon never said my name directly. Just that it was embarrassing to him and Charlotte that she was dating a younger man. When we replayed the conversation, we started to think Landon didn’t know it was me she was dating.”
“Then why are you worried?” West asked.
“I’m not. She is. I’ve had him followed all weekend. I wanted to make sure he didn’t go back to her place.”
“Do you still have him being watched?” Braylon asked.
“Yes. Especially since I’m here and she is there. I’m being discreet. I know who to call. I also know that no assault charge has been filed, but that doesn’t mean anything. He said I wouldn’t get away with it. He knows who I am. He’s the one who told Charlotte who her neighbor was.”
“Do you have a video of what happened on Saturday if you’ve got it of the day he showed up months ago?” Braylon asked.
“I do,” he said. He pulled his phone out and sent the video to both of his brothers and sat there while they watched it.
“Damn,” West said. “Nice moves.”
He laughed. “Thanks. I was impressed myself watching it.”
“You two,” Braylon said. “I have to admit I’m a little jealous, but that doesn’t leave this room.”
“It will if you ride my ass on this again,” Foster said.
When his brothers were done with the video, West said, “I can’t see how he can get away with anything when it’s on video that he touched Charlotte first. The sound quality isn’t that good, but everyone can see what happened. Having her go to the camera and show the bruises after was a good move too.”
“I’m not stupid,” he said. “Regardless of what Braylon thinks right now.”
“I don’t think you’re stupid,” Braylon said. “Just not smart to let your temper get the better of you. There are much better ways to handle things than worry about a lawsuit or getting arrested.”
“I don’t care about either of those things for me,” he said.
He was more worried it’d bring shame on the family.
“Don’t get worked up over it,” West said. “Braylon is going to take care of it, right?”
“I am,” Braylon said. “Do you want to know what I’m doing or do you trust me?”
“I trust you,” he said.
“Leave it to me,” Braylon said and got up and left him there with West.
“How does Charlotte feel about what happened?”
“She’s fine with it now. I scared her for a minute.”
“I’m sure it was more than a minute. You can hear her shouting at you to stop. You listened when you never did as a kid.”
“I’ve matured,” he said.
“You did it because it came from her,” West said. “You love her, don’t you?”
“I do,” he said.
“Have you told her?”
“No,” he said. “But she knows I feel the same as her. She’s said the words.”
West laughed. “And you didn’t say them back? You’re lucky you aren’t in the dog house for that alone.”