CHAPTER SIXTY

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,”

“I can’t believe this, there can’t be,”

“But there is,”

“It’s not possible,”

“Stop staying that, it’s true,”

“He told you?”

“He didn’t have to,”

“But then there’s always a possibility it’s not true,”

“Kevin, I’ve known him my a long time life, he’s in love with someone else.”

“No, he can’t be. I haven’t seen him with anyone else,”

“Maybe that’s why he’s been so distant with you, he doesn’t want you to find out.”
“No, it’s just not possible.”

“Just because you overlooked it doesn’t mean it’s not possible,” Leighanne replied softly.
“No.”

“Maybe I should leave,” Leighanne whispered.

Kevin’s head snapped towards her, “no.”

“But Kevin, it’s possible. In fact I’m sure he’s in love. I’ve known him so long. I know when he’s in love, cause he used to act that way to wards me,” Leighanne’s voice was heavy, filled was sorrow.

“If he is, I’ll kill him.” Kevin responded, clenching his fists and walking out the door.


~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~


“Who do you think you are?!” Kevin bellowed, face red, past the point of calming down.

“What?” I looked up from my spot on the couch.

“You heard me,”

“Yes, I did.” I concluded, turning back to the TV.

“My God, you seriously are selfish,”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I sighed, putting down the remote for the television and looking at Kevin. I was so tried of this.

“Leighanne knows you love someone else,”

“What?” I choked out, completely shocked.

“Yeah, that’s right. How could you do this to her?” Kevin steamed, pacing the floor in front of me.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, trying to regain my composure.

“You already slipped up, now just tell me why? You loved her when you first me her. You loved her after you broke up with her, and you loved her when she came back. What’s changed?”

I took a deep breath and looked directly into my cousin’s eyes. God I hated lying to him. “What? Slipping up? What’s changed? What are you talking about? I’m with Leighanne. There is no one else,” I said as calmly as I could.

Kevin frowned, “then why does she feel that way?”

“I guess I just haven’t been paying attention to her lately, there’s been a lot going on, you know?” I asked, hoping he’d just drop it. I couldn’t handle lying to him anymore.

“Yeah,” Kevin nodded. What he said next surprised me, “I’m sorry.”

Kevin. Sorry?

“W-what?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry, I jumped to conclusions,” he responded so concerned. I felt my heart sink into my chest.

“I just need to be alone for a bit, if that’s okay?” I asked feeling my eyes rim with tears.

“Yeah sure,” Kevin smiled briefly before showing himself out.

“Yeah,” I whispered, closing my eyes and letting the tears slip down my cheeks.


CHAPTER SIXTY ONE

“Shh…” I giggled into the phone.

“Why? I’m not the one who’s going to be heard,”

“Oh shut up,” I smiled playfully.

“Alright then, I guess I’ll go…” Nick trailed off.

“No, no. Don’t go, I was kidding!”

Nick laughed richly, “I know baby.”

I smiled, “I love you,”

“I love you too, but you know that,”

“But I always love to hear it,”

“I see that,”

“I miss you so much,”

“I miss you too,”

“Goodnight,”

“Sweet dreams,” I heard him smirk over the phone.

“Oh fuck you,”

“Don’t you wish,”

I laughed and put the phone down on the bathroom counter. I sighed happily. No matter what, I just couldn’t be
anything but happy around Nick. I shook my head, and turned the tap to the water, getting ready for bed.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~


After a moment of shock and recognition, the door, which was open only a crack, was closed once more. So it was true. Brian was with someone else.



CHAPTER SIXTY TWO


“He definitely has someone,”

“No, he doesn’t.”

“He does,”

“Leighanne, you don’t know it for sure-”

“Yes, I do,” she interrupted.

“What?” Kevin voice was barely above a whisper.

“I do know,”

“How?”

“I heard him on the phone,”

“Oh come on, how do you know it was his girlfriend?”

“He said I love you,”

“He says I love you to his mother,”

“Yes, but he doesn’t say fuck you to his mother, now does he?”

“That would be his brother,”

Leighanne sighed, there was no getting through to Kevin, just like his cousin. They were both too stubborn. “I guess you’re right,” she lied.

“I know, don’t worry. Everything will work out fine,”

Leighanne nodded, somehow doubting it completely.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~


“Damn Nick, stop talking like that,” I whispered when I felt heat rush through my body. I couldn’t take much more. I had to get to bed soon, and Nick was going to make that extremely hard.

“Do you know what I want to do to you?” Nick’s rasped voice filled the line.

“Nick,” I practically moaned, adjusting myself, willing my hand not to start.

“Oh come on, you know you want me,” Nick smiled through the phone.

I nodded, then realized he couldn’t see me. “Yes, God I want you so much,”

“Imagine what I could be doing to you right now,”

“Oh God Nick, stop it. Please,” I bit my lip and clenched my fist. I was not going to resort to phone sex.

“Just let go, just feel baby,” the way he called me baby made my skin tingle.

“Nick, I’m not-”

“Oh shit,” he whispered, my voice caught in my throat.

I clutched the phone tighter in my hand and closed my eyes, “What?”

“Un…God,” he moaned out. I threw my head back, feeling my cock press urgently against my pants. He was so cruel. I slid my hand down my chest and into my boxers.

“Nick,” I moaned when I wrapped my fingers around my aching cock, starting to pump myself slowly.
“God yes baby, I’m right here,” Nick panted.

“God I miss you so much Nick,” I choked out in between gasps of air.

Then I heard it. The sudden creak of the door. My head whipped to the source of the intruding noise. And there stood my worst possible fear.


CHAPTER SIXTY THREE

My mouth hung open in complete shock, my breathing still heavy, my heart still pounding.

“I’ll call you back,” I whispered into the phone.

“W-what?” Was the desperate response I got back.

“I-”

The phone was grabbed from my hands, “he’ll call you back.” It was slammed onto the counter, but the impact made it fall off and onto the floor.

I was frozen in place. I couldn’t move. This just couldn’t be happening.

“What the hell is going on?”

My lips couldn’t even form a sentence. The tightening feeling in the pit of my stomach grew. I felt like I was going to puke.

This was so bad.

“Nick?”

I felt my eye rimming with tears. This couldn’t be happening. “I-”

“With Nick?”

I could only nod meekly.

“I can’t believe this,”

“I-I,” I felt my lips quivering. “I love him,”

I felt her blonde hair whip my face as she walked out the door of the bathroom.

I crumpled to the floor when the tears came, feeling suddenly weak. It was all just unreal. It was just a nightmare. Leighanne couldn’t know. She couldn’t possible know. It wasn’t possible. Because if she knew, she’d tell Kevin. And then Kevin would throw a fit and then tell everyone else. And Nick wasn’t ready for that. I wasn’t ready for that. So it just wasn’t possible. I cried harder.

But it was. And everything was just about to fall apart.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~


I ended up crying myself to sleep, having no courage to walk out of the bathroom and face Leighanne. Waking up on the cold tiles of the small room, I groggily stood up, trying to get my bearings. My hands shook as I wiped my tearstained cheeks. This was so bad. It was going to be so bad.

Everything I worked for, everything that made me happy, everything that was Nick, was going to be taken away from me. I just knew it. Nothing good ever came to me for that long. And if it did, it was just for me to get used to only to be ripped away moments later.

I was too afraid to face her. I took an unnecessarily long hot shower.

Bracing myself, I turned the doorknob and walked into the bedroom, expecting to be pounced. But she wasn’t waiting there. She wasn’t in the room. My heart fluttered as hope swept into my system. Maybe she didn’t remember. Maybe she didn’t tell. Maybe it was all just a dream.

But my heart sank when the front door unlocked and Leighanne stood in the threshold, glaring at me. My heart began to pound in my chest when she threw her keycard to the side and approached me. She sat on the bed beside me, her back facing me.

Maybe I could just slip by. Maybe she didn’t know.

“You and Nick,” she said from her spot on the bed, not even bothering to look at me.
Maybe not.

I didn’t say anything. What was there to say? She knew it was true. I didn’t have to repeat it. I walked in front of the bed to face her. I don’t know why, because I was being cowardly before. But Nick meant something to me, and I just couldn’t let him go without a fight.

My head was spinning slightly from all the emotions running through me, the biggest one being fear. After a moment she looked up into my eyes, her eyes locked with mine and she patted the spot next to her.
I sat down.

She wrapped her arm around me, and began rubbing my back. I was about to sink into her embrace when she spoke,
“It’s wrong,”

I stiffened in her grasp and shut my eyes tightly at those words feeling my heart sunk to the floor. It took me so long to believe it was right. I thought maybe she’d understand, she of all people. She was so loving and caring and understanding. I thought maybe she’d understand. She didn’t. And if she didn’t, no one would. I pulled away from her.
Her tone was more desperate, “it goes against everything you believe in! It isn’t love. It’s not. It’s just this weird obsession you two have grown over the past years. You’ve mistaken your love for each other as friends as something more.”

A sob wracked my body, and I dropped my head into my hands. How could she say that?

“Don’t jeopardize your and everyone else’s careers because of one mistake,”

I tried to ignore those words. It wasn’t true. It couldn’t be. I couldn’t believe she’d even suggest that. Or bring it up at the moment. Was that all she cared about?

I looked up at her, “Is that all your care about? Our careers?”

“Don’t do anything stupid Brian. You’ll see, it’ll pass, but then you’ll have ruined everyone’s careers.”

“Get out,”

Her head snapped up.

“Get out of my room now,” I demanded, my voice more steady than I’d expected. I felt my lips tremble.

“You don’t-”

“Don’t tell me what I do and don’t feel. Get out,” I swiped at a tear that slid down my cheek.

“Brian, you-”

“Now,” my voice was dangerously low, I was on the point of exploding.

She stood up and walked to the door, “you’ll regret it Brian, you’ll regret everything.” And with that she was out the door.

What scared me was what she said. It wasn’t a threat. Her tone was more disappointed than threatening. My stomach turned at the possibilities.



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