by J. S. Cooper
“Okay, and thanks, Katie.” I reached out and rubbed her shoulder.
She frowned. “Thanks for what?”
“Thanks for being a good friend to Meg and an even better friend to Brandon.”
“I love him,” she said simply and smiled. “I love them both. When it comes to love, nothing can destroy how you feel.”
“I hope that’s true,” I whispered and hurried out of the house. “I really hope so.”
I walked through the front door and pulled out my phone again. “Pick up, pick up,” I muttered and then hung up and dialed again as it went to voicemail. “Pick up, Brandon,” I muttered as I listened to the phone ringing.
“Hello?” His voice sounded low, and I frowned.
“Where are you?”
“What do you need?” He ignored my question, and it sounded like he was breathing hard.
“I just spoke to Katie. She said you’re willing to come clean?”
“She said that?”
“Well, she said we should all sit down and talk.” I sighed. “I do think this is for the best.”
“It’s not a good time, Greyson,” he sighed, and I heard something banging in the background. “Katie’s pregnant.”
“What?”
“I found the test.”
“Oh.” I stopped still. “Congrats.”
“I don’t want her to leave me. Not again. I can’t lose her.”
“Brandon, you need to let her make her own decisions.”
“I know,” he growled. “I know.”
“Brandon, I got a call today.” I started and then stopped. “We need to talk.”
“Talk about what?” He sounded agitated. “Look, I gotta go. We’ll talk later.”
“Brandon, wait—” I sighed into the phone as it went dead. “Shit.” I hailed a cab and jumped in. I sat back and gave the driver directions to the club. I had a bad feeling that wherever Brandon was, it wasn’t good. In fact, I thought it was probably very, very bad. And it was all my fault.
***
Time always seems to go slowly when you’re waiting for someone to show up. I felt like I’d been sitting in my office for eternity, even though it had only been about thirty minutes since I’d arrived.
I jumped up at the knock of the door and smiled. Meg was here.
“Come in,” I called out, anxious to take her into my arms.
“Hi, Greyson.” Patsy walked into the room with a strained look on her face.
I jumped back as I saw her face. “What are you doing here?”
“You wouldn’t have asked me that a few weeks ago.” She looked at me sadly. “You would have been happy to see me.”
“What do you want, Patsy?”
“I want to know one thing.” She walked up to me and placed her hands on my shoulders. She looked up into my eyes with a pleading look, and I tried not to blanch.
“What do you want to know?” I stifled a sigh.
“Greyson, tell me—when did you stop loving me?” Her fingers reached up to my face and she gently ran her nails over my lips. “We used to mean so much to each other.”
“I never loved you,” I whispered softly, my heart breaking at the pain in her eyes.
“You did.” She nodded and stared into my eyes. “You loved me until that night.”
“What night?”
“I’m sorry, Greyson. Please, I love you.”
“Sorry for what? What did you do?” I held her shoulders. “What did you do?”
“You know what I did.” She started crying. “That’s why you ended it with me. That’s why you don’t love me. I hate Brandon. It’s his fault. Did he tell you? He tricked me. I didn’t mean it. I never wanted him. I never loved him. Not like I loved you. Like I still love you. Please, Greyson.”
“What are you talking about, Patsy? What’s his fault?”
“You stopped loving me because I slept with Brandon.” She clung to me and I froze. Her words didn’t make sense to me. They were foreign, and I was confused, but then it all started to make sense.
“You slept with Brandon?” I grabbed her hands and looked down at her. “You slept with Brandon?” She looked at me wildly then, her eyes widening in surprise. I realized then that she really thought I’d known.
“You didn’t know?” She took a step back and gasped. “You didn’t know.”
“I didn’t know.” I stared at her with thin lips.
“You didn’t know? So you didn’t dump me because of that.” She ran her hands through her hair and her face contorted. “I didn’t break your heart, did I? You never loved me.” Her face looked at me crazily. “You never loved me!” she screamed. “You used me. You used me.” She ran at me then, hitting my chest with her arms. I stood there, allowing her to hit me, but then she started slapping my face. I grabbed her hands still.
“Don’t slap me, Patsy.”
“I’ve done so much for you!” she screamed and pulled away from me. “I’ve done so much to win back your love. You’ve used me. You’ve used me and discarded me like I was nothing!”
“I haven’t asked you to do anything for me,” I said softly.
“Maria was going to bring you and Brandon down. She was going to reveal everything.” Her eyes glared at me. “She wanted me to go to the newspapers with her. She wanted me to share my story as well.”
“Patsy,” I started, but then I stopped as I saw the look of manic anger in her face.
“If you knew all I’ve done for you.” She stared at me with wild eyes. “I thought I could prove my love to you. I thought my being loyal would show you how much I cared for you. I wanted you to come back to me.”
“You never had me.”
“I had you!” she screamed and grabbed my shirt. “I fucked you long and hard so many times that you didn’t know my name from your own.”
“Patsy,” I pleaded with her. “I’m sorry if I hurt you.”
“You’re sorry. You’re sorry…” She stood there for a few seconds just staring at me, and I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to ask her if she and David were the ones behind the threats, but I didn’t want to antagonize her any further.
“What’s going on?” Meg walked into the room looking bewildered. She stared at me and then at Patsy holding on to me, sobbing, and I could see the questions in her eyes.
“Patsy was just leaving.” I tried to push Patsy off of me, but she glared.
“You think it’s going to be that simple?” She gave me an evil smile and then looked at Meg. “You think Greyson is so charming and handsome, right? You think he’s this good man who saves poor, innocent girls.” She laughed and spat on the ground. “Maria is dead because she was going to expose Greyson and Brandon for what they had done.” She gave me a look, and I saw that all the light had vanished from her eyes. “You’re going to pay, Greyson. I know all the secrets in your closet. I know the truth about Maria. I’m done keeping quiet. I thought I knew you. I thought I broke your heart, but you never cared. You never cared. Everything I did, everything I gave up… It was for you!” she cried. “And it was all for nothing.”
She ran out of the room then, and Meg and I just stood there. I didn’t know what to say. What could I say that would make it all right? I stared at Meg’s white face and knew she wanted answers. The only problem was that I had some questions myself.
Chapter 10
Greyson
“What’s going on, Greyson?” Meg swallowed hard and gave me a questioning look.
“I don’t know what to say.” I walked towards her. “Patsy told me some things I didn’t know today.”
“What things?”
I pursed my lips and stared at her.
“What things, Greyson?”
“Patsy slept with Brandon.”
“What?” Her jaw dropped. “No way.”
“She thought that was the reason I ended things with her.”
“What?” Meg’s hands flew to her face. “I can’t believe this. When did he sleep with her?”
“Are you upset?” She looked into my eyes and studied my face.
“I don’t care,” I sighed. “Yeah, it was a shady thing to do, but Brandon and I were both fucked up back then. I never loved her. I never wanted to be with her. I never should have slept with her. I regret it.”
“He never told you?”
“No.” I sighed and shook my head. “I suppose he didn’t really know how.”
“What was she talking about when she mentioned Maria?”
“I’m not one hundred percent sure.”
“But you have an idea?”
“I do.”
“What did you guys make Patsy do?”
“I don’t know.” I grabbed her hands. “I’m sorry, Meg. I can’t talk about this right now. Brandon needs to—”
“I’m done waiting, Greyson.” She pushed me away and my heart broke. “I can’t deal with this shit anymore.”
“Meg, please. You know I don’t want us to start our relationship with any more lies.”
“You could have fooled me. It seems like all you have is lies. Lies and excuses.” She stared up into my face. “I’m not Katie. I’m not just going to accept your silence and live with it.”
“I think Katie is pregnant, Meg.” I grabbed ahold of her, hoping that she would understand. “I don’t want to be the one to break up what they have. Brandon is the one who has to come forward. Please understand that.”
“Who told you she’s pregnant?” Meg’s eyes were wide and full of hurt and sorrow, and I knew it would be a long time before she would ever forgive me for not coming forward with the full truth right away. I wanted to, more than anything, but I also knew that I owed it to Brandon to hold back until he was ready. Then her eyes went blank and I felt my heart sinking.
“Brandon told me.” My fingers pinched into her arms, wanting to get more of a reaction from her. I wanted her to scream or shout at me. I wanted her to hit me. I wanted her to do something that would show me that she still cared. That she wasn’t apathetic towards me. Apathetic meant that she had given up. I couldn’t have her giving up.
“I see.” She looked away from me for a second. “I guess you know what’s best.”
“Just until she tells him about the baby. Then we can come clean.”
“Hopefully by then it’s not too late.” Her words broke my heart, but I didn’t know what to do or say.
I wanted to tell her everything, but I had promised myself a long time ago that I would never look out for myself above Brandon again. Not after everything that had happened.
I heard a noise outside the office and walked over to the door to see if anyone was outside, but the hallway was clear. I punched the wall as I realized that Patsy might have heard what we’d been talking about.
“Fuck it.” I was pissed at myself.
“I’m glad you want to do what’s best for the baby.” Meg adjusted her top. “I agree with you. The unborn baby is the most important person in this equation.”
“You are the most important person to me, Meg.”
“No, I think that’s Brandon.”
“Meg, how could you think that?” I grabbed her face and stared at her. “I love you. You are everything to me. I want to tell you, I really do.”
“I need to find Nancy.” She pulled away from me. “I need to make sure she’s okay. If crazy Patsy has a hold on her…” She shuddered.
“Meg, there’s something you should know.” I took a deep breath. “There’s something you need to know about Nancy.”
“Oh.” She froze and stared at me. I felt like my heart was going to break as I stared at her. What I was about to tell her felt like the biggest betrayal of all.
“Nancy’s not who you think she is.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Brandon and I already knew Nancy.” I lifted my fingers to her hair, but she pushed them away. “We knew her before she got the job at the club.”
“What are you saying, Greyson?”
“She’s eighteen.” I closed my eyes.
“Oh my God, Greyson. Please tell me you’re not in a relationship with her.”
“No.”
“Were you though? Were you in a relationship with her?”
“It’s not me.” I bit my lip, hating that I was doing this but knowing my relationship with Meg was more important than anything else in my life. “It’s Brandon.”
“Brandon is in a relationship with Nancy?”
“No,” I groaned and my stomach clenched. “He’s not now. I can’t explain. We have to wait. Brandon has to explain.”
“He just can’t keep his hands off the young girls, can he?” Her jaw dropped. “Katie is never going to forgive him for this.”
“That’s what he’s afraid of,” I sighed, and I heard my voice crack. “That’s what we’re both afraid of.” I looked at Meg’s white face and didn’t know what else to say.
She still didn’t know my role in this whole charade. She didn’t know that it was all my fault. I didn’t know how to tell her. I was worried that once she knew, that would be it. She’d never be able to forgive me and I’d be all alone again.
“I’m not staying there tonight.” Meg’s voice cracked. “I need time to think.”
“We can stay here,” I offered softly, hoping she was still willing to stay with me.
“Yes, we’ll stay here tonight.” She looked at me then, and I could see the pain in her eyes. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore tonight. I don’t know if I can take any more, Greyson. I just don’t know.”
I walked over, pulled her into my arms, and held her tight. I closed my eyes and breathed in the flowery smell of her hair. I wanted to stop time right at this moment. I wanted to die with her in my arms. I didn’t want to let go. I was so scared of what was going to happen when I let go.
Chapter 11
Unknown
He stared at me in the small room, and I looked at the ground. All I could think about was the gun in his hands. “Are you going to kill me?” I whispered and peeked up at him.
“I don’t know.” His voice was rough. “I don’t want to.”
I looked back down at the floor, not knowing what else to say. Then my phone started ringing. “I should answer this. She’ll be anxious if I don’t answer.”
“Answer. Don’t say anything about my being here or I’ll kill you.”
“Hello,” I answered softly, hoping she would hear the anxiety in my voice, but as soon as I heard her voice, I knew that she didn’t care about anyone but herself.
Her voice sounded manic. I wanted to hang up the phone, tell her that I was done, but I didn’t know how. I owed her so much. We had this bond now. A bond that tied us together for life. A bond I wasn’t sure I wanted.
“They have discarded us like we are nothing. We can’t let them do this to us anymore. Now is the time for us to strike. Now is the time for us to blow everything up.”
“I don’t know.” I shook my head. “Maybe it’s best for us to just let it be. Let them live their lives. We can live ours.”
“I have no life left to live.”
“You have me. You have—” I started, but she cut me off. I saw him looking at me with an intense look in his eyes. I knew that he was angry at our conversation.
“They took everything from me. I could have had a real life. I could have had a real family. They can’t get away with this. Katie is having a baby.”
“How do you know?” My voice caught as her words hit me hard. I looked over to the corner, hoping he couldn’t hear the call.
“What do you care? I was told.” She dismissed me. “I know and that’s all you need to know. Now they all get to live happily ever after. Brandon and Katie. Greyson and Meg. Little baby Harry. Next thing you know, Meg will be pregnant too. Greyson will have a child. They’ll both have kids. They’ll both have families and they won’t give us a second thought. We should have been part of that family.”
“I don’t know what you want me to do.”
“All I need you to do is take the bomb to them. Expose it. Let Katie and Meg see who they really are.”
“Then what?” Tears were running down my face as I realized that there wasn’t going to be any happy endings in this story that I called my life. Patsy had no interest in me other than to help her get revenge. I looked at the gun and part of me wished he would just shoot me.
“Then you wait for me. I’ll take care of the rest. I’m going to blow this shit up. I’m going to make sure they never forget us. Not ever. I’m going to make sure that they experience the kind of pain we’ve been living in forever, for the rest of their lives.” And then she hung up. I put the phone in my lap at looked up.
“That was Patsy, wasn’t it?” He looked grim and then satisfied as I nodded. “Does she really think she’s going to get away with it?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “She loves Greyson, you know?”
“Do you think I give a shit?” He laughed. “She means nothing to me.”
“Just like I mean nothing to you?”
“I have to go.” He jumped up. “I’m locking you in here. Don’t bother screaming. No one will hear you.”
“Are you going to kill me?” I called out after him, but he didn’t answer as he left the room and locked it.
I closed my eyes and lay down on the bed, staring into the darkness of my mind. I laughed as I realized that I still had my phone on my lap. I could make a call and get out of here if I wanted to. I could call 911. I could flee and turn them all in. Though there wasn’t really a point. If he didn’t love me and he didn’t want me, what did it matter? I meant nothing to him. Never had and never would. I was a speck of nothing to the entire universe and nothing was going to change that.
Chapter 12
Brandon
“Close your eyes.” Katie grabbed my arm as soon as I walked through the front door.
“What? Why?”
“Just close your eyes.” She slipped a thin piece of material over my eyes and tied a knot at the back of my head.
