Betrayal: Kyle's Revenge (The Betrayal Series)
Page 20
“What is it?” Abby asked, furrowing her brow and sitting on a chair across from Brianna.
“Kyle was here today.”
Abby scoffed. “I can’t believe he had the nerve to show up here. Is that why you’re crying? What did he say or do to you? Did he hurt you?”
Brianna shook her head. “He’s not the reason I’m crying. Kyle didn’t do anything wrong. He actually came to apologize to me for not believing me about Miller and my father.”
Abby’s eyes widened. “Holy crap. He did? Did you accept his apology?”
Brianna nodded. “I did. I also forgave him for choking me at his apartment. I just got tired of carrying all that resentment around. Bitterness just eats you up inside, you know.” Her lips curled into a coy smile. “I learned that from a very pretty and very smart lady.”
Abby smiled back. “Well, I’m glad you decided to forgive him for all the horrible things he’s done to you. That was very big of you.”
Brianna bit her lip and played with her hands, hesitant to share with Abby the rest of the news. “That’s not all. We also want to be more involved in each other’s lives. Is that okay with you?”
“Absolutely,” Abby replied without hesitation. “I’ve forgiven him. Besides, he’s your brother, Brianna. Your only brother. We all deserve a second chance.”
Brianna’s face broke into a huge smile as relief washed over her. She rushed from behind her desk and knelt in front of Abby. She took Abby’s hands into hers and kissed them softly before raising her gaze to meet Abby’s bright hazel eyes. “I love you so much,” she whispered before craning her neck up to steal a kiss from Abby’s lips.
“Hey, what are you doing home so early?” Brianna asked after pulling away from the tender kiss.
Abby shrugged, brushing some loose strands of hair off Brianna’s face. “All of my meetings got cancelled. My boss gave me the rest of the day off so I could come home and work on my novel.”
“I can’t believe you haven’t even finished that novel and you already have a publishing deal. That’s amazing.”
“I know. I’m very lucky.”
“It’s not just luck, lady. You’re freaking talented. That’s why they signed you so fast. You’re going to be huge. I just know it. That Harry Potter lady better watch out.”
Abby let out an adorable giggle snort while heat crept to her cheeks. “You’re insane.”
“Am I? Mark my words: That novel is going to be insanely successful. I’m so proud of you, baby.”
Abby giggled. “Thanks. I’m proud of me too.”
After stealing another sweet kiss, Brianna shot to her feet and grabbed Abby’s hand. “Come with me,” she smiled, pulling Abby out of her chair.
“Where are we going?” Abby asked.
“Outside. It’s a beautiful day. We shouldn’t waste it being in here. Come on. Let’s go.”
Chapter XVI
Brianna dragged Abby through the various rooms and hallways of the spacious house until they reached a gliding glass door that led to the house’s garden. Once outside, Brianna let go of Abby’s hand, kicked off her flip flops, and stepped towards the middle of the lawn. With the cool summer breeze gently caressing her face and the freshly cut grass tickling her bare feet, Brianna closed her eyes and threw her head back, soaking up the mid-afternoon sun.
With her eyes still closed, she reflected on all the things that had happened to her over the previous eight years. She had shed a lot of tears but had also learned a lot of valuable lessons over that time. She was grateful for having a career she was happy with and for her small but loyal circle of friends. She was also thankful for the fact that after they had shunned her for so long, her brother and her mother were back in her life. It felt good to have a family again.
But the one person Brianna was most thankful for, was the woman she was sharing her life with. She opened her eyes and glanced over her shoulder. “Come on,” she mouthed, stretching her hand towards Abby who was still standing by the gliding door.
With a smile that shone brighter than the sun, Abby slid her feet out of her pumps, tossed them aside, and strolled to where Brianna was standing. She too had been reflecting on everything that had happened to her since the day she met Kyle Garrett more than four years earlier.
She remembered how in love she had been with him and how she had been certain she was going to marry him. Then she met the mysterious and fascinating Brianna Garrett and her world got turned upside down in a matter of days. She remembered the infamous kiss she shared with Brianna at Ryan’s party, the confusion she felt afterward, and the agonizing guilt that consumed her after she ended up in Brianna’s bed.
The whole thing afterward with Kyle felt like a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from. Abby still regretted how that relationship ended. Her feelings towards Kyle were complicated, to say the least. She shared some of the best days of her life with him but also her very worst.
Having him back in her life after everything that happened was going to be weird, but Abby was determined to suck it up and just deal with it because Brianna needed and wanted her brother in her life. As someone who was currently being shunned by her own father, Abby understood, more than ever, the importance of having family who were caring and supportive in one’s life.
Like Brianna, Abby was grateful for the lessons learned and the things she had. She too had a job she enjoyed and was excited about finishing and releasing her first novel. Her father had practically disowned her, but she still had the unconditional love and support of her mother and brothers. She was thankful for the old friends that stood by her and for all the new ones she had made since moving to The City of Angels.
After being with Brianna for over a year, Abby still woke up every morning wondering if it was all a dream. If you had told her two years earlier that she was going to end up falling in love with another woman and moving to California with her, she would’ve thought you’d lost your mind. But there she was, living life to its fullest and loving every second of it.
When Abby made it to where Brianna was standing, Brianna pulled her into a warm embrace. “Thank you,” Brianna whispered against Abby’s ear.
“For what?” Abby asked.
Brianna broke the embrace, cradled Abby’s face with both hands, and stared deep into her hazel eyes. “For everything. Thank you for believing me about Miller and my father. Thank you for holding me and drying up my tears the night I told you everything. Thank you for loving me and not being afraid to do so.”
Brianna paused for a second to catch her breath. “Thank you for making me understand that you shouldn’t live your life holding grudges because they do nothing but eat you up inside. Thank you for loving me enough to leave your family and friends behind and move to this amazing, scary city with me. And thank you for making the past year the best of my life. I love you with all my heart, and I thank God every day that I have you in my life.”
Abby grinned. Her eyes had turned to glass from the tears she could no longer hold. “I want to thank you too. You saved my life. If you hadn’t convinced me to leave Kyle when you did, who knows what would’ve happened to me. When Kyle threatened to ruin your career by leaking that arrest record, you chose to put my safety and well-being above your reputation and livelihood. I will never forget that. And I won’t ever forget how you took care of me afterwards and kept me safe.”
Abby paused to wipe tears from her cheeks. “The last year has also been the best of my life, and if I had to do it all over again, I would. Standing here with you in this house right now was worth going through all the crap I went through. I love you with all my heart, Brianna, and always will. I want to grow old with you. I want your face to be the first thing I see every day when I wake up and the last one I see when I go to bed. I want your arms cradling me when I’m sick or feeling down. You’re the one I want to tell all of my problems to because you will always listen. There are people out there who don’t understand what we have, who think our love is wrong. They will n
ever accept or even tolerate our love, but I don’t care. I love you and will always love you no matter what anyone thinks.”
By now, copious amounts of tears were rushing down Abby’s and Brianna’s faces. They kissed tenderly while wiping each other cheeks with their hands. They embraced once more, listening to each other breathe and reveling in the warmth of the other’s body. They were both floating on air. They both felt as if time had stood still and nothing else existed or mattered.
After some time had passed, Abby broke the embrace. “Hey! You still haven’t told me why you were crying earlier.”
“Don’t worry about it. They were tears of joy, not pain. When you knocked on my office door, I had just finished making a video and posting it on YouTube.”
Abby frowned. “A video? What type of video?”
“I’ll show it to you later. Right now, I just want to look at you, hold you in my arms, kiss you all over, and show you how much I love you.”
And every single day, for the next fifty-seven years, Brianna got the chance to do all of those things and then some.
The End.
Epilogue
The video Brianna uploaded to YouTube went viral fast. Within hours, it garnered tens of millions of views. Brianna was overwhelmed by the response. She had expected some people to watch it and maybe get something out of it, but she was not prepared for the onslaught of love and support she received from people all over the world.
But like with everything on the internet, there were negative reactions too. Some of the comments made on the YouTube page were right down rude and nasty, but Brianna took it all in stride. Overall, the response was very positive, and Brianna did not regret making or posting the video on the internet. A few days after Brianna uploaded it, someone reposted the video with subtitles in several different languages, and the video became even more popular.
The media, as expected, began to hound Briana about it from day one. Her publicist was bombarded with interview requests from all over the world, but Brianna was not interested in talking to anyone no matter how respected or popular the interviewer was. She felt she had said everything she needed to say about the subject matter on the video.
The person who subtitled the video also transcribed Brianna’s words and posted the transcript online:
Hi. My name is Brianna Garrett. I’m an actress, but you may know me from seeing my face on the news lately. I had promised myself that after that trial I wasn’t going to talk about this subject anymore. But then I thought about all the young girls and boys out there who may be going through the same things I went through eight years ago. I thought about how they may be suffering in silence like I did. So I decided to make this video for them.
Many people have asked me why I ran away from home instead of going to the police when that pastor began to force himself on me. I will tell you why. I grew up in a very conservative, religious town where people, including my own parents, believed that people like me were deviant, depraved, the spawn of Satan.
I felt that if I had gone to the police, no one would have believed me. Patrick Miller was a highly respected member of the community, and given how much the authorities in my town hated people like me, there’s no way anyone would have thought I was telling the truth. And even if they had believed my story, they probably wouldn’t have done anything about it. They would have told me I deserved what was happening to me because I was a sick fuck and Miller wouldn’t have been punished.
If I had accused Miller of raping me, he would’ve been furious and would have punished me for it. With no one to protect me, I’m sure things would have gotten a lot worse for me if I had spoken up. I couldn’t take that chance. So I kept my mouth shut and got as far away from him as possible the first chance I got.
With the help of my little brother and a dear friend, I packed a bag, got on a Greyhound bus, and came here to California. I love it here. Californians are much more open-minded and accepting than the residents of Glen Falls, Montana. I’m thankful that my civil rights are respected here, and I’m grateful that I don’t have to feel ashamed or live in fear here.
I grew up believing I was not worthy of love just because I was attracted to girls and not boys. Growing up, I didn’t flaunt who I was, but I didn’t hide it either. Everyone knew I was gay, including my parents. My parents pretended they didn’t know, but they did. They’ve always known. They couldn’t hide their shame of me or their disdain for me. I was the child they didn’t want to be seen with and the child they wouldn’t talk to their friends about.
At first, I believed something was wrong with me for liking girls, and I prayed to God to make me normal. I desperately wanted my parents to love me and be proud of me like they were of my brother. I cried a lot because I couldn’t change who I was. I was also very lonely.
But then I went through my rebellious teen phase and said to hell with everyone. I started to pretend my parents’ hatred didn’t hurt, but it did. How could it not? Up until recently, I convinced myself that no one could ever love me because my own parents didn’t love me. I chided away from relationships, afraid to get my heart broken. But then I met someone who helped me understand I was not some defective freak who was destined to die alone. This incredible woman loves me in spite of all my flaws and insecurities. She has taught me to love myself, and I’m grateful that I have her in my life.
I’m making this video because I know there are young girls and boys out there feeling exactly like I did eight years ago: worthless, hopeless, afraid, ashamed. I’m here to tell you that you shouldn’t be. There is nothing wrong with you. You are not broken. You are not sick. You don’t need to be rehabilitated.
You are perfect just the way you are, and if some people cannot see that, it’s their loss. I want you all to know you have a friend in me. If you need someone to talk to, contact me privately through my social media accounts. I will listen to you and will try to help you with anything you need. If there is someone right now trying to cure you like they tried to cure me, speak up. Don’t suffer in silence like I did.
If no one believes you, I will. I will do everything in my power to get you out of that situation. If you need to get away, I will open my home to you. I’m not bullshitting. Always remember: You cannot change who you are. You can’t help who you love, and you are worth loving, every single one of you. Hang in there guys. I’m here for you. Always will be. Thanks for watching.
DEAR READER
Thank you for taking the time to read my story. If you enjoyed it, I would really appreciate it if you recommended it to people you know and leave a review. If you write a review, let me know via email at sofiavelardi77@gmail.com and I’ll thank you with a personal email.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Part 1 of the Betrayal Series: Abby’s Guilt and part 2: Brianna’s Secret available now.
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Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
CHAPTER II
CHAPTER III
CHAPTER IV
CHAPTER V
CHAPTER VI
CHAPTER VII
CHAPTER VIII
CHAPTER IX
CHAPTER X
CHAPTER XI
CHAPTER XII
CHAPTER XIII
CHAPTER XIV
CHAPTER XV
CHAPTER XVI
EPILOGUE
DEAR READER
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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