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He took a seat at the small table next to my hotel window and motioned for me to eat. “What did Colby say before he left?”
I recapped our conversation. “He went from barely being able to spend a night apart to breaking up with me.”
“Like you said, he believed what they said. Truth be told, even I was guilty of not noticing how Colby’s changed the last few years. But yesterday evening, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind he’d met someone he was falling in love with.”
My heart hurt. Only hours ago he’d confided that to someone, and yet today he’d left me in his room. Hearing the knock on the door, I tensed, not sure I could withstand another round with my brother.
“I’ll get it,” Mark offered.
I was relieved to hear Sasha and Haylee’s voices and nodded toward Mark, giving him the okay that they could come in.
Sasha walked in, and to my surprise, immediately hugged me. She normally wasn’t so affectionate. “You okay?”
“Not yet, but I owe you both an apology for spoiling this weekend.”
Both women shook their heads and Sasha spoke.
“You didn’t ruin a thing. As for today, you stood up for someone you love in a way that was sincere and unapologetic. Don’t go and express regret now. Love is messy and sometimes embarrassingly on display in the most awkward of ways. Your graduation party was a good example of that for me and your brother. I don’t know how it is you never found out what happened, but let’s just say I thought every person there was aware of my meltdown and how upset I was with Brian at the time.”
I appreciated her words and the idea I wasn’t alone when it came to messy, not to mention public, displays. “Thank you for sharing that,” I murmured.
“Josh is on his way to LA to see Colby. He feels terrible, as well he should,” Haylee offered.
I expelled a breath, hoping some good would come out of this debacle.
Another knock sounded at the door. This time it was my brother. His hands were in his pockets, his eyes wide at the company already in the room. Suddenly, everyone cleared out while he came in, shutting the door behind him.
Colby was correct in that Brian and I had never fought. Ever. He’d always been there for me, and although I was upset by the way he’d treated Colby, I knew Brian’s intentions had been honorable. I also believed that finding out the way he did contributed to his over-reaction.
“Do you hate me?”
I shook my head, knowing if I broke down crying, he’d probably think it was Colby’s fault.
“I’m sorry, Kenzie.”
“I’m not the only one you should be apologizing to.”
He sighed deeply. “Now that I’m past the initial shock, I realize that. Seeing you there earlier at your door half-dressed, I saw red and lashed out. All I could picture was him crawling back from the strip club into your bed, and I completely lost it. And so you know, the overdose wasn’t even a girl he’d invited to the party, and the sex tape was only a camera phone snippet from a college night. Not exactly harmless, but not as blown up as I was making them out to be.”
I didn’t need to know these things; however, hearing that Brian’s perspective was shifting on them was promising. “Like I said, everyone has things from their past they’re not proud of.”
He nodded. “You’re right about that, and I have every intention of fixing things with Colby, but for right now, I need to know we’re okay.”
“We’ll get there. I’m not even sure I know how to stay mad at you. I regret we put everyone in this position to begin with.”
“I appreciate you saying that. But you were more than entitled to be upset with us, especially with me treating you like a girl who wouldn’t know better. I shouldn’t have claimed you were staying in California or giving up your future for him.”
“No. You shouldn’t have.” Knowing how terrible he felt, I added, “But I still love you.”
“I love you, too.” He hugged me tight, then pulled away sighing. “Have you talked with Colby since he left?”
I shook my head.
He cursed under his breath. “I thought I was protecting you, not interfering with your relationship. I can’t stand the thought that I may have ruined—”
I interrupted him. “This isn’t only on you, Brian. No matter what happens, what it comes down to is Colby has to get beyond his insecurities over his past, or it’ll never work. If he loved me enough, he’d be unapologetic about it, no matter what you thought. Although asking him to be secure when I’m not isn’t exactly fair.”
“There was no insecurity in the way you defended him earlier.”
