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“What are you doing over in this neck of the woods?” I asked, walking toward him.
“Just running a couple wedding errands,” he said. “Kelly is having a video call with her twin and her mother, and that can last for hours.”
“Have you had dinner?” I asked.
“Not yet.”
“Good. Neither have I. Let’s go grab something.”
We headed for the bar and sat down to Lindsey’s famous massive burgers. It was good to hang out with my brother, just being able to catch up for a while before he headed home to his fiancée. The bar was busy that night, so I didn’t get a chance to chat with Lindsey. I was getting in my car to head home when my phone rang again. This time it wasn’t one of my brothers, or even Lindsey calling to yell at me for leaving. Instead, it was Bryn.
“Hi, Bryn,” I said.
I started to say more before she burst into a tirade. She sounded blisteringly angry, angrier than I had ever heard her. I could barely understand anything she was saying, but it was enough to catch the name “Justin.” Without hesitation, I turned around and detoured to her place.17BrynNever in my life had I been that angry. Even the day I’d found out about Justin stealing all my money and we broke up. Even the day when I had to go through the house and start taking apart all the different reminders of what used to be our relationship. Those days I was seriously angry, but it was nothing compared to this. The fury seared inside me, and I couldn’t stand still.
Every time I had tried to pause and sit down, I couldn’t take it. There was far too much pent-up energy burning through my veins and tensing up my muscles. All I could do was pace back and forth, gripping the phone beside me so hard it was cutting into my palm. This was a whole new level. A new degree of disrespect I just couldn’t tolerate.
It seemed like hours passed between me calling Nick and him pulling up in front of the house. Seeing him made me realize I didn’t even know why he was the one I called. It didn’t make sense. Experiencing something like that should have had me calling a girlfriend to vent. Instead, Nick was the first name that came to mind.
I tried to tell myself it was because he was involved in this entire situation with Justin. He was the one who understood what happened and the legal issues that went into it. Considering I was still determined to pursue any legal action that might even be possible, Nick was my backup. He heard the story within days of it happening and did the in-depth research into it, so he understood the ins and outs.
But if I was really being honest with myself, I would have to admit that calling Nick was just because I wanted to talk to him. I wanted to hear his voice and tell him what was going on. That was too much for me to think about right then, so I pushed the thought out of my mind and instead just watched him get out of the car.
The door was still standing open from when Justin stomped out. He didn’t even have the decency to close it behind him, and I didn’t want to get anywhere near it after he walked out. I looked through it now as Nick jogged up the sidewalk toward me. He came inside, and I gestured to the door.
“Can you believe that?” I asked.
“What? The door?” Nick asked. “Is there something wrong with it?”
“He didn’t even bother to close it.”
“Who? Justin?”
“Yes,” I said, spinning around and stomping further into the house.
Nick closed the door and took a few steps further inside. “He came here?”
“He didn’t even call me to ask if it was alright. He just showed up. Then he started storming around the house, demanding everything that he says belongs to him. Of course, he was trying to take a whole lot of stuff that wasn’t even close to his,” I said.
“Like what?” Nick asked.
“Decorative things that were here before he even moved in. Some electronics I bought. Camping equipment. Even the slow cooker. What was he trying to pull with that? Was he planning on going home and whipping up a nice batch of chili to celebrate ransacking my house?” I asked.
“What did you do?” Nick asked.
“I told him those things weren’t his and he needed to leave before I called the police and got them involved. He said I’m keeping his things away from him and trying to manipulate him with them so I can keep hanging on to him. Can you believe that? He seriously thinks I would keep the box of clothes stuffed in my closet and his cheap steak knives so he would be forced to come here and interact with me.”
