“Yeah.”
“But why now?”
“A lot of reasons. It’s something I need to do. I probably should have done it a long time ago.” He clears his throat. “Anyway, I’m letting you know because once people realize Skyler and I are together, I’m sure they’ll start asking questions about you and me and our marriage. And if they do, I’m going to tell them the truth.”
“Which is what?” she asks, sounding wearily resigned. She just skipped over the part about him and Skyler being together. Maybe she didn’t catch it.
“That I loved you,” he tells her. “But we weren’t right for each other.”
It’s part of the truth, at least.
Sierra is quiet again, and he waits, sort of expecting her to tell him that she hates him, which wouldn’t be unjustified. Finally, she says, “Trevor?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m happy for you.”
Oh.
“So you and Skyler,” she says. Guess she did catch it then. “I should’ve known. I mean, I guess I did know, but anyway. You deserve to be happy and have everything you want. I think you forgot that for a while, but you do.”
Suddenly, Trevor’s overwhelmed with gratitude. For this woman who put him through so much but put up with so much from him too. Who was there for him when he had no one else. Who understands the parts of him that only a handful of people do.
And she could be bitter—she probably should be. But it sounds like she genuinely means the nice things she’s saying to him.
All he can manage to say in return is, “Thank you.”
But also.
“Sierra. I’m…” He sighs. She apologized to him long ago for what she did to him, and while he knew he played his own part in their mess, he’s not sure he ever told her that. “I’m so sorry for everything.”
“I know you are,” she says.
And when they hang up, Trevor finally feels a sense of closure.
A few days later,Trevor tests the waters somewhat by agreeing to go out to lunch with Skyler and Oli. It’s a big step, but he’s tired of hiding.
And it’s good. Oli just returned from his Australian honeymoon, so he spends most of the meal regaling them with stories that are surely greatly exaggerated about him fighting a kangaroo and adopting a wallaby.
By the next morning, articles are already online speculating about the band getting back together.
The idea makes Trevor shudder. While his experience of being in Boys Will Be Boys shaped his life and made him the person he is today, and while there was so much good along with the bad, it’s not something he thinks he’d ever want to relive. Maybe they could come together once in a blue moon for a special performance, a charity thing or an anniversary. But a real reunion doesn’t seem possible.
He’s pretty sure now that the other guys would agree. Who wants to go backward in life?
No, Trevor’s much more focused on the future. Excited for what’s to come. Excited for what could very well be the best years of his life.
With Skyler.
Trevor’s been waiting andwaiting for the right moment.
This evening is just a regular one, with him on the couch relaxing while Skyler makes dinner for them. He’s staring again at the photos of him and Skyler at the wedding. He’s been doing that a lot.
The thing is, they look good together. Like they belong nowhere else but in each other’s arms. Looking at these, anyone could tell how happy they are. Lost in their own private world, even when they’re surrounded by a sea of people. The way they used to be all the time.
Trevor’s suddenly struck with a thought that makes his breath catch.
This is what we’ll look like at our own wedding.
