Page 36 of The Truth of Us

“I am just tired.” Caleb finally replied, interrupting my thoughts.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, and then Caleb sighed again, asking, “Why are you here, Elliot?”

I turned my head in his direction. “Rude!”

Caleb scoffed and continued, “What? You never come here. I don’t remember the last time any of you came to my place. And typically you only come to me when you need something.”

Crap… was I a bad friend?

I assessed him for a minute, my beer half raised to my open mouth. He shook his head and chuckled, saying, “Don’t worry about it, we are all shitty friends.”

“What brought this on?” I asked and then finally took a sip.

Caleb sighed again and then tilted his head back, resting it on the back of the couch, closing his eyes when he said, “Lucy.”

What?

“Lucy?” I questioned.

What the fuck did Julian’s… wife have to do with us? I mean, I had to admit; I felt a little protective of her, but I just summed that up to my mommy issues.

Caleb opened his dark eyes and tilted his head to look at me when he said, “She is carrying the weight of her world on her shoulders, and she is still nice. She still shows up; she is kind to everyone. And we see that and think it's weird, think she's an anomaly. But I think…” He blew out a breath, lifted his head to take a sip of his beer and continued, “I think it's us. I think we are anomalies. We are the ones who don’t know how to have normal relationships, don’t know how to be there for someone when it doesn't benefit us.”

Well, fuck me…

I looked away, not sure how to feel about what he was saying.

“When was the last time you had an actual healthy relationship?” He asked.

I opened my mouth to respond, and he cut me off, saying, “And don’t fucking say Harper because I know you talked her into some sort of arrangement, and I can only imagine how that is going to play out.”

I shut my mouth and tried not to pout. Because I came here to get my head straight, try to sort out my feelings and am feeling… Well, I am feeling. And I don’t think I like it.

I rubbed my chest again, and Caleb sighed, saying, “I know I am going to regret this, but tell me about her. Is she why you are here?”

I thought about brushing it off, about lying or leaving.

“We had a one-night stand in New York a year ago, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her ever since. It has been fucking with my ability to fuck around and forget. So we are trying things out.”

Caleb lifted a dark brow at me in question, so I added, “For thirty days. We have a contract.”

Caleb laughed at me, a full-blown belly laugh, and then took a sip of his beer once the asshole calmed down.

He shook his head and shot me a look saying, “Why would you ever take inspiration on relationships from Julian?”

“He’s married, isn’t he?” I shot back.

“Ya let’s see how long that lasts before Lucy realizes she deserves a lot better.”

“What is wrong with you?” I asked.

Caleb leaned forward, his forearms braced on his knees, and said, “Do you ever wonder what life would be like if we were normal everyday guys? If our parents hadn’t fucked us all up. If we had regular jobs and a wife and kids that had nothing to do with legacy or heirs or billions of dollars…”

When I didn’t answer, he continued, “Imagine working a nine to five, not having to attend every event that ever existed because people felt better about themselves because you showed up or because they want something from you. You do your job and go home. You go home to a wife who loves you for you and to kids that don't have a life already planned out for them because of their last name...”

We sat in silence with the weight of everything that had been said.

What would that be like?