AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“But” I begin to protest. It’s too late already. Deanna takes my hand and drags me away, while I look back at Collin for help. He smiles! Brayden then blocks his view and I’m lost in a sea of men, kids, and food before finally arriving to where a group of women sit clustered together at a picnic table.
Some have really tiny babies in their arms. Some look on, gazing at the babies. Some immediately take notice of me and smile like a cat who caught a canary.
“What we need to know first,” one holding a baby begins, “is how you went from Cal to Collin and,” she wags her eyebrows, “are they truly identical?”
“Sylvia!” someone exclaims.
“We haven’t even told her who we are!”
“That’s too personal,” someone else says.
“Why am I not surprised,” another girl, to Deanna’s right, says. “Hey, I’m Raelynn. I date EJ; I’m fairly new to the group, too.”
They go around, telling me names I’m not sure I’ll remember, and then Sylvia, the inappropriate one, goes, “Well?”
“She’s nosy, likes to gossip, and just came off bedrest. You’ll have to forgive her,” a girl, whose name I think is Meredith, says. “You answer only what you want.”
The women get quiet. They obviously want to me to say something. “They aren’t identical,” I finally say. They aren’t the same; not in the way the woman wants to know and not in the way that matters. “I dated Cal in high school, a long time ago, and it was a mistake.” Hopefully, I’m free to go, but when no one says anything else, I realize they want more. They’re waiting and hanging on to whatever may come next. “There you go.”
Their shoulders seem to sag in disappointment collectively.
“But Cal didn’t know you and Collin were dating, right?”
“You really don’t want me discussing this.” Because how am I to keep my disdain for Cal out of my tone? I’m not an actress and I can’t fake it. Not only that, but Cal wouldn’t want me to and I actually don’t want to either. As much as I wish everyone knew what an asshole Cal is, what happened was years ago and if these people love him, then that’s their problem. Who am I to shine light on the darkness they are blind to?
“Oh, it sounds like we do,” Sylvia nearly purrs with hunger for gossip in her eyes.
“Leave it alone,” Deanna steps in, finally. “You don’t want to push her away already, do you? If you traumatize her too soon, she won’t ever come near us again.”
Sylvia rolls her eyes. “Oh, whatever. You’re still here and look at what you did to poor Zane. We immediately bombarded you about that.”
Deanna stiffens next to me. “Don’t go there, Sylvia. You’re about two seconds from crossing a line and pissing me off.”
The tension thickens quickly and heavily. Women glance at one another, waiting to see who will say something next and whether it’ll break the ice or not.
“There are too many of you over here,” a voice so like my favorite one appears next to me. Who knew Cal would be my saving grace? “You know when a bunch of women get together, a brawl is bound to break out, right?”
“I’m pretty sure that’s not true,” Raelynn says.
“If you say so. Julie, mind if I steal you away?”
“Not at all, Cal.” I follow him away from the women, grateful for Cal for the first time in probably forever. “Why are you being nice to me?” I ask once we reach a pair of coolers.
He opens one up and hands me a drink. “Because no one deserves whatever Sylvia wants out of them and Hook has Collin all tied up.”
Glancing around, I don’t even see Collin.
“They’re inside, talking. I’m really doing this for him anyway. If you get upset, he’d be upset and it’d be a whole thing.” He waves his hands around in the air. We fall silent, looking at the people, a good chunk of them watching us right back. “What did you tell them?” Cal eventually asks.
I turn my gaze on him. “About us?” He nods. “Is that all this is really about? You’re worried about your reputation?”
“Yeah,” he replies with a shrug of his shoulders. “These people don’t mean shit to you, but they’re family to Collin and me. Some more than others, but still. We’re with these people more than
anyone else and I don’t want my past coming back and biting me in the ass because you want payback.”
“Is that what you think? I don’t want payback. If I could have Collin without you, I’d take up that offer in a heartbeat. Not just for me either. You aren’t good for him and you don’t even see it. If you care so much about what they think about you, maybe you should pay more attention to your damn brother and treat him better.”
He opens his mouth, most likely to object to everything I just said, but I storm off. This will turn into a full-blown fight if I don’t and that’s the last thing we need here. I don’t want to be around the women. I don’t want to be around Cal. And Collin is being hogged by his teammate.
