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“Brennon, I...” He holds his hand up to cut me off.
“Do me a solid, Barlow, and don’t insult my intelligence. A blind person could see what’s been going on between you two.”
“I don’t...”
“I don’t care.” He once again cuts me off. “But whatever the fuck it is, fix it. Because I refuse to be stuck between my best friend and my sister.”
As if on cue, a black sedan pulls up with an Uber sticker in the back window. Without a word, Brennon turns, tugging the door open for Rita who climbs into the back. He joins her, slamming the door shut between us. I stand there for a long moment before my feet finally remember to work.
Tugging open the passenger door, I climb into the front seat, nodding at the twenty-something girl behind the wheel.
She makes small talk with Brennon and Rita on the drive back to the apartment, but I’m too lost in my own head, and trying to not puke in her car to really contribute to the conversation. By the time we clamor out in front of the apartment a few minutes later, I’m barely holding it together.
I don’t even make it to the front door of the building before I’m buckled over the bushes, expelling the alcohol out of my stomach like a scene out ofThe Exorcist. It’s not pretty, but damn do I feel better once I’m done.
Brennon and Rita help me up to the apartment because apparently puking when you’re drunk makes you feel ten times more drunk, or at least that’s how it seems right now.
Once we make it inside, I realize two things. One, Atlas is not home. And two, I somehow managed to get puke all down the front of my navy, mini dress. Awesome.
Rita helps me change, laughing when I nearly fall in the bathtub trying to brush my teeth, before Brennon comes in and throws me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, tossing me on the couch moments later before disappearing into his bedroom.
“He hates me,” I tell Rita as she leans over me, tucking a blanket around me the way my mom always used to do when I was little.
“Who hates you?”
“Atlas.” I fight back tears. “Brennon,” I add on. “Both of them.”
“Atlas does not hate you.” She sits next to me, pushing a chunk of hair out of my face. “And I know for a fact your brother doesn’t.”
“I messed everything up.”
“No you didn’t.” She shakes her head. “I don’t think Brennon is upset about you and Atlas. More like he’s upset that you didn’t feel like you could tell him.”
“How long has he known?” I grimace.
“I don’t know.”
“I’m a horrible sister.” I cover my face with my hands.
“No, but you are a horrible drunk.” I pull my hands down at the sound of Brennon’s voice, finding him standing behind the couch, watching me and Rita.
“That too,” I admit on a dramatic whine.
“Hey Rita, can you give us a minute?” Brennon asks.
“Yep.” She stands. “I’ll just be in your room.” She touches his arm as she passes him. “Goodnight, Barlow.” She pauses at the mouth of the hallway.
“Goodnight,” I slur, my mind still swirling as I watch her disappear from view.
Brennon sits on the edge of the couch, taking the spot where Rita was.
“I’m sorry,” I say before he has a chance to speak. “I never should’ve kept this from you.”
“No, you shouldn’t have,” he agrees, “but I get why you felt like you needed to.”
“You do?”
“I do. And while there’s a million reasons why I think that you two together is a horrible idea, I also know Atlas better than anyone and I know that there’s no one I would trust to take care of you more than him.”
