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Her gaze drops to the floor and she turns toward the window, away from the rest of us as the plane begins to accelerate down the runway. “Since when does someone need a reason for wanting a break?”
The jet picks up speed, the noise growing around us as the wheels lift off the runway and we take to the air. I pause, waiting for some of the noise to ease and trade glances with the guys. They all give me wide eyes and shrugs. Ugh, assholes. Of course I’m going to be the one to take the lead here. It isn’t enough that I got all five of us trapped together to actually hash some shit out with no prying ears. Now I have to do the sorting as well.
“Fine,” I agree, changing tactics. “Then since we have some time to talk, why don’t you share what you’re saving us from? What’s all going to work out? What it is that you want to forget?”
It’s only for a fraction of a moment, so fast if I had blinked I would have missed it, but she tenses up before dramatically yawning and popping some gum into her mouth. She’s always done that during takeoff. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Hudson rolls his eyes at her denial. “Funny cause they’re all words that came out of your mouth.”
Her hand tightens on the armrest of her seat before she forces it to relax. “I must have been drunk, or maybe just out of my mind.”
Elias rests his hand on my arm, giving me a firm squeeze. I meet his eyes and see doubt shining back at me. How can he not see what is so clearly written in front of us? How can none of them see the way she’s lying to us?
I’ve never felt more alone than I do in this moment. I just want my girl back. Our girl. Why can’t they fight for her with me instead of against me?
I sigh, every ounce of exhaustion and loneliness I feel imbued in the sound of it. Eli’s hand tightens around my arm again, his thumb stroking over my skin. I know he’s trying to comfort me, but if he really wants to help he can just believe me. “Don’t you think we deserve answers, Bri?” I ask, falling back to the very crux of the matter. From the start, none of it has made sense. None of this is right.
Her head hangs forward and her shoulders slump as she curls in on herself. “There are no answers I can give you that you want to hear, Ash,” she whispers.
“Then just the truth,” Z demands, letting his anger get the best of him. “Why choose him if you were just going to keep coming back to us?”
I watch her profile as she squeezes her eyes shut and sighs. “Because it was the only choice I could live with.”
Zaide explodes out of his seat, throwing his hands in the air. “How can you say that when you’ve had my dick in your mouth, Hud’s fingers in your cunt, and Eli’s tongue down your throat?” He paces up and down the aisle, running his hands through his hair as he does.
She swallows thickly, tensing up. “What the fuck do you want me to say, Z?” she shouts back, watching him pace like a caged animal. “Do you want me to tell you that I regret my choice? That I should have chosen one of you? When I wasn’t even sure if you all looked at me that way?” Her words have all of us holding our breath, the tension rising throughout the plane as we touch upon the giant elephant that has been living with us for months and we’ve all refused to acknowledge. “Because I don’t. I don’t regret my decision. I don’t regret walking away. I’m sorry that it hurt you. I’m sorry that I couldn't be more for all of you. But just because you don’t understand my reasons doesn’t mean they aren’t valid. You should know me well enough to trust my choice.”
“Why the fuck would we trust you when you got us arrested?” Hudson yells.
“Oh my fucking god,” she shouts back. “For the last time, you didn’t get arrested! You were fucking questioned, you dramatic ass bastards.”
Elias cracks his neck at my side. “You still haven’t told us your reasons.” He points out calmly, instantly diffusing her. She sags forward in her seat, taking several deep breaths as she winces.
“I don’t have answers for you guys. I have nothing you want to hear, so just drop it. All of this was better left untouched.”
Eli scoffs. “You want us to trust you but refuse to divulge why you made your choice.”
She shakes her head, pulling her air pods out. “Actually, I just wanted you all to leave me alone.” She slips the headphones in her ears and closes her eyes, effectively ending the conversation.
Zaiden stays in the back of the plane, taking a seat in the back as far away from her as he can get. Hudson puts his own headphones on and turns away, closing his eyes. Eli sighs at my side. “I don’t think that went the way you were hoping for,” he whispers.
“I’m going to find out what’s going on,” I promise him.
“Ash,” he pleads, “you heard her. She just wants us to drop it. She doesn’t want us.”
I scoff. “If that conversation did anything other than convince you I’m right, you’re being too stubborn to see past your own wounded pride.” His eyes harden on mine. “I’m not giving up on her. Frankly, I’m shocked you can even consider it.”
I don’t wait for his response, following the others’, I put my own headphones on and stare out the window.
I don’t think any room has ever been so quiet with the five of us in it.
I sip on champagne as my eyes trail over the crowd. The masks make it harder to recognize people from across the room, but I’m confident I’ll know Brielle the second my eyes land on her.
The conversation during the short flight here wasn’t as productive as I wanted, but it did give me a new fear. One I can’t get out of my mind and won’t be able to put to rest until I either prove it wrong, or steal Brielle out of the trap of her own making.
“Are you still mad at me?” Elias asks as he walks up to me with his own glass in hand. He’s dressed almost the same as I am. Plain black suit, plain white shirt, with a plain black mask. Nothing unique or fun in our choices. We stuck to the bare minimum that was required of us. It was always Brielle and her mom who coordinated everything for us. I assume Hudson and Zaiden will show up almost identical to us.
I take another sip before answering him. “Still think I’m crazy?”
