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My stomach sank. “My brother was convicted of attempted rape. I’ve never hidden that.”
“Does that really matter?” she volleyed right back.
“Anything else?” I clipped out.
“I’ve said what I needed to say.” To her credit, she didn’t sound like she’d enjoyed it.
I didn’t like it, but I’d heard her.
But fuck.
Fuck.
Billie.
22
BILLIE
Something was wrong. I knew it. I just didn’t know how to bring it up.
Brett had come over, bringing food with him, and we’d eaten in my little home. We were now curled up on the couch, a movie on the television screen, and though I sat right next to him, touching his leg, his arm, his side, he couldn’t have felt more far away.
I had no idea what we were even watching.
What was going on with him?
Was it me? Had he realized I wasn’t worth it?
I reached for the remote and turned everything off—not just the movie. I turned off the entire television and tossed the remote to the side. Brett looked my way, waiting. I shifted so I could face him, one of my legs pulled up and resting on the couch between us. “What’s going on with you?”
His eyebrows dipped. “We were watching a movie.”
I made a frustrated sound. “You’re here, but you’re not here. I’ve been around you enough to know when you’re present, and you are very much not present with me.” My heart pounded against my sternum, because in a way, this was a test. Would he own up to it and let me in, or would he pull a typical guy move and pretend nothing was wrong, that I was the problem. He could try to make me think I was imagining all of this, but I wasn’t.
His eyes grew pensive before he sat up, taking my hand and pulling me with him. “Let’s go for a drive.”
I hadn’t expected that. I frowned and stood there as he looked around, finding my phone, keys, and purse. He looked me over. “Are you cold?”
He didn’t wait for a response. He opened my closet and pulled out a sweater, then grabbed one of my blankets. Taking my hand, he led me to his truck. “Do you need to lock up?”
I was about to say no, because that was the truth, but remembering my call with Howard today, I took my keys and locked the door.
A moment later, we were in his truck, the heat blasting since we were having a rare cold front as we headed down the driveway.
We got on the interstate, going south of the city, and then got off to wind around in neighborhoods until the spaces between the houses started growing larger.
Eventually we went through a gate and into another neighborhood. I’d only seen houses like this in movies. Never in person. We passed through another gate and there was a whole different vibe. Each of these homes had their own gates with driveways I couldn’t see. The houses were completely hidden.
Brett drove a few more blocks before pulling up to a large gray wall. He hit a button and that wall slid away, revealing a cobblestone driveway. He pulled in, following it around a hill and into a round courtyard.
The house that rose up in front of us was giant. Very modern. White and gray color scheme.
He had a five-car garage, and he pulled into the second slot. The rest were empty.
Turning off the engine, he got out without saying a word. I followed.
He waited to take my hand again as I rounded the truck, and he opened the door into the house for me, hitting the button to close the garage as we went inside. We entered through the kitchen.
