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“Yeah. Nice try.” He cuts off my frantic, cheerful rant, as I mouthshit.“Okay. What the fuck is going on with you?” His voice comes in clear, aggravating me while I attempt to concentrate on the road.
“Why? What have you heard?”
“Well, Mom and Dad have been calling you and me because Skylar called crying this weekend, saying you’re fucking up in school and fucking her boyfriend.” His tone sounds dry, which means he’s pissed.
“Wow.” That’s all that comes out because I don’t really know what to say.
“Wow? That’s it?” he yells as I take a deep breath, my hands tightening on the steering wheel.
“Calm down. I’m driving,” I shout back. “Okay.” I take another breath. “I’m only telling you this, and you have to promise as my brother, my twin,that you will not tell Mom and Dad.”
“Fuck that. No way, talk, or I will let Dad pay for me to come to LA, which would be bad for everyone since I might be playing on Saturday,” he gripes.
“All right, I met someone. It’s not her boyfriend…” My voice trails off because technically, I’m not lying, although the line goes silent. “Jude? Are you there?”
A loud sigh then, “Yeah, who is this guy?” I swallow. Do I tell him? No, that would be bad. Visions of Jude barging into my Environmental Engineering class and confronting Brett make my chest start to itch and flush.
“A guy I met in class.” Silently exhaling, I wait at a stoplight.
“So not her boyfriend?”
“No.”
“Jesus Christ, Alex.” He laughs. “She’s a real piece of work. You should hear the crazy shit she’s feeding Dad.” He sighs. “Thank fuck. I really didn’t want to have to come kick some ass.” I have to bite my tongue not to say,Yeah, that might be harder than you think. Brett is the same height as Jude, but Brett is… well, Brett. He’s got that wholeI don’t give a crapvibe, which makes him dangerous. I push all that aside and focus on Skylar.
“What else did Skylar tell Dad?”
“She’s convinced that you’re out to ruin her life. Apparently, this man, whom she says is her boyfriend, is going to propose, but only if you’re gone. And you’re eating all her food and costing her a fortune on utilities. I don’t know, Alex, is she on medication?”
“Who knows. She’s so weird. Like I really can’t get a read on her, I’m starting to think she’s a compulsive liar.” I sigh, turning right into the campus lot.
“Well, whatever, I’ve got to go. Call Mom and Dad, and just stay away from Skylar, and answer your fucking phone,” he yells over a siren in the background.
“I will. I was just trying to spend time with him…” But he’s already hung up. I sit for a second and think. Clearly, I need to tell Brett about her. I mean, if she’s telling my dad stuff, is she telling others? God, I can’t imagine anyone being her friend, but anything is possible. I wonder how bad it would be if it got out about us. Would it ruin his career? Of course, it would.
“Jesus.” I sigh and rub my forehead. He’s just so confident, it feels like nothing can touch him or bring him down, but what if that’s not true?
Suddenly, I’m scared, and not for me. Brett needs to be careful. People are watching him. The last thing he needs is Skylar talking. She’s angry and delusional, and that makes her dangerous. She could hurt him.
I pick up my phone and text my parents saying I met a guy and forgot my charger. Not that they will be thrilled, but at least that sounds better than the truth. Now, I need to talk to Brett. How did things get so out of hand so fast? My heart burns, and here I thought I was guarding it, protecting myself for exactly this reason.
As I walk toward class, it hits me: more than likely, this is over. He will, of course, break it off, much like he should. That doesn’t make it hurt less. Suddenly I stop and glance around at the campus. People are coming and going, everyone having no clue that I’m suddenly in pain, that my heart hurts, even though it has no right to.
He’s always been off limits.
You broke the rules.
Now you need to pull your shit together and focus on school.
I start walking again and weave around people, dreading the thought of seeing him. I’ll tell him about Skylar and hope I can still drop the class, because if I don’t… I can’t even think about it.
BRETT
“Jenners, I’m not approving that.” I lean back in my chair and scrutinize my colleagues’ faces. Both look stunned, and Pete Jenners looks like he might be ready to blow a blood vessel.
“I told Richard you would try to sabotage us, and that’s clear.” His voice almost shakes with rage.
I can’t help but smile. He’s grasping at straws, and he knows it. “I’m sorry you feel like that, because I’m not. If Richard wants to green light more money for this, fine. But he doesn’t, which is why you two are sitting here.”
