Page 174 of Unspoken Rules

He scoffs. “No, asshole. I didn’t.”

“So, you came here to talk to me about it then? I’m confused, Chris.”

He takes a deep breath and looks upwards. “It really fucking sucks not being able to drink.”

I move toward him, putting my hand on his arm. “I’m glad you’re not, and proud of you for being strong enough not to.”

He meets my eyes and mutters a “thanks.”

When he doesn’t say anything else, I add, “I meant what I said in the hot tub. I wouldn’t do it again, and if I could go back, I would. You mean more to me than anything, and I never want to do something to hurt you again.”

Chris chews on the inside of his cheek for a moment before going to the couch and sitting. He pats the spot beside him. “Sit.”

Hesitantly, I do.

He clasps his hands together, leaning forward with his forearms on his knees. I wait for him to speak, knowing he wants to—needs to. But it’s not easy. My leg is bouncing a mile a minute, my head is spinning. Pretty sure my heart is about to explode.

“You are my best friend, Bryson,” he begins. “We’ve been best friends for years, and no one could ever take your place in my life. Ever. First, I want to apologize to you for the way I was when you went home. It was bullshit.”

“Apology accepted,” I say quickly. I could argue with him that I don’t need an apology, but it isn’t true. And his apology is as important to him as it is to me.

“I talked to Dad about what I was pissed about. We cleared it all up, which made me feel really stupid because what I thought had happened was wrong. He did hook up with Roger, Tomas’s dad, but it was after he and my mom split up.”

“Why did you think that anyway?” I ask, wanting to know his side of the story but also just wanting the truth because I’m not sure I’ll get it from Cole since we don’t talk.

“You don’t want to know,” Chris says, running a hand down his face.

“I do,” I say. “Please tell me.”

He frowns at me, then sighs. “Your father told me.”

I suck in a breath, gritting my teeth.

“He’s also the reason I went to the house that night. On your birthday. He said he saw you and Dad together and hinted toward… you know, stuff.”

The anger swirling within me right now is crazy. If my father were in front of me, I’d kill him. He really is trying to ruin my life. The man clearly wants me miserable.

Chris continues. “I never should have listened to anything he said, and I’m sorry for that, but I wasn’t in the right headspace. I was doing everything wrong, I know that. But I want to make up for it. I feel like an idiot.”

Taking a deep breath, I slowly let it out. “I’m not mad at you for that. And I’m really glad you finally figured things out with Cole. Your relationship with him is important to me.”

Chris nods.

“I felt even more stupid—and really fucking guilty—when I learned that you never told Dad what I was mad about. That even after I was so cruel to you, and you two were—” He pauses, shakes his head and clears his throat. “Thank you for being my friend, even when I didn’t deserve you.”

“Chris…”

Emotion clogs my throat, and I don’t think I can say much more than that.

He turns his head to face me. “I’m serious, Bryson. I’m lucky to have lived through that accident. Even more lucky to have the friends and family I do. Not many people do, and I know you know that firsthand.” I nod, but don’t speak. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I remembered while you were there, but I couldn’t. I knew I couldn’t handle the conversation, and I needed to figure out what was going on in my head before I tried to talk about it with anyone.”

“I understand, and I’m not mad at you. Not at all. I just hate that you’ve been figuring this out on your own. Being there for you is important to me, because you’ve always been there for me.”

He nods again, turning his attention back to the floor.

“I took some time to work things out in my head. Then I talked to Mila about it. Then I talked to Dad. Now I’m talking to you.”

“I meant what I said about never doing it again,” I blurt out for the second time. “I’m sorry that it happened. It shouldn’t have. It was stupid, and I was weak. And it was a mist—”

---