Page 51 of The Brothers Next Door

“I came to see you. I’ve been driving all day. Just got into town.” He shifted from one foot to the other, but maintained eye contact with me.

Planting my hands on my hips, I glared up at him. At 5’11, the brothers had a solid four inches over him. “That doesn’t explain how you know where I live.” This was a gross invasion of privacy.

“Can I come in?”

“Hell no!” I couldn’t help my voice from rising an octave or two. “I thought I made myself pretty damned clear!”

“I’m not leaving until I can come in and talk. I’ll sit outside your door all night.”

“I’ll call security,” I countered.

“I’ll just keep coming back. I know where you work.”

I was going from angry to enraged. How dare he! But the only thing worse than him coming in was having him sitting outside my door in case one of the brothers came by.

“Fine. Come in. But it’ll be quick or I will call security.”

He seemed to ignore my warning as he stepped past me and entered. He was still a smug, arrogant asshole. Nothing changed. Taking his shoes off at the door, he proceeded into the living room with me trailing hot on his heels. I should never have allowed him in. “Don’t suppose you have a bottle of water? I’m parched.”

I wanted to say no and get out, but with a sigh of resignation, I spun on my heel and headed into the kitchen. I was just passing through the threshold of the kitchen when the timer went off on the microwave. The popcorn smelt burnt. Opening the microwave door, my suspicions were confirmed. The bag had been faulty and didn’t open properly, causing the kernels to burn to the bag instead of pop properly.

Grabbing the smelly, burnt bag, I disposed of it in the trash and then went to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water.

“You look good,” Craig said as I entered the living room and passed him the water. A year ago, him telling me I looked good would have made my day. Today, however, I didn’t feel a damned thing.

He, on the other hand, wasn’t looking so hot. He’d lost some weight and there were grey flecks in his hair that I hadn’t noticed before. Love is blind, I supposed. Though I didn’t really think that was an accurate statement in this circumstance. And now that I’d experienced what love was truly about, I’d come to realize I didn’t have the feelings I’d once thought I had for him.

“How’s Amber doing?” I asked, passing him the bottle. Amber was his secretary. The woman he’d cheated on me with. Could it have gotten more cliché then that? But it only made matters worse that I saw that woman at work every single day. Months had gone on and she’d see me and no doubt snicker to herself knowing that I was in the dark about her little affair with my man.

It was humiliating. Even now, when I thought about it, I was embarrassed.

“I wouldn’t know.” He motioned to the empty space beside him. “Please, sit.”

“I’d rather stand. Thanks. This shouldn’t take too long.”

“Look, I know you’re still angry.”

“I’m not angry,” I cut in. That was a lie, I still hated him. I’d always hate him for hurting and humiliating me like he had.

“Fine. I think that you’re owed an explanation and an apology.”

How about the years I wasted on a piece of shit like you? A voice in the back of my head wanted to scream at him. I refused the urge. I couldn’t get those years back and an apology certainly wasn’t going to make it up to me.

“I want nothing from you aside from you leaving.” Crossing my arms over my chest, I hit him with the dirtiest glare I could muster.

“It was a huge mistake. The affair. Huge. I don’t know what I was thinking. I felt like our relationship was dying and…”

“You figured you’d save it by fucking someone else for months behind my back?”

“No, I don’t know what I was thinking.” He bowed his head and gave it a shake. “Losing you was the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“Not to me,” I shot back with full sincerity. “I’m not angry we’re not together. I’m angry because of the betrayal.”

He lifted his head and I could see the hint of tears in his steel grey eyes. “I understand that and I wanted to make it up to you.”

“You can make it up to me by leaving. I’ve had a hard day and I just want to relax with a movie and then to bed early. And alone.”

He opened his mouth and then snapped it shut again. We stared at each other for a moment until he finally broke the silence saying, “I can’t leave. I have nowhere to go.”

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