Page 106 of The Break Out

His mouth snaps shut so hard I hear his teeth clink right before he answers, his voice softer than it has been, his deep timbre sounding more like the controlled Brent I know, “No, of course not.” The pain behind his words is evident and my heart cracks.

“I’m sorry,” I say quietly, looking down at my feet. “That was too far.”

I’m pulled into his large frame, and he hugs me tightly. I hug him back and can’t deny how nice it feels. That’s probably why I can’t stop the tears from falling. He just tightens his hold on me as I cry.

“Don’t apologize to me for that. You’re right. I didn’t need totake care of you all, but I wanted to. I wanted to get us all out of there. I wanted everything to be better and I ended up pushing everyone away. I’m sorry, Brynn.”

Burying my face against him, I will the tears to stop, but it feels good to let them out.

I hear a throat clearing and look up to see Vince standing just inside the house. “If you guys are done yelling you can come in, Evie’s sleeping, but it’s fucking cold out there.”

I sniffle with a small laugh. We walk inside and I hardly even noticed how cold I was until the warmth from the house starts to heat my body back up.

We sit on the large sectional, I lean my back against the armrest, hugging my knees to my chest while Brent stretches out and my eyes catch on his injured eye again.

“So, what happened?” I ask, hesitantly, not sure I’m ready to hear it after I defended Colton even though we aren’t even actually together.

“He was being a dick like usual and I finally snapped,” he answers, curtly.

“But…he told you.” It’s not a question.

“He said enough. I mean seriously, Brynn. Why?”

I tense. “Why are you with Chandler? Why are you okay sharing her?”

“Because I love her,” he answers easily. “And so do they.”

I nod, like that’s my point without me having to say the words.

“You love him?” He sounds genuinely shocked.

I shrug, not wanting to admit it to my brother before even telling the man in question. “He’s never hurt me, you know? We didn't get along for a while, but he’s never treated me badly.”

Not outside the bedroom.

“So, what happened?”

I pick at some of Ellie’s fur stuck to my pants as I answer, “I got scared. I’m sure you heard the news about Spencer’s ex and I kind of accused Colton of some shitty things. He respected the line I drew, but I think it was the wrong one.”

Brent hums, and I can tell he’s still not happy, but trying to keep his composure like he usually does. “You want to be with him?”

I nod.

He sighs, leaning his elbows on his knees, and running his hands down his face. “I was pretty suspicious on Thanksgiving, you know? I just didn’t want to believe it.”

“I get it. And I get why you were mad. I guess you do care about me a little bit,” I tease, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

He chuckles. “Just a tiny bit.”

“I’m sorry for what I said, that was messed up.”

“It’s okay. I get it. This isn’t what I wanted for our family either. I miss them too. Even Brandon.”

Brent rarely talks about our brother, and I feel the tears welling up again. “I really wanted to help him; I still feel like I could have.”

He immediately shakes his head. “No, Brynn, you couldn’t have. I don’t want you carrying that guilt around. I did what I could for him, but he had a disease because that’s what addiction is. I hate that it took his life, but at the end of the day he had to make the decision to change, we couldn’t force it. I tried, with him and our parents.”

“You did?” I sniff.

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