Page 24 of My Crush's Brother

“No. What the hell did you want to talk to me about?” I lean against the counter, refusing to give her an inch.

“Can we at least sit down like civilized adults?” She says gesturing toward the couch.

I stay where I’m at and she lets out an over dramatic sigh and flops herself down. “Look, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately and soul searching and growing. I feel like I needed to take the time away from you and us to find myself and to really grow into who I am as a person to realize what I had.” She bats her eyes at me, a trick that would have worked in the past.

“So what are you saying?” I ask unphased.

“Blakey please. I miss you.” She says as she walks over to me, resting her arms on mine. “You know we were amazing together. I...I love you so much I don’t want anyone else.”

Odds are the latest guy dumped her and she thinks I’ll always be around to take her back. I think about Pearl, about how she must be feeling and thinking right now.

“I can’t do this Tracey. I got over you after you left. I have no interest in pursuing anything with you again.” I step out of her grasp and set the tumbler on the counter.

I walk over to the front door but she’s still standing in the kitchen with a look of shock on her face. “Please leave Tracey.” I open the door.

“Seriously? You’re throwing us away for that girl? That child? You really are something el-” she shouts as she stomps out the door.

“You threw us away the day you left me with a damn note Tracey and Pearl is twice the woman you are.” She spins on her heel to snap back but I shut the door in her face. I pull out my phone to call Pearl but I don’t know if it’s the right thing to do. I walk over and pour more whiskey in my glass and sink down to the kitchen floor. By the time I think it over whether I should call her or not I’ve polished off the whiskey and I’m falling asleep on the floor.

By the time I wake the sun is piercing through the curtains and my head feels like it got ran over by a freight train. I blink as I sit up and feel like I might throw up. I make my way tothe bathroom just in time before I throw up what’s left in my stomach from the night before.

I stand in the shower for an extra few minutes trying to decide what I’m going to say to Pearl. Obviously I need to apologize to her and explain the situation but I’m guessing that won’t just make it go away...I should have listened to Trevor when he told me to tell Pearl that Tracey had called.

I knock softly on the front door of Pearl’s house. Maybe I don’t want her to be home. I don’t want to see the look on her face, the look she had last night. Her eyes were so full of sorrow and shock, like she couldn’t believe I betrayed her.

I lift my hand to knock again when the door slowly opens. “Hello Mrs. Davenport, is Pearl home?”

She smiles and the skin around her eyes creases. “Ah, I’ve been waiting for someone to stop by.” She says softly as she steps aside. “Come on in Blake. She’s in her room, down the hall to the left.”

I start to head down the hall when I turn around, “Is it that bad?”

She takes a sip of her coffee, “I’m not sure what is going between the two or you or what you did but I can tell you...she doesn’t get this upset if she doesn’t care a whole lot. Just get yourself in there son and make it right.”

I smile and nod. I haven’t had a lot of interaction with Mrs. Davenport but she’s always been a straight shooter. Back when her husband became bedbound I stopped by the house and helped take care of things on and off. I’d sit with Mr. Davenport and he’d tell me stories about how the two of them met when they were eleven and he from that moment she was the love of his life.

I knock on Pearl’s bedroom door before slowly opening it. Her back is to the door and she’s folding a pile of clothes on herbed. “Mom, I told you I don’t want any tea, it’s not going to make anything better.”

I take a moment to glance around the room, I don’t know what I was expecting but her room is different than what I expected. I was picturing what it would look like when she was a kid, Star Wars posters and glow and the dark stars on the ceiling. This room is all clean lines with touches of soft rose and white.

I clear my throat and she drops the item in her hand and whips her head around. “What the hell are you doing here?” Gone is the sadness and hurt in her eyes and it’s instantly filled with anger and rage.

I raise my hands in a symbol of submission. “Pearl please just let me explain.”

“Explain what? That you’re a liar and a cheater? Or that I was just a pathetic joke to you?” She’s trying to be stoic but her bottom lip quivers and a tear tumbles down her cheek. I want to reach out and wipe it away but she wipes at it with the back of her hand before spinning back around to face the pile of clothes.

“You were never a pathetic joke to me...I didn’t sleep with her Pearl I swear! Listen...the night of the barn dance Tracey called me. She said she wanted to meet and talk and I told her I wasn’t interested. I left it at that and I thought she did too. I had no idea she would be waiting for me when I got home from Durango. I swear.” I reach out and grab her hand, “Please Pearl, you...you’re the only woman I want.”

She doesn’t respond, she just continues to fold clothes and put them into a suitcase?

“Where are you going?” I ask, swallowing down the lump of fear that’s just formed in my throat.

“Chicago. I have a job opportunity there.” She says coldly.

“You’re leaving? I don’t understand, what about…What about us?”

“Us? There is no ‘us’ Blake. You said it before, we both agreed we were just wasting time till you had to leave. You were the one leaving first not me. So don’t throw that double standard at me.”

“You just love pointing that finger at me don’t you? So this is it huh? You’re running back to Trevor. I knew you still loved him. So don’t you dare say I was the one wasting time here! I fell in love with you Pearl.” I hate that I’m yelling but I’m...hurt. I thought I meant more to her.

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