Page 69 of Pinky Promises

Chapter 28

Brynn

Ididn’tsleepawink; I cried most of the night. Last night was a mess—no, that word doesn’t even cover it. A mess is now what my life is.

Marriage? I can’t believe Charles Murphy wanted Callum to marry some stranger. Actually, no, if someone were to plan this, just like a terrible plot of an episode ofGossip Girl, it would be Charles Murphy. But the part that hurts the most is that Callum knew of his plan. He says that he had shut it down from the first time he mentioned it, and now it makes sense why he had acted so strangely the day they met up.

There’s never been anything that we haven’t been able to talk to each other about. Why start hiding things now? We could’ve laughed at it that night, faced it together. Yet as I stood in a room of hundreds of people, I never felt more alone.

As angry as I am, a part of me can’t help but feel sorry for that girl, who didn’t even realize that she was only a measly pawn in Charles’s game—a means to an end.

All this time, I thought there was nothing more terrifying than storms and losing Callum, but boy was I wrong. It was terrifying to realize that I was full-blown, head over heels in love with Callum Murphy and to see him standing there next to another woman supposedly engaged to be married to her. It was my name I wanted to hear being said was his fiancée—was this some form of punishment for crossing those lines between friendship and more? Or karma for not putting a label on us? My head is a terrible place to be right now.

My phone buzzes somewhere in the covers, and I search it out. There are a handful of messages in my group chat with the girls by the time I find it.

Lexi:Are you alive?

Lexi:You better respond soon, or we will call 911 and have a firefighter knock down the door.

Hadley:OOoo, maybe it would be a hot firefighter.

I see Hadley must have picked the straw for trying to make me laugh. Too bad it’s not going to work this time. My soul is crushed, possibly beyond repair.

Me:You guys do have keys.

Lexi:We’re going for dramatics here. Don’t judge.

Hadley:Are you okay?

How do I even begin to answer that?

Me:I’m alive.

It’s not a complete lie. I am alive—yet barely surviving. I can’t say that I’mokaybecause I’m not. This is exactly what I was afraid of. Callum wasn’t even officially mine, but his loss cuts deeper than any other heartbreak I’ve ever experienced. What’s that saying—the worst betrayals are always from the ones we trust the most? That would be correct.

Lexi:You want us to come over?

I can’t believe they stuck to their word and let me have last night to myself. I assumed they would have barged into the apartment moments after dropping me off. Nope, for once, they listened, and I was left alone to my thoughts and emotions—that was until Callum arrived. I know it’s probably killing them for giving me space. We are always there for each other, especially during moments like this.

Me:No, don’t come here. Callum is here.

Me:He showed up at the apartment last night knowing I was here.

Lexi:You can thank my husband for giving him that tidbit of information.

Lexi:He thought he was doing something good by that.

Lexi:Don’t worry, he got an earful from me.

Hadley:You didn’t kill him, right?

Anytime either of them jokes about hurting their other half, I typically chime in with a GIF about having my shovel ready, but instead, I remain quiet.

Lexi:It’s still up for debate whether he lives or not.

Lexi:Brynn, why don’t you meet us at Hadley’s. It’s closer.

Asher and Hadley’s apartment is only a few blocks away from our place.

---