Page 448 of Rock Me All Night
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The plane is silent. Pete and Tom stare at each other but say nothing.
We taxi, take off, and get all the way to cruising altitude before either of the Steele brothers breaks the silence.
"I'm going to sleep. Do whatever you want to do, just keep it on that side of the plane." Pete brandishes a pair of noise-canceling headphones.
"Three questions," Tom says.
"Fine."
"You kill anyone?"
"No." Pete untangles his headphones.
"Assault?"
"He threw the first punch. He won't press charges and nobody took a picture. Shit won't end up online. You can back off."
"I don't care about the gossip."
Pete shakes his head like he finds this implausible.
Tom looks his brother in the eyes. "Who was it?"
"Kyle."
Tom's brow screws in confusion. "Thought you guys were still tight."
"Things change."
Tom's voice softens. "What happened?"
"She's been fucking him."
"What?"
"For six months, give or take." Pete's expression goes cold. "He met to beg me for forgiveness."
Clarity fills Tom's eyes. "That's bullshit."
"Why is that bullshit?" I immediately regret the words. I shouldn't get involved. This is personal and I'm not part of the family.
Pete looks at me. "Anyone ever do you wrong?"
That's an understatement. I nod. "Yeah."
"Man or woman?" Pete asks.
"Man," I say.
"Did he ask you to forgive him?" Pete asks.
I nod.
"How did you feel? Like he was really sorry and hoped his apology would help you move on? Or like he was full of shit and wanted you to absolve his guilt?"
I've never thought about it that way, but no one has every apologized to me like they really wanted me to move on. It's always an attempt to absolve their guilt. "The latter."
