Page 48 of Organized Chaos
Sharing a secret smile, he continued the conversation in the way I had only imagined in my wildest fantasies. I even managed to respond coherently.
The only time our conversation stilted was over my family. I didn’t want to ruin this palpable moment by discussing them. The last time my family came into the picture, Brandon had stopped speaking to me altogether. He stopped coming by our house as well.
Leaving behind everyone and everything from home, I redirected our conversation to music, politics, even religion. The night got away from us between the conversations. I could hardly believe this was happening and was even more astonished by Brandon’s suggestion at the end of the evening.
“Do you want to come back to my room for a drink?"
I hadn’t prepared for this unprecedented request. An invitation to a hotel room generally meant... didn’t it?
Perhaps I was reading too much into it.
After all, Brandon seldom showed interest in the female demographic, and only if they were visibly older or upheld his impossibly high standards. He probably didn’t want to be alone tonight since his father passed away recently. It couldn’t be anything else.
Right?
If Raven were here, she wouldn’t see it that way. Raven wanted to shield me from all men and would start screaming at Brandon before dragging me out of this bar. She had voiced her stance on this matter numerous times.
Never go back to a boy’s place, especially if you are alone.
But it was difficult to turn Brandon down while surrounded by his signature smell—clean like a rainforest. It was impossible not to feel weak in the knees with this vision of perfection in front of me.
Not to mention, he cared enough to retain every last detail about me. It meant more to me than I could express.
"Sure, I can stay for one more drink."
Brandon left to settle the bill while I texted Gabby about running into a family friend and hanging out with them for the evening—all of which was true.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched that same woman from earlier, Tashasomething, sashay over to Brandon. The way I ground my teeth, I’d be shocked if I didn’t have to return to the orthodontist for adult braces. I only stopped when Brandon blew her off without a second glance.
My jealousy was quickly replaced by sympathy. Brandon bid her goodnight by calling her the wrong name, despite meeting her numerous times.
Ouch.
Being discarded by Brandon was painful. I could attest to that much.
As sorry as I felt for Tasha, my heart leaped upon Brandon’s return with one thought ruling every part of my mind—tonight was the best night of my life.
***
IT DIDN’T TAKE LONGfor the best night of my life to turn into the nightmare of a lifetime.
I was supposed to be an observant person—someone who rarely missed the small details. But in my obsession with Brandon, I overlooked all the red flags. Blinded by infatuation, I only saw what Iwantedto see.
Twenty-four hours together, yet I only just realized that Brandon Cooper didn’t recognize me.
I wasn’t sure exactly when I started to deduce it. There were hints sprinkled throughout. Odd remarks about my family and inquiries about information Brandon should already be privy to.
I kept overlooking it all until... Brandon fucked me.
It wasn’t his style to seduce his best friend’s younger sister or anyone younger for that matter.
Growing up, I often struggled with reading between the lines and passive-aggressive comments. I understood sarcasm just fine—ingrained into my personality thanks to Brandon—but the rest were a challenge. It made me yearn for a world with straightforward words, one where no one said things they didn’t mean.
When Milo noticed my struggles, he gave me a moral compass as a guideline.
Don’t get into physical altercations.
If you do something wrong, own up to it.
