Page 82 of Heartbreaker
I was wrong, I know that. I should’ve told her the truth, but she never would’ve said yes to a date if she knew about Drake’s wager. And the deeper we got into our relationship, the more time that passed, I knew I couldn’t tell her. Because, despite my hope that she would understand and we could work through it, part of me was scared of exactly what happened.
“Am I still working through some things? Yes, but that doesn’t mean you guys can’t bring her up. You are friends with her and her family, and I can’t pretend that she doesn’t exist or expect you to do the same. Our lives are intertwined, and we’re all learning how to navigate the new waters.”
“Sounds like something my therapist would say,” Wolf says with a small laugh. He picks up both of the shots in front of him and raises them in the air. “To us, a bunch of sorry fuckers who are in a sour mood all the damn time.”
Brody rolls his eyes in reply to Wolf’s jab at his earlier words, but lifts one of his own glasses in the air. “To you, sorry fuckers.”
I do the same, but don’t add anything, bringing the rim to my lips and letting the liquid slide down my throat in one gulp. It burns a path down my throat into my stomach, warming my insides immediately.
“How was the wedding?” I ask, handing both of them a fresh beer when I return to the balcony. Neither of them answers. “C’mon, tell me. How was it?”
Brody sighs. “Brooks—”
“No, Brod, it’s okay. I want to know.”
Wolf shrugs, taking a sip of his beer. “Nothing out of the ordinary. Got to meet Bodhi’s new girlfriend, though, some hotshot lawyer down in Austin from the firm he left last year. And Nash was so nervous during his speech that he kept messing up.”
“The shots race you two were doing didn’t help,” Brody says.
“Gave everyone a good laugh, though,” Wolf says with a chuckle. Brody rolls his eyes, but can’t fight his own small laugh, no doubt remembering that night. After a moment, Wolf clears his throat and turns to look at us. “Can I say something and it won’t be weird?”
“I’m scared to say yes, but yes,” Brody answers, staring into the black abyss before us.
The condo overlooks the Gulf, the balcony walls made of glass, giving unimpeded floor-to-ceiling views of the striking blue waters from inside. But right now, the only thing you can see for miles is the inky night sky.
“The whole thing felt off…” Wolf meets my gaze, and a pit forms in my stomach, threatening to swallow me whole. I’m not sure that I want to know what comes next. “Without you there. Don’t get me wrong, it was a good time. Crew and Amara were happy, and it was everything they wanted, but it still felt like something was missing.”
That’s not what I was expecting, but I’m not sure it makes me feel any better, either. Brody avoids my stare, his own falling from the waves sixty feet below to the bottle in his hands. He picks at the label with his thumbnail. Did something happen at the wedding? No, because Ari would’ve told me if it did…right?
I don’t know what I’m supposed to say next, if I’m supposed to say anything at all. Do I admit that I wished I had been there, too? Or do I ask if Savannah said something to make him feel that way? No, I have to do something to ease the tension and circle back to the lighthearted conversation we’ve enjoyed most of the night. It won’t be long before they have to leave, and I don’t want it to end on a sour note.
“You said you weren’t going to make it weird,” I say, taking a sip of my beer. That does the trick, making Brody laugh, followed by Wolf.
“Hey,” Brody starts. “I meant to ask you earlier…how’d that session go with your mom and Ari?”
Wolf all but chokes on the sip of beer he’d just taken. “I’m sorry, you went to therapy with yourmom?”
“She was a bit reluctant, but ultimately decided to give it a try,” I say, taking a long drag of my beer.
“And?” Brody pushes.
I shrug. “And we’re working on things. She has to work on herself before we can truly talk and move past everything.”
“Do you blame her for Savannah leaving?” Wolf asks. Damn, he’s really hitting me with the hard shit tonight, isn’t he?
It’s my turn to pick at the bottle label, avoiding both of their stares. I told Brody about the conversation I had with Mom the December before last, about how reluctant she was to hear what I had to say. Then, a month later, my grandmother called to tell me Mom had decided to go to therapy, and about how the therapist wanted me and my sister to sit in on a few sessions. But that was as much detail as I’d ever given him.
I don’t blame my mother for Savannah leaving. Okay, maybe I blame her a little. She was never very welcoming, constantly nitpicking and complaining, but it wasn’t anything Savannah couldn’t look past. She was willing to put up with it—with her—because she loved me and my family. It wasn’t until that day in therapy that I found out about some of the altercations between them because Savannah had never told me. I hated that she felt like she couldn’t tell me. But despite their differences, I know that ultimately, Mom wasn’t the reason Savannah decided to leave.
“No.” I sigh, lifting my gaze. “That’s all me.”
Wolf clears his throat. “You don’t have to answer this, but what happened? I thought you guys were talking marriage and kids.”
“We, uh…We were.” I clear my throat. “But things change.”
“Not that fast, they don’t.”
“Wolf—” Brody starts, but I interrupt him.
