Page 5 of Sangria

“I need to go, Laura.”

“Listen, Zara. I know you’re upset. I get that. Ari has cheated on me, but I’m a big girl. I pulled up my panties and beat his ass, but knew that leaving him would hurt me in the industry. Van made a mistake, one that he likely won’t make again.”

“See that’s where you and I differ, Laura. I’m not wearing any panties.” I hang up before she can respond. I think about shutting off my phone, but then my mom won’t be able to reach me. And I really need to talk to my brother, Darian. He needs to know what his best friend did, and he can be the one to break it to the band that Van is out. When it comes down to it, Reverend Sister is mine.

Pressing the phone icon next to Darian’s name on my contact list, I pray that he’s awake and that I haven’t caught him with some random that he picked up last night. My mom and I have been patiently waiting for him to settle down, but now I can’t imagine that I’d encourage him to do that. He’s a ladies man, and I’d hate to think that he’d cheat on someone.

“’Sup,” he says.

“I kicked Van out,” I blurt out without a hello, how are you, or anything of the like. Straight to the point is how I’m going to be with my brother.

“Whoa, why? Did he leave his socks on the floor or something?” Darian laughs. I hate that I’m about to tell him what his best friend did, but he needs to know. In my family, blood is thicker than water.

“I caught him cheating on me. As in the act, he didn’t seem too fazed by the idea that his wife was watching him screw some random on a desk.”

“I really want to ask you to repeat yourself, but I don’t want to put you through that sentence again. I’m on my way over. We’ll talk when I get there.” Darian hangs up, leaving me no choice but to get dressed and look somewhat decent before he arrives. At least he won’t care if I don’t have my hair done or any make-up on.

After a quick shower in an attempt to be human, I come back downstairs to find Darian rummaging through my kitchen.

“Hey,” he says as I walk in. “You left the burner on and almost burnt your house down.”

The sound of his words brings a wave of fresh tears to my eyes. Instead of teasing me, he pulls me into his arms and holds me while I sob into his shirt. He doesn’t tell me that everything is going to be okay or that he’s going to kick Van’s ass, all things he said to me once before when Van broke up with me a month into our relationship. Maybe that was a sign, and I missed it, and now here I am ten-plus years later suffering even worse.

“I’m going to kill him,” Darian says, but I shake my head and step out of his hold.

“He’s not worth it.”

“It’s not about being worth something or not, Z. You’re his wife and the only one he should be sticking his dick in.”

I shudder at the crass way he describes the situation, but he’s right. I should be the only one.

“When did you and Van start fighting?”

“Huh?” I ask, slightly confused by his question.

Darian motions for me to follow him into the living room. He carries two plates with sandwiches on them that I hadn’t seen sitting on the counter. I grab the bag of chips from the cupboard and two bottles of water even though I’m not hungry. He’ll try to make me eat, and I should, but my stomach is nowhere near ready.

“Most people cheat because of fighting. That’s what Dad did. He and Mom had been fighting for so long that he cheated because he needed an emotional connection with someone.”

“That’s bullshit,” I say in reply. Our father cheated because he couldn’t keep it in his pants, which was something that Van promised me would never happen. “Van and I don’t fight, and this is over the top TMI, but Van and I had sex yesterday morning before I went to the gym. Every day, multiple times a day.” By the time I’m finished, the tears are back in full force.

“Sorry,” he says, leaning into me. “I’m just trying—”

“To make excuses for your friend?”

Darian shakes his dark curls that drive the women crazy. “Fuck no. You’re my sister. He’s known from day one that I would always side with you.”

“What if I was the one to cheat?” I ask him.

He shrugs and picks at his sandwich. “You’re my sister,” he repeats. “So tell me what happened.”

I fill him in on the meeting that we had with Laura to start going over the tour and upcoming schedule. Reverend Sister has a new album that is about to drop which means we’ll be heavy into promotions. Aside from a multi-city tour, we have to shoot music videos, give radio interviews, make public appearances, and do whatever we can to get our album into the top of the charts.

Darian’s eyes go wide when I describe what I walked in on and how nonchalant Van and the chick were, and how he acted like I deserved to be cheated on. I told Darian about what it was like when Van arrived home, and how he smelled like her perfume. That the scent was so strong, it permeated off his skin and clothes and led me to believe he hooked up with her again after I left.

My brother sat there, listening to how Laura told me to grow up and get over it because I’m married to Van Phillips as if it’s supposed to be some status thing.

“I’m not going to get over this, Darian. I’m not,” I tell him as I lean into his shoulder.

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