sent a text. “You won’t be happy until you destroy my family, will you?”
“James, that’s not…”
“Don’t. I’m not a fucking idiot, Matt. You think I haven’t seen the way you look at Penny? I don’t know how many times I have to tell you this. She’s not Brooklyn.”
“And you think I don’t know that? Brooklyn’s dead. And she died thinking I didn’t love her because of you, you piece of shit.”
“Hey, guys,” Tanner said. “Let’s all take a deep meditative breath on three, shall we?” He stepped between us. “Now I get that Matt’s a disloyal little bastard on occasion, but you know he has a good heart. And James, from what I’ve heard, that shoe fits you as well. I think it’s best that we get all the animosity out right now before anyone messes up anyone else’s life.”
“I’ve apologized for kissing Brooklyn so many times,” James said. “High school sucked for me. I was drunk and high half the time. Brooklyn was my friend and I crossed the line, but I was freaking drowning. I wasn’t thinking clearly. But you’re thinking clearly right now, Matt. And what does that say about you?”
I wanted to yell at him. And punch him in his stupid face. But honestly? He was right. He hadn’t been thinking clearly back then. I knew that. And yet… “It was me who cleaned up your mess half the time. And covered for you showing up to school hammered. It was me who was worried that you’d take it too far and fucking kill yourself.”
Tanner sighed. “This isn’t going well. How about we take a lobster break? It’s getting cold.”
James stepped around Tanner to look at me. “Kill myself? What are you talking about?”
James knew what happened to my aunt. He had been there that night when we found her. And not once had he asked if I was okay. He’d been too busy getting shit-faced while I was worried he’d do the same thing. I was the only one that cared about him, and he’d pushed me away because of a stupid rumor. He hadn’t even given me a chance to tell my side. “You’re a hypocrite. And a liar,” I said. Those had been Brooklyn’s last words to me, and I knew how deeply they could sting. I regretted them as soon as they were out of my mouth. But I wasn’t going to stand here and tell him that. He’d messed up my whole life and he was too blind to see it. He’d gotten the wife, the family, the kids. He’d gotten everything I’d ever wanted. And I hated him for it.
“I’ve never lied,” James said.
Well at least he knew better than to deny that he was a hypocrite. “Oh yeah? Because I know that the two of you weren’t just friends.”
Tanner gasped.
“You don’t look at friends like that,” I said. “You loved Brooklyn too.” And I think that was the worst part. He’d betrayed me worse than I’d ever betrayed him. I had to get out of this apartment. I couldn’t freaking breathe. “Don’t worry about Mr. Pruitt. I’ll handle it myself.” I didn’t need to hear anything else James had to say.
“Um, good day to you,” Tanner said to James before hurrying out of the room behind me. “I guess we won’t be sharing the lobster with him after all,” he said to me. “That did not go well. Look out!”
I almost ran straight into Penny because I was trying to figure out what Tanner was yelling about.
She looked up at me. “Matt, what’s going on?”
How much of that conversation had she heard? “Ask your husband. Maybe if he’d sobered up enough in his twenties and not married that witch we wouldn’t be in this mess.” I walked past her without another word. Fuck James. Fuck everything.
Chapter 22
Monday
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Tanner asked.
No, I wasn’t. But I was already knocking on Mr. Pruitt’s door. “I just need to get this over with.” My heart was still pounding in my chest. I was pissed at James. I was pissed at Mr. Pruitt. I was freaking pissed at everyone. I tried to take a deep breath.
“It’s pretty late,” Tanner said. “Doesn’t Richard usually invite you over right after dinner? Around 7 if I recall correctly from his texts? He was rather specific about it.”
“Yeah, I don’t care if I’m inconveniencing him.” Mr. Pruitt had been inconveniencing me for years. His texts had been slowly driving me insane. I