Rhyland closes the distance between us, almost standing as a shield between me and Ollie. I know my brother would never hurt me or Gabby, but I haven’t seen him this angry in—well, ever. I don’t recall him this mad when I told him what happened between Joel and me, and he was pretty fucking pissed over that situation.
It’s not just rage swirling in his eyes but betrayal. This is his best friend—the same man that he hasn’t kept a single secret from since before I was born. And now, this isn’t just a secret, but it involves his little sister.
With Gabby still in one arm, Rhy wraps the other one around me, securing me to his chest. I’d imagine to my brother, we look like a happy little family. Aren’t we?
Ollie shakes his head continuously. “No. No fucking way. You took advantage of my sister, man.”
“No, he didn’t. I’m a big girl.” This time, I step in front of Rhy to protect him. He is not the one to blame here, and I refuse to let my brother say otherwise.
“You’re a big girl, huh? And you think that jumping from guy to guy is proving that?”
“Excuse me?”
“Come on, Payton. First Joel to that mystery guy you wouldn’t tell any of us about to now my best friend? Do you really think finally experiencing your whore phase is making you a wonderful role model for your daughter? Gonna have another shotgun wedding? Hey, maybe if you get two divorces, you can get the third one free. Quite the hypocrite, huh, Pay? Keeping secrets from those you love. Maybe you’re more like Joel than you think, and you two deserved each other.”
My heart falls to the floor into a million pieces with no chance of repair. That was a low blow, and I can’t believe my brother just said that. Who the hell is this man in front of me?
“Don’t you fucking dare call her a whore. You might be my best friend, but I’m not afraid to hit you or kick you out of my house.”
“Holy shit, it’s you,” Ollie says before laughing maniacally, all the pieces finally clicking into place.
I’ve never seen Ollie like this before.
“You’re the mystery guy. You’ve been fucking him under my nose this whole time? I think it’s funny that you still call me your best friend but that you would act like that. I came over here to check on you because I’ve been worried. You haven’t been acting like yourself lately. You get into fights at work—hell, you fucking called out today for no reason at the last minute. That’s not you at all, man. And I was fucking worried about my best fucking friend.”
Thank God Gabby isn’t talking, or her first word might be “fuck.”
“And it turns out that you’re totally fine just living your best life whoring it up with my baby sister.”
“I told you already, do not call her a whore. I fucking mean it, Oliver.”
“Fuck you,” my brother spits.
In the blink of an eye, my brother lunges, and I scream. Rhy places his hand protectively over Gabby and just misses Ollie’s punch. Gabby’s cries fill the silence in the room.
My mama bear instincts kick in. I rush over and quickly grab Gabby from Rhy and cradle her to my chest.Is my brother out of his ever-loving mind?
“Stop it, both of you,” I shout. “You’re scaring Gabby.” My breath comes is harsh pants as I turn my attention to my brother. “You come in here on your high fucking horse but you literally just threw a punch at the man holding your niece, you jackass. Who even are you? Get the fuck out! You’re not welcome here if you’re going to act like this.”
“Of course you’d choose his side,” Ollie mutters under his breath. But when he sees that I’m not budging on this, his shoulders deflate. Sorrow replaces the fury in his eyes when his gaze drops to Gabby. My brother runs his fingers through his hair and tugs on the ends. Part of me worries, with his grip, he might pull out actual chunks. “We’re not fucking done here.” He points his finger in Rhy’s direction. “But Gabby and Payton don’t need to see or hear what I think of you. I care about their well-being, unlike you.”
I can’t help but scoff. Is he serious? He cares about our well-being, yet he was the one who lunged for Rhy while he was holding my daughter.He’s driving the bus to crazy town.
Ollie completely ignores me and continues, steam coming off him in waves. If looks could kill, Rhy would be dead, buried, and decayed by the look Ollie is giving him.
“You fucking took advantage of my sister when she was most vulnerable. I’m not sure I can forgive you for that. You and me, we’re through.”
With one last look of disdain at both of us, he disappears from the kitchen. Tears I tried to keep at bay roll down my cheek with the slamming of the front door. I hug Gabby tighter to my chest as I try to calm my heavy breathing.
I turn away from Rhy when I can feel his eyes on me. Ignoring my feelings, I focus on my daughter. “Shh, it’s okay, baby girl. It’s okay.” I’m not naïve enough to believe the words, though, but I’ll do and say anything to ease her at the moment.
My brother called me a whore and basically said that my actions were terrible for Gabby. He all but called me a terrible mother.
Fuck him. I’ve single-handedly done all this for myself. Being a parent in general is hard, but being a single parent is a whole new level. Even after everything Joel put me through, I did the damn thing. I somehow balance raising Gabby, having a job, not falling apart. Fuck him for not letting me have one thing for myself.
But there’s something in his words that latched on to my insecurity of not being enough and pulled it to the forefront of my mind. I know it’s not true, but what if he’s right? If we hadn’t kept this a secret, then Ollie wouldn’t have lashed out and gone after Rhyland while he was holding Gabby. My brother was completely in the wrong, but it all circles back tome.I was the one who wanted to keep this a secret. Rhy went along with it and wanted to tell everyone, but I also kept putting it off. This is on me.
A newfound loathing of my brother forms that he made me feel this way. He put that doubt in my head. Pot meet kettle because he’s not much better than Joel either in that respect.
