He Did What?
Charlie
Unknown number:Hi Charlie. This is Ryan’s brother, Garrett. Can we talk?
Charlie:How did you get my number?
Unknown number:I stole Ry’s passcode. Shh, don’t tell him. ;)
Charlie:What do you want?
Unknown number:I need to talk to you about Ryan.
Unknown number:Please.
Charlie: I don’t want to talk about Ryan.
Unknown number:I know you’re upset, but I can explain everything. Give me 10 minutes.
Charlie: Fine.10 minutes. Meet at the Coffee Hut?
Unknown number:Yep. 7:00 tonight?
Charlie:Okay.
Unknown number:Thank you!
I never should have agreed to this. I should be at Stella’s and Emma’s place right now eating my weight in ice cream and crying at rom-coms. How will I even recognize him? I’ve never actually met either of Ryan’s brothers. That probably should have been a sign. I mean, I didn’t introduce him to my dad because he’s an asshole. Maybe the same goes for Ryan’s brothers. I swear, if this guy shows up here just to bitch at me, I’m going to tear Ryan a new one.
The bell above the cafe door jingles, and for the tenth time in the past five minutes I look up to see who’s entering. My concern that I wouldn’t recognize Ryan’s brother disintegrates the minute he enters the coffee shop. Garrett’s face is a little rounder, his body thinner, but there’s no mistaking those stormy-blue eyes, straight nose and long, dark hair. He obviously recognizes me too because he smiles and heads directly for my table.
“Hi, Charlie,” he says, offering his hand to shake.
At least he seems nice.
“Hi,” I reply, trying to smile but doing a shit job of it. I take his hand in mine, we shake, and he takes the seat across from me.
“Thank you for meeting with me,” he says.
I just nod and play with the plastic lid on my teacup. “You can get something if you’d like. I’ll wait.”
He gives me another tentative smile. “That’s okay. I won’t bother you for long.” He sighs and scratches nonexistent chin stubble. “The truth is, Ryan doesn’t know I’m here and if he findsout, there’s a high probability he’ll murder me in my sleep so I’m going to keep this brief.”
I take a sip of my tea, hoping the warm chamomile will slow my racing heart. “Why are you here then?”
“Because I think you have a right to know the truth and Ryan, being an idiot, thinks he’s doing the right thing. Shithead’s got a hero complex or something. Anyway.” He clears his throat and sinks back into his seat. “Ryan didn’t want to break up with you.”
My heart leaps at his words, but I quickly squash my excitement and school my features. “We weren’t together.”
“Whatever. You know what I mean. He likes you a lot. He’s liked you for a long time, actually. It’s just…” Garrett pauses and tips his head back, as if the word he’s looking for is written on the ceiling. “Ry got off of work early yesterday and stopped by your house, wanting to surprise you or something.” He waves a hand dismissively. “I don’t know to be honest. But your dad answered the door.”
Oh my god. That son of a bitch. I could kill him. I could fucking kill him. “Dammit.” I smack my hand on the table. “I knew something was up.” This is all my fault because I never told Ryan what a colossal asshole my father is. I was so afraid of hurting Ryan’s feelings if I told him what my father thought about him, that I left him completely unprepared.
“Yeah.”
The words my father used when he saw Ryan that first night ricochet like bullets in my brain:
“Trouble.”
