I hesitated, the words caught in my throat. This was it. The moment I’d been dreading and avoiding for weeks. But after seeing the pain in James’s eyes, after realizing what I’d done to him, I couldn’t keep running.
“I’m in love with James,” I said, the truth finally spilling out. “I have been for weeks.”
Brittany stared at me, her expression frozen somewhere between shock and revulsion. “You’re...what?”
“I’m in love with him,” I repeated, and saying it a second time felt like releasing a weight I’d been carrying for too long. “And I’ve been too much of a coward to admit it.”
“That’s disgusting,” she whispered, backing away from me like I was contagious. “He’s your stepbrother.”
“Not anymore,” I said firmly. “And I don’t care what you think, anyway. I’ve spent my entire life trying to be what other people wanted me to be. What my dad wanted. Whatyouwanted. And I’m done with that.”
Brittany’s face contorted with rage. “You’re sick. Both of you. Does your father know about this? Does your stepmother?”
“No,” I admitted. “And honestly, I don’t care if they find out anymore. I’m tired of hiding who I am.”
“You’re not gay,” she spat, as if she could will it to be true. “This is just some... some phase. Some twisted experiment gone wrong.”
“It’s not about being gay or straight,” I said, surprising myself with how calm I felt. “It’s about James. It’s always been about James.”
She laughed then, a cruel, mocking sound that would have cut me to the core a month ago. Now it just made me sad for her.
“You’re pathetic,” she said. “You know that? Absolutely pathetic. You think he actually cares about you? After everything you did to him?”
That hit closer to home, making me flinch. “I don’t know if he still cares about me. I might have ruined everything. But even if he never forgives me, I can’t stay here pretending with you.”
“Get out,” she hissed, pointing to the door. “Get your things and get the fuck out of my apartment.”
“Gladly,” I replied, turning toward the bedroom to grab the bag I hadn’t even unpacked yet.
As I grabbed my duffel bag from the bedroom floor, I realized I’d never even bothered to unzip it. Everything I’d brought with me was still inside, untouched since I’d packed it at James’s apartment. It felt symbolic somehow, like I’d never really wanted to come back here because deep down, I’d known this wasn’t where I belonged.
“I hope you’re happy,” Brittany called from the doorway, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. “You’ve thrown away everything for someone who’s probably already moved on.”
I zipped up my bag without responding. She was trying to get under my skin, to make me doubt myself. It was what she’d always done when she felt like she was losing control. But for once, her words didn’t land. Even if James never forgave me, and I wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t, I still couldn’t stay here pretending.
“Nothing to say?” she pushed, her voice taking on that mocking tone I’d grown to hate. “No clever comeback?”
I slung my bag over my shoulder and finally looked at her. “I’m sorry, Brittany. I really am. But this is better for both of us.”
“Don’t you dare pretend this is for my benefit,” she spat. “This is you being selfish, like always.”
“Maybe you’re right,” I conceded, moving past her toward the front door. “Maybe this is selfish. But staying with you when I’m in love with someone else? That would be cruel. To both of us.”
Her laugh was bitter and sharp. “And what you did to me today wasn’t cruel? Leading me on, making me think we were fixing things?”
I paused at the door, guilt twisting in my stomach. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have come back at all. That was a mistake, and I’m sorry.”
“Your father is going to disown you when he finds out,” she said, her final attempt to make me stay. “Is that what you want? To lose your family over this... this perversion?”
The word stung, but I didn’t let it show. Instead, I thought about James, his laugh, his kindness, and the way he’d seen something in me worth saving even after everything I’d done to him.
“My father’s opinion stopped mattering to me the moment he attacked James,” I said quietly. “And if he can’t accept who I am and who I love, then maybe I’m better off without him.”
I opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, Brittany’s voice following me like a curse.
“He’ll never take you back! You hear me? He’ll never forgive you! You’ll regret this!”
“The only thing I regret,” I said, glancing back at her, “is that it took me this long to figure it out.”
