Chapter TenTaylor
I saw them arrive. I saw them, but I wasn’t stupid enough to let them see me.
It hurt. It sure as fuck did. It hurt and made me angry. And the anger felt better than the hurt. I preferred the rage a thousand times more than that deep, awful pain that left me feeling shattered.
Kami’s betrayal was something I could never forgive, but my brother’s? That was worse. For me, our relationship was over.
I had no idea where they were coming from—a hotel? But one thing was obvious: They had spent the night together. And I couldn’t stop asking why. Didn’t Kami feel our connection when we were together? I always felt it when I was near her.
She turned toward her front door, but then she stopped and smiled at him one more time.
At him. At him, dammit.
I looked away from the window and finished getting dressed. I dreaded going to school, and I even thought about playing sick, staying home to avoid the situation. But exams had begun, and I had math that day, and I’d need to nail it if I wanted to get into my top picks for college.
I was pulling a Knicks sweatshirt over my head when my phone buzzed.
I had ignored Kami’s calls and messages, but then when she stopped, I was disappointed. I wanted to hear from her own lips that she was sorry, that she’d made a mistake. But of course, that didn’t happen. She’d just quit trying, and I’d sat there staring at the ceiling, trying to absorb the fact that my girlfriend was in love with my brother.
But now I saw her name on my screen again, and I wasn’t sure what to do.
I didn’t want to talk to her, I couldn’t, not after seeing her pull up on my brother’s bike. I read her text message:
I know I’m the last person you want to hear from right now, but please, please forgive me, and don’t hate Thiago. I love you, and I hope when you’re ready you’ll let me talk to you and explain everything.
What was there to explain? That she’d cheated on me? Fooled me? To hell with that! And as for not hating my brother, who was she to ask that of me? How could she dare get mixed up in my business?
I was pissed. Furious.
I grabbed the car keys and hurried downstairs, hoping to get out of the house without seeing my mother, but as I walked through the kitchen, there she was, and worse, so was Thiago. Mom could tell something was off when Thiago saw me and the atmosphere became so tense that it felt electric.
“I’m going to grab breakfast on the way,” I said, trying to get out the door.
“Why? What happened now?” my mother asked, looking back and forth between us.
“Taylor, we need to talk,” Thiago said.
“About what?” I asked, my hand on the doorknob. “About how you’re fucking my girlfriend?” My mother looked shocked. She scolded me for cursing, but I didn’t care. What really got to me was the look on Thiago’s face.
So I was right. They had done it. I didn’t need proof, I didn’t need him to admit it aloud. One look told me it was true.
“You fucker,” I hissed, scowling at him in a way I don’t think I ever had before.
“Taylor!” my mother shouted, angry and tense. I felt betrayed. I hated every cell in his body right then.
“You can’t talk that way in front of Mom,” Thiago said, standing. “Tell her you’re sorry.”
I laughed. “You honestly think you have the right to tell me what I can and can’t say after what you’ve done?”
“Whatever you have to say to me, you can say it in private, not in front of her,” he replied.
“Sorry, Mom,” I said, not feeling it in the least. My fists were clenched so tight I thought my nails would cut into my palms. “I’m sorry you raised a son who’s a lying, manipulative narcissist.”
“Thiago, what did you do?” my mother asked, looking him straight in the eyes as he glared at me.
“Is that what you really think?” Thiago said.
I didn’t hesitate: “Yes, I think that, because it’s the truth. You think everyone and everything revolves around you. Kami was my girlfriend, and you had no right to come between us.”
