Page 72 of Unraveled

“Humor me. I’m curious. And if you’re over Carly, it shouldn’t be a big deal to talk about it.”

I sighed. “I’m long over her.” I meant that absolutely. “As for Brandon, he apologized for weeks after it happened. Told me he’d been drinking or some shit and that he’d woken up with her on top of him.”

“Is it plausible? You did say she didn’t seem sorry.”

“It’s ancient history.” And honestly, not one I entirely felt comfortable discussing with her.

Her gaze from the passenger side was intense. “Considering your reaction to your cousin talking to me at the wedding, I’d say it’s not. Was your heart broken?”

“A little. Maybe. But it was mostly my pride which took the brunt.”

“I think the betrayal of your cousin and losing his friendship was worse than losing your girlfriend.”

That had certainly cut deeper. You don’t break up a twenty-two-year-old relationship and not have it sting. We’d been best friends since birth. “I suppose it was.”

“This is the last time I’ll ever bring it up, but I will say that perhaps accepting his apology would be the first step to truly leave it in the past.”

She had a point. It felt petty to hang on to a grudge about a woman who wasn’t Layla. I reached over and put my hand on her thigh. “I’ll think about it.” It was the best I could offer. Hell, I didn’t even know where to start. My grudge had fueled my desire to achieve my goal of becoming my own man, motivating me to start my business from scratch and make something of it. I’d held on to my anger for so long I wasn’t sure how to separate myself from it.

“Your brother is going with you tomorrow?” I asked. She had her second chemo appointment. Although I’d have preferred to go with her, I had a lot of work to make up after taking the long weekend off.

“Yes. He’ll be down in the morning. With my mom.”

My head turned quickly. “Seriously? When did that come about?”

“I thought about what you said about my mom dealing with my cancer in the only way she knew how. Perhaps being a part of my treatment might make her feel better. Might actually bring us closer. Or, on the flip side, I might end up wanting to throw her out of the hospital. Thankfully, Russ will be there to help if it gets too out of control.”

“Good. I bet being there will mean a lot to her. I’d like to come over tomorrow night?”

Although I knew she enjoyed her independence—which was another way of saying she didn’t want me to see her at her worst—I hoped we’d crossed a hurdle regarding that last night. The truth was I didn’t like her spending the nights by herself after chemo when nobody knew how her body might react.

“If you want. You have a long week ahead of you.”

“It’s longer when I don’t get to see you.” No truer words had ever been spoken.

The next day I called my sister first thing in the morning. I was hoping she could help me without making it a big deal.

“Hey, big brother, what’s up?”

“Hey yourself. Um, I have a favor to ask.”

Her tone showed her surprise. “From me?”

“Yes. From you.”

“Sorry I’m so shocked. It’s just that I’m the little sister, which means I don’t think you’ve ever asked for a favor from me.”

Hopefully, I wouldn’t regret this one. “Yeah, well, you’re all grown up now. But what I ask I’m hoping stays between us.”

“You have my promise. What is it?”

“Do you have Brandon’s phone number?”

Silence.

“Are you there?”

“Yep. Guess I’m in shock. I do have it.”