A complicated puzzle slowly comes together in my head. The only thing that doesn't make sense is the naked woman in my bed. With me in it. I sure as fuck didn't invite her in there. I haven't been with anyone besides Kayla in a really fucking long time. The last time I had sex with someone else was even before Freya showed up, or around the same time. How on Earth did a naked chick get in my bed?
I stop the truck in the driveway and run toward the house. Jake's car is here. Good.
I rush in and find my father sitting in his favorite chair, concentrating on something on his iPad. Mom is chatting on the phone, but once she sees me, she says her goodbyes and comes to give me a hug.
"I didn't know you were coming, honey. You hungry?"
“No, I’m good.” Her forehead wrinkles in concern—I never turn down food. Never. “Where is Jake?”
“He was doing something for Alicia in her room. I think he was fixing the shelf or something.”
I'm running upstairs before she even finishes. The door to Alicia's room is open, so I walk right in. Jake's attempting to hang a floating shelf on the wall while she's curled up with her laptop on the bed. As I barrel in, they both look at me with wide eyes.
"Sup, bro," Jake chirps cheerfully. "What are you doing here?"
“Do you know why Kayla left?" I demand.
His eyes widen even more, and he begins looking around as if searching for an escape route, but the only one is behind me. He’s not going anywhere.
“Do you?" I bark, drawing his attention back to myself. He runs his hand through his hair and scratches his chin.
"I mean, I may have seen her around your place." He tries to smile.
"Around your place?" Alicia turns to look at me, unanswered questions clear in her eyes.
“Yeah,” he turns to her with a sneer. “Our brother here,” he points a finger at me, one I'm very much willing to break, "has been sleeping with that trailer trash for a while. Isn't that right, Justin?" He finally turns to me, a self-satisfied smile on his lips.
"Really?" Alicia's voice is small, and I look at her. I take a deep breath, preparing to say something I'll never live down.
“Yes.” I say firmly because I’m finally done hiding. I finally know what I want. I just picked a shitty timing for it.
"How could you?" She asks, her eyes brimming with tears.
"Yeah, after what she did… I don't know what kind of brother you are. She's fucking trailer trash and will always be."
"Shut up!" I yell, grabbing him by the front of his shirt. "I warned you to never call her that again. Didn't you get it?"
"No!" He spits in my face. "Who are you to dictate what I can say and where? Huh? She destroyed our lives!”
"She didn't! She didn't, Jake. I did!" I yell back. I take a second to calm down before adding, "I am the one to blame here." He looks crestfallen, and Alicia's face is covered in tears. I regret hurting her all over again the most, but I have to tell them. "I made the wrong decision that night. I did. I stopped to fight instead of driving to Springfield and trusting my gut, and I trusted Ashley."
"Ashley was almost raped. Don't blame her." Alicia's whisper is barely audible. She can't stand Ashley, but as someone who went through that horrible experience, she feels terrible for her. It's the only reason she tolerated Ashley hanging around. The keyword is tolerated. Nothing more.
A lump settles in my throat. "She wasn't." I choke out. "She was sleeping with that guy for a long time, and that night was no different. I read the situation wrong, believed her, and picked a fight that could have been avoided." I take a deep breath, preparing for the rest of the story. "Kayla stopped me from killing him at that gas station. She helped when I could have gone off the rails and did something irrevocable." Jake opens his mouth to say something, but I silence him with a raised hand. “Kayla didn’t call cops that night. She didn’t.”
“Fuck.” Is all Jake says. "Fuck!" He adds, louder. "Who did then?"
“Ashley did.” Alicia whispers.
"Yeah, she did," I confirm. It hurts to admit. “While she was waiting for me in the car.”
“While you were beating the dude?” Jake’s brows are raised.
"Seems so, because she didn't touch her phone after I got in the truck."
"Fuck." He puts his hands behind his back. "So…" But he doesn't finish and shakes his head. "All this time…."
“Yeah.” I close my eyes, wallowing in the guilt threatening to suffocate me.
