Branch shook his head. “Some things never change, do they, Katy?”
I felt like I needed to defend myself. “What do you mean by that?”
I could tell he was getting annoyed with me and I didn’t care. “I mean your attitude when it comes to you being in the wrong.”
“You just reminded me of why we aren’t together. You think the whole world revolves around you, like you should be worshipped,” I said sarcastically.
“We aren’t together because you fucked my brother the night before we were to be married, or have you forgotten that? I’m sure you haven’t, because judging from my calculations that would have been the night you conceived that pretty little girl downstairs. I still can’t believe it. I can’t believe that you ran away and had his child without telling anyone. How could you do that? Did you do it to get back at me? You did, didn’t you? You wanted me to pay so badly that you cost my parents years without their only grandchild. Tell me I’m wrong. Give me some other reason why you couldn’t come home?”
I sat up straight and let my legs relax. “Don’t you dare act like you’re innocent.” I knew I was raising my voice and that everyone was probably downstairs listening. “All of this is your fault, Branch. You kept us apart. You lied to me to make me think he never loved me. How could you do that to me? Why?”
He slammed his hands down on the bed. “Because I wanted you for myself, that’s why. No matter what we were doing, he was always your favorite. I hated how you looked at him. We were supposed to be the same. You think I didn’t notice the way he always defended you? He promised me that we’d never fight, but yet he had to sneak behind my back when it came to you.”
He was acting like a jealous child. “Are you talking about our first kiss?”
“You’re damn right I am. He had to have more, even after we’d made a pact.”
“We were twelve you big idiot. How can you look at yourself in the mirror, knowing that you’re an adult and you act like a child?”
“Don’t judge me, Katy. Go judge Mr. Perfect downstairs that at any time could have stopped you the night you were together. He could have pushed you away and told you he felt nothing. He was in the wrong. It’s like you’re blind when it comes to him. I don’t even get why.”
I pointed toward him. “Don’t you dare turn this around. He’s the victim and you hate that. You can’t stand that you did all of this. You can’t stand that after all of it, he still got me. Let me just tell you something. I don’t care how long we were together, or what you did to try to make me happy. You could never be him, Branch. No matter how much you tried. You’re too different. You care about yourself, while he puts himself last.”
He turned and looked right at me. “You’re right. That’s why I did what I did. It’s why I told you he didn’t want you and it’s why I told him to back off. I knew he’d listen, because he always cared about everyone else. Once I had you I knew he wouldn’t want my sloppy seconds.”
I moved forward on the bed, almost getting up in his face. “That’s where you’re wrong, Branch. I bet you didn’t know he lost his virginity to me in that room right across the hall. You see, on the anniversary of when my parents died, I thought it was you that would come into my room and comfort me. I thought it was you holding me because that’s what a boyfriend was supposed to do. Little did I know that it was Brooks. He made love to me only days after our first time together, and then on the same day the next year. Both times it wasn’t like anything I’d ever felt before.” That statement was better than any kick in the balls.
I watched the color leave his face and knew that I’d hit a nerve. “What? You knew?”
I shook my head. “No. I didn’t know at first. We were together twice and he never told me. I can’t blame him. Though, at first, I wanted to kill him.”
Branch covered his face with both hands. “God, I can’t believe this.”
“I couldn’t believe it either. More than that, I couldn’t believe that the man I was planning on marrying had conned me into loving him. Did you really think that I’d be happy and that Brooks would never tell me the truth?”
He turned to me, like he was the one betrayed. “He gave me his word that I could have you.”
“He told me no that night.” It was partly the truth, but I was actually starting to feel bad. “That night at the hotel, you were so drunk. You said some horrible things and Brooks just wanted me to feel better. He found me on the roof crying, and everything happened so fast. I know you could never understand and that you’ll probably hate me forever, but I’ve never felt something so powerful as when I’m close to him. It doesn’t matter how long we’re apart, or what’s standing in our way, it’s always there. Branch, I’m so sorry that I hurt you. I left because I couldn’t face you that next morning. I couldn’t look you in the eyes and tell you that I was in love with your brother. I felt so ashamed.” I swallowed the lump forming in my throat before I could continue. “The thing is, you knew it all along. You’d been keeping us apart because you knew what we had, didn’t you? Do you have any idea what I’ve gone through because of all of this? I ran away from the only family I have left. I had a child that I couldn’t tell anyone about, because I thought they all hated me, including your brother. I moved to a town with nothing but the clothes in my suitcase. You could have prevented all of this. Brooks didn’t have to miss the birth of his daughter.”