My Brother's Best Friend(63)

“I got Emily’s forged message before my phone died, but I didn’t get yours until after I went home.”

“How did you know it wasn’t me?”

“Her kiss…it wasn’t yours. I realized pretty quickly, but she had already...”

“She was the one undoing your...” I couldn’t even say it out loud.

“Yes.”

I nodded my head and wiped the tears rolling down my face. “Did you touch her?” I gulped.

His own eyes were glistening and he nodded. “The darkness played with my senses. I...I kissed her neck, thinking it was you and ran my hands down her sides. Before anything else happened, she kissed me and I knew it wasn’t you. I’m sorry.”

“You’re being honest, that’s what I asked for.” My voice shook. “Now I would like it if you respect my privacy.”

“Please, Chris. You didn’t ask me the most important question. When I realized it was Emily, I could have easily let it go. I could have had her, but I pushed her away. Why?”

I looked up at him and stepped to the side to get around him as I wiped the tears falling down my face. “Leave me alone, Devin. I don’t want to talk to you. I’m tired of it, and I just...I just want to leave. I can’t look at you. I just can’t handle anything more.”

“You think it’s over? You told me you gave me your heart. Well, I didn’t throw it away. I gave you my own. It’s been in your possession since I saved you from yourself.”

I looked up at Devin, wanting nothing more than for his words to be true. My heart was still heavy, though, and my mind clouded. I wasn’t sure if I could trust myself, let alone trust Devin. I had been burned before.

“Think about the assignment I gave you, Christy,” Dr. Stone said. I had completely forgotten that he had just witnessed everything that had happened.

I nodded my head and took one last look at Devin before walking out of the office. I cried the whole way home.

When I pulled up to the house I sat for a while, thinking about everything Devin had said. It only made me seethe with anger. My sister completely violated my privacy and even worse, she wanted to damage me, to hurt me with her stunt.

I got out of the car and marched angrily up to the house.

I slammed the front door and ran up the stairs, trying to get to my room but Emily stopped me. She was the last person I wanted to see right then, besides Devin of course.

“Christy, I’m sorry for what I did,” she sobbed. Her tears meant nothing to me at that moment. “It’s not what you think. Devin...”

I lost it. The minute she said his name. I couldn’t contain all the feelings I was bottling up inside. My fury was like a volcanic eruption. “Shut up, Emily! Just shut up! You don’t care about what happened to me. You don’t care about anyone but yourself. You think you’re so cool by dating a new guy every week, but you know what that makes you? A whore! You steal other people’s boyfriends at school and now you’ve ruined my life by taking something of mine away. So don’t apologize if you don’t mean it and don’t talk to me about Devin. You are a selfish spoiled little brat who thinks she can just take what she wants with no consequences, but pretty soon the girls you call your friends will turn on you. They’ll call you out for stealing their boyfriends and you know where that will leave you? On the bottom of the totem pole. No one will want to be your friend. You will be ostracized even from your own cheerleading buddies.”

“Christy!” Mitchell yelled, coming up the stairs.

“You know you think the same thing. She disrespects me, you and now Megan. Do you think it will get better, Mitch? Do you?” I turned back to Emily. “You need to pull your act together because sooner or later your house of cards is going to collapse and no one is going to want to help you pick up the pieces. It’s about time you start respecting Mitch and Megan. They love you and care for you and are trying their damnedest to make you happy and all you do is throw dirt in their face. And me? You’ve hated me since Mom and Dad died! I gave up everything I had for you. I gave up my dreams. I gave up Yale, all so Mitch and I could keep you clothed and fed. We both sacrificed so we wouldn’t have to split up the family. You don’t even know the half of what happened that year.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize unless you mean it, Em.” I paused briefly before continuing my rant. “You know what hurts me the most? My own sister betrayed me. I can live with the fact that my life is in shambles right now, but what really tears at me is the fact that you just ripped my heart out and spat on it like it meant nothing to you, like your sister meant nothing to you. I’ve dealt with humiliation and suffered through betrayal before, but to be betrayed by my own sister, that’s worse than getting humiliated in front of the entire school. That’s worse than finding out my whole senior year was a joke. Did you know how much I suffered senior year?”