My Brother's Best Friend (23 page)

“Did you sleep with him?” he asked quietly.

I looked at him with guilty eyes, and he nodded in understanding. “He was the one who bought the flowers?”

I nodded. “I won’t be back for a few days. I need to get my thoughts in order and figure out what to do.”

Megan stepped forward. “Don’t give up on him.”

“He hurt her, Meg,” Mitchell said angrily. “He doesn’t deserve her.”

I watched as they argued over me and Devin. “Thanks for caring. But I’m old enough to figure this out on my own.”

I left them and drove to Larissa’s hotel, arriving before she had returned. The staff knew I was coming though and showed me up to the penthouse.

Words could not describe the splendor of the room. It was gorgeously furnished and very luxurious. Better than any hotel room I ever stayed in.

I waited for Larissa on the couch, watching TV on the flat screen mounted on the wall.

“You’re here!” she called as the elevator doors opened several minutes later. She saw my puffy eyes, set her things down and came straight to the couch. “What happened?”

And before I knew it, I was crying again and confessing that the relationship between me and Devin had been fake. I told her everything and even confessed that I loved him.

“He cheated on you with your sister?” she gasped when I told her why I needed a place to stay.

“He says my sister tricked him.”

“Do you believe him?”

I paused to think about everything Devin had told me and my mind agreed that he was telling the truth, but my heart couldn’t forgive him.

“Even if I believe him, I was still hurt by it. I can’t just forget what I saw and accept what he told me.”

“Just take some time for yourself. Think things over.”

“That’s what my psychologist told me.”

“You have a psychologist?”

“Uh, yeah. I just...I have issues,” I put it simply.

She sighed, “Don’t we all. Now as for sleeping arrangements, you can have the bedroom over there,” she said, pointing to a door off to the right. “The kitchen’s back that way or you can just order room service. I always do, actually there’s probably not that much in the fridge except drinks and a few snacks I keep around.”

“Thanks so much for doing this.”

“Of course. Stay as long as you need to.”

I
spent the next several days going to work and attending class, trying to keep my mind from wandering to Devin. I didn’t do the assignment Dr. Stone wanted me to do, instead I hid the journal, hoping to get back to some semblance of normalcy and to stop wallowing in self-pity and self-doubt, and to stop dwelling on my anger and my fear.

However, today I went to my appointment, surprising since I didn’t feel like I could face Dr. Stone, let alone talk about Devin or my feelings.

“Have you talked to Devin since Wednesday’s appointment?” he asked after I sat there a while in silence.

“No. I’ve been staying at a friend’s place and didn’t want to talk to him or my family.”

“What does your family think of this situation?”

“From what I can tell, Mitch is pretty upset with Devin for going behind his back. He’s also upset with Emily’s pettiness. He’s cracked the whip down hard and from what Megan told me, she is finally starting to take responsibility for her actions. She’s apologized to Megan and Mitch. She wanted to apologize to me but I didn’t want to hear it.”

“Do you think you should forgive your sister?”

“She should apologize to me, but that doesn’t change the fact that she did something horrible just to hurt me. I can’t forget what she did. She shouldn’t get off that easily. An apology isn’t enough.”

“What would be enough?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I just know I can’t forgive her, not yet.”

“And what about Devin?”

I shook my head. “I haven’t done much in the past couple days except keep myself busy with menial tasks. I haven’t wanted to think about anything related to Devin.”

“The only way you will be able to move on is by talking about what happened and maybe even looking back to see what led you to where you are now.”

“You want me to go back through my journal,” I stated.

“Simply put, yes. You’ve written more in that than you care to admit and I’m guessing it’s what helped you open up to me, even to Devin. Now I want you to go back and really look at what happened and see if you can piece everything together.”

I looked at him, confused. “I don’t really understand.”

“You will. Just look back, start from the beginning.”

Before I could ask him another question, my phone beeped loudly, signaling I had a text message. I looked apologetically at Dr. Stone and pulled out my phone.

SIM card error. Please contact service provider.

This SIM card is no longer in use.

“What?” I exited out of the message and immediately my phone went to a white screen.

Please insert a valid SIM card.

“What is it, Christy?”

“My phone stopped working.” I looked down at my watch, our session was nearly over. “Mind if we cut a few minutes short?”

“It’s your money,” he said.

I smiled and stood up with my things. “Thanks, I’ll be back Wednesday, having completed your assignment.”

I went back to the penthouse and heated up the leftover Chinese we ordered yesterday and watched TV until Larissa came back. When Larissa finally claimed she was tired, we set off for our separate rooms.

Now here I was, ready to look back at what I wrote. See what I missed and see what I needed to see…

After I finished reading my journal, I tried calling, but Devin didn’t pick up. I tried sitting on his doorstep, but he never came home. I even asked his neighbor if they had seen him.

Well, first I raced to his apartment and wildly buzzed his apartment. There was no answer so I buzzed his neighbor. She let me up and when I asked her about Devin, she said, “Oh, yes dear.” She was a little old woman, cute as could be. “I heard some noise and came to look and he was carrying down boxes. Looked like he was moving to me.”

My heart sank. Was he really moving? Was I too late?

I decided to sit by his door in case he showed up, but he didn’t. I even called him a couple times from his neighbor’s phone since mine was apparently still not working and Mitch said he was calling the phone company. He didn’t answer and I didn’t want to leave a message.

What if he doesn’t want me anymore? Surely he’s upset. I haven’t spoken to him since Wednesday. And to make things worse, I’ve ignored all of his messages. God please don’t let it be too late.

I went to work Monday. I tried once more from Larissa’s phone to call him before going to work but again he didn’t respond. I was feeling pretty awful by the time I made it to work. I was sure he wanted nothing more to do with me. I was certain he was moving to get away from me and he never wanted to see me again. I almost started crying and contemplated actually leaving him a voicemail and explaining everything and apologizing for being a complete fool.

But I set my things down and immediately my eyes were drawn to a small box placed on my desk. It had a red bow and immediately my heart swelled. Maybe he didn’t hate me. Maybe I did have a chance.

I hesitantly opened the box and found a customized red iPhone engraved with the silver letters,
CJ
in the upper right corner next to the phone’s speaker. I couldn’t believe it. He had done it. He had somehow managed to get me a red iPhone. The back casing was still silver, but the front cover was a ruby red.

I took the phone and turned it on. The welcome screen flashed and tears filled my eyes as I read the message:
I love you, forever and always.

Before I could even explore the phone, it began to ring. The name registered as Prince Charming and I smiled with tears threatening to spill over.

I answered it. “Hello?”

“Hi, beautiful,” he said hesitantly. “I’m so sorry for everything.”

“You don’t have to explain anything. I’m the one who should apologize. I overreacted because…because I love you.”

There was a brief pause and I almost asked if he was still there when I finally heard him speak. “I love you too, Christy. I have for a very long time.”

“I was too blind to see it. My heart was hardened, and I chose not to see anything that would soften it.”

“I’m sorry for everything I did in high school. I was a complete ass. You were perfect. You are perfect.”

I chuckled a little and wiped the tears falling down my cheeks. “I’m hardly perfect. I almost completely ruined everything.”

“For good reason. You don’t have to apologize for getting upset. I’m rather angry myself.”

“I’m sorry you had to deal with that along with my reaction. I love you.” I smiled. I couldn’t stop saying it.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of hearing those words coming from your lips. I love you, CJ.”

“I tried to find you yesterday,” I hedged. “You never came home.”

“I did. I saw you before you saw me and it took everything I had not to rush to you, take you in my arms and kiss you soundly.”

“Why did you wait?”

“I had a few more things to do. I also wasn’t sure you weren’t just there to tell me to get lost for good.”

“Your neighbor said you were moving. Is that true?”

“Yes and no. I was getting rid of things I no longer needed and making some extra room in the apartment.”

“Why?”

“It’s easier to tell you in person. Besides, I want to hold you in my arms, to know that you are real.”

“You should have thought about that earlier.” I smiled, knowing I felt the same way. I itched for his touch, for him to whisper in my ear that he loved me.

“I did and I came prepared,” he said.

“You’re being cryptic again.” I looked up, seeing someone walking up to the doors from the corner of my eyes and gasped when I realized it was Devin. I stood, the phone still to my ear when he walked inside the building.

“Surprise.” He smiled and in a daze I smiled back. He put his phone in his pocket. “You can hang up now.” The phone remained in my hand until he took it and placed it on the desk. He held onto my hand and kissed it. “I meant what I said. I love you, CJ.”

“I know.” I blushed.

“Don’t you have something to say?”

“Hmm, I don’t think I do. Oh, okay. Was it three words?”

He nodded, trying not to chuckle.

“Yes, I remember. Thank you, Devin.”

He rolled his eyes.

“Not it?”

“No.”

“Hmm, let me try again...I love you, Devin. I love yo—” I couldn’t finish as his lips came down on mine and began to kiss me. My arms wrapped around his neck, holding him closer to me. I had missed his touch. I had missed him.

He kissed my neck and then just held me close to him. I did the same, resting my head on his shoulder, smelling his intoxicating cologne. “I’ve missed you terribly,” I said honestly. “I thought you were going to leave me. You don’t know how many times I called you.”

“I do know and I’ve missed you too. It’s been torture to give you your space. I was terrified you were going to realize I wasn’t good enough for you.”

I kissed his neck. “Don’t leave me, okay?”

“Never.”

“If you’ve made room in your apartment, do you think I can move in?” I pulled back to look him in the eye. “I’m tired of putting Larissa out by staying with her and I don’t want to go back to the house. Maybe I should get my own place to start. I don’t want to put you out.”

Devin held his finger to my lips, stopping my nervous chatter. “Why do you think I cleared out space? I don’t want to drive all the way to Larissa’s hotel to pick you up, it’s much more convenient to have you living with me.”

“Do you think we’re going too fast?” I asked. “Dr. Stone would say so.”

“Or he would say, go for it. And if you think this is fast—”

“I don’t. I’m just wondering what others will think.”

“Don’t worry about anyone else. What matters is how we both feel. I love you, Christy. I don’t want to let you go now. You’re stuck with me.”

“Good, because you’re stuck with me too. I love you. We have spent way too much time apart. It’s time we rectify the situation.”

“I completely agree,” he said, leaning down to capture my lips. We were lost again in our own world of happiness.

“Ahem!” Reluctantly we broke apart to find Mitchell and Megan standing before us. “I’m sorry, were we interrupting?” I turned around, but Devin held onto my waist. “I’m guessing you made up?”

I nodded then grabbed my phone off the desk. “Look what I got!” I held it up for Mitch and Megan to see.

“Is this customized?” Megan asked incredulously, grabbing for the phone.

“Yep.” I smiled, turning slightly to look up at Devin. “Made just for me.”

He smiled back at me and kissed my cheek.

I giggled and touched his face, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he said softly.

“You apologized with a bribe?” Mitchell asked.

“No. It was just a gift,” I said defensively. “I forgave him Saturday night, well Sunday morning, I suppose.” Mitchell nodded as he handed back my phone. “You don’t have to like it, Mitch. I know you’re upset about us, but you’re going to at least accept that it happened. We’re together,” I said, smiling up at Devin.