The Twenty Year Triangle

Chapter Fourteen

"I saw him making out with some girl at the diner," Olly says.

***

I find myself nervous as I knock gently on Brandi's bedroom door.

"Olly, is that you?" she asks in a trembling voice. "Did you talk to Kinz?"

"It's me, Brandi." I open the door and walk in, and she looks up at me with puffy red eyes and teary cheeks. Any leftover anger melts away when I see her so upset, and I run to the bed to embrace her.

She doesn't pull back; she buries her face into my shoulder and starts to sob so hard her body shakes. "Shh, it's okay, I'm here," I whisper soothing words and let her cry until she finally calms down.

"You told me so," she sniffles.

"I didn't want to be right."

"But you were," she says in such a soft and trembly voice it's hard to believe it's Brandi. "I am such an idiot."

"No, you're not. Wade is," I say. "He's a complete and total moron to cheat on you."

"That's the thing, Kinz; he says it isn't cheating because he doesn't do labels." She holds her fingers up to quote labels. "It isn't the first time. Sometimes at parties, he ditches me for a prettier or older girl. The first time he did that I got so upset and ran out, and he came out and..." she trails off.

"And what?" I push.

".. and that's when he was like, what'd you think you were my girlfriend or something? We're just having fun. He was so cold about it. It made me feel so gross, so I left. I was never going to talk to him again after that, but he kept calling, and—I don't even know why I went to the next party, but I did."

"Why didn't you tell me this was going on? I would've made sure you didn't go back over there."

"I don't know," she mutters. "I think maybe part of it is I knew you would, and my other friends go along with it when I lie to myself about him. But also, maybe I didn't think you'd care; you told me not to come to you when he hurt me."

"I didn't mean it," I say as my eyes start to well with tears for her, and I feel so awful for saying that. "I would've been there, Brandi. I swear. I'm sorry I said that."

"No, I am. I'm so sorry for what I did. That was a really messed up thing to do."

"I know you're sorry, it was messed up, but I forgive you," I assure her as I squeeze her arm.

She grabs a tissue and blows her nose as her sobs are finally lessening. "I know how stupid I sound, but Wade is different, when we're together. He's always so sweet when it's just me and him, you know? Especially before we did it. He even said he loved me."

I sit quietly and take her hand as she talks, my heart aching that her first time turned out like this.

"He's always been so good to me in the bedroom; he's loving and stuff, and after, he's all cuddly and says all these nice things. That's why it hurt so much when he said I wasn't his girlfriend. I should have stayed away, but he kept telling me how he was addicted to me and calling all the time. When he says all the stuff I want to hear, I want to believe him so bad, so I do."

"And then?" I ask as she lets out a shaky breath.

"Then the next day at school and around his friends, he acts like I'm just some girl he parties with. He gets mad if I get clingy in public. I keep telling myself that Wade in private and is the real him, and he just does all that stuff for his friends. You know to show off and stuff."