INVISIBLE STRING | BRADY NOON

mixed signals

AMY'S POV:

"I loved you truly, gotta laugh at the stupidity"

"I still can't believe that asshole did that to you, especially tonight" Lily exclaimed, her frustration palpable.

I sighed, my thoughts still consumed by what had just happened. "It's alright, Lily. I'm fine, really. You don't have to worry about me."

"And he has the AUDACITY to come here asking for you! Like, excuse me, sir. Do you think Amy is just somebody you can just use and throw whenever you're bored and need some entertainment?" Lily continued, her voice rising.

I nodded in agreement, though a hint of doubt lingered in my mind. "Listen, I agree Brady is so wrong for that, but the fact that he didn't even acknowledge my message is kind of weird. I mean, the Brady I know, even though he might not see me that way, he'd at least let me down easy. It's not like him to just fully ignore everything I told him."

"But Brady is still a male, and men just end up disappointing over and over again," Lily remarked.

Just then, a notification chimed on my phone, drawing my attention away from the conversation. It was from a random number.

"Lily, there's a random number that just sent me a text claiming to be Brady," I said, my brows furrowed in confusion.

"Girl, don't open it. It's probably a scam," Lily warned, her concern evident.

"But how and why would somebody else get my number?" I pondered aloud, my mind racing with possibilities.

"Ames, I know you haven't attended any events or walked red carpets in so long, but you're still a celebrity, honey. People would do anything to talk to you," Lily reminded me, offering a plausible explanation.

"Fine, I'll just ignore it," I conceded, though the nagging feeling of unease remained.

"Right, now where were we? Oh, and DO NOT get started on his clone, Connor, okay? First of all, who names their kid CONNOR? The world has had enough of one Brady, and now there's TWO??" lily continued.

As Lily resumed her rant about Brady and his entire family tree, my thoughts drifted somewhere else, not realizing that I was zoning out.

"And then, I was thinking about how I should date Connor, cause he's obviously the more attractive twin what do you think Ames?" Lily asked, testing to see if I was paying attention to what she was saying.

"Uh, yeah, sure," I replied absentmindedly, my thoughts elsewhere.

"Alright, penny for your thoughts?" Lily nudged, her expression filled with concern.

"Sorry, Lily, it's just that the media keeps releasing new pictures of me and Hector from that night at the party from 'unknown sources,' but when I was there, I didn't see any cameras," I explained, frustration evident in my voice.

"Do you think Hector set up hidden cameras that night?" Lily pondered, her brows furrowing in suspicion.

"I wouldn't be surprised. Every passing day, I'm starting to realize that Hector deserved all of those punches Brady threw at him," I admitted, my frustration boiling over.

"I agree, at least he was of some use" Lily remarked, rolling her eyes.

"But, Lily, I think I'm going to meet up with Hector," I declared, my voice firm with determination.

"Umm, listen, I'm totally for you to get revenge on Brady, but getting with Hector is NOT IT. Hector is 72800 times worse than Brady," Lily warned, her tone serious.

"Not to get with him, genius. I'm going to confront him and ask him about these pictures being released. It's an invasion of privacy, and if he doesn't stop, I'll actually have to file a lawsuit against him," I clarified, my resolve unwavering.

"Let's file assault charges as well. I would do anything for the asshole to spend some time behind bars for what he did to you," Lily declared, her voice filled with righteous anger.

"Honestly, same... I'll meet up with him in a public cafe tomorrow just be sure that he doesn't pull any of his nasty stunts again," I agreed, feeling a sense of empowerment.

"Alright, me and Ryan will wait in the car outside. You just signal us if things go sideways. I've been practicing kickboxing the past few months, and I would love it if I could practice my skills on a human," Lily joked, a hint of mischief in her eyes.

"Thanks, Lily. I do not know what I would have done without you," I said chuckling, feeling grateful for her support.

BRADY'S POV:

"stood there and watched you walk away, from everything we had"

After seeing Amy at the cafe, I tried to make sense of everything. I went to her house later as well, but I was met with Lily, who said, and I quote, "Get out of here before I turn you into my human punching bag to practice my kickboxing skills."

Usually, I wouldn't give up that easily, but I couldn't tell if Lily was being serious or kidding, so I didn't take any chances and left before things went south.

I didn't have time to deal with whatever was going on with Amy because I was meeting up with Xochitl tomorrow morning, and I could finally tell her how I feel.

As I pushed open the door to Conner's room, he glanced up from his desk, eyebrows raised in concern. "Dude, I messed up big time," I blurted out, collapsing onto the bed beside him.

Conner spun around in his chair, concern etched into his features. "What happened?"

"I went to see Amy at her house after our...whatever happened in the cafe, and Lily practically chased me out."

"Lily threatened to turn you into her punching bag again?" he chuckled.

"Yeah actually, wait how'd you know?" I asked curious.

"Lets just say, you aren't the first person she's threatened with that" he letting out a small laugh.

"Right okay" I said narrowing his eyes suspiciously at him.

"What did you need to talk to her about?" Conner probed gently.

"I don't know, man," I sighed, sinking further into the bed. "Everything's been so messed up lately. I thought maybe I could fix things, but I guess not."

Conner leaned back in his chair, thoughtful. "Maybe it's for the best, you know? Amy needs time, and maybe you need time too."

"Yeah, maybe you're right," I conceded, feeling a flicker of relief at his words. "But I can't stop thinking about Xochitl. I'm meeting her tomorrow morning, and I'm finally going to tell her how I feel."

Conner's brow furrowed with concern. "Are you sure about this, Brady? I mean, do you really like Xochitl, or are you just trying to distract yourself from everything that's going on with Amy?"

I chewed on my lip, wrestling with my emotions. "I'm sure Connor, I like like Xochitl and I'm 90% sure she feels the same way."

"Well, just be careful, okay?" Conner urged, his voice laced with worry. "You don't want to end up hurting Xochitl if your heart's not really in it."

"Yeah, I know," I murmured, grateful for his concern.

As I lay in bed that night, Conner's words kept bouncing around in my head. Was I really ready for all of this? Was my heart even in it, or was I just using Xochitl as an escape from all the drama with Amy?

Those questions wouldn't shut up, echoing in my brain and making me feel all kinds of weird. I tried to shake them off, but they stuck to me like glue. With a frustrated sigh, I rolled over, yanking the covers up to my chin. But even with my eyes closed tight, I just couldn't fall asleep.