Love & War | Brad Simpson ✔️

45. "She who prides herself on being so fucking honest"

"Right, that's convenient"

This wasn't how I wanted this to go. I wanted us to tell him about us, not show him. I certainly didn't want to show him in a context where a large group of people we know are all around us.

"How long?"

I hear Brad sigh, "um, I mean, technically-"

"How long?" Tris seethes.

"... A few weeks" Brad eventually replies.

"Weeks?!" Tris exclaims, his tone somehow even more aggressive, "fucking weeks? You've been seeing my sister for weeks behind my back when you both live here?! Is that what you're telling me?"

From what I can hear, Brad remains quiet so I assume that that answered Tris's question.

"Have you slept together?"

"Tris..." Brad sigh. I groan quietly and hide my face in my hands, "why does it matter-"

"Have you had sex with my sister?" He asks twice as loudly and with twice as much emphasis

Brad, once again, does not reply.

"So that's a yes" Tris snorts.

"We're in a relationship, Tris, what the fuck do you expect?" Brad snaps back, and I think that he's finally given up trying to be reasonable, "stop being so fucking immature about it"

"Have you done it whilst I was in the flat?"

"Jesus Christ, Tris"

"Well, have you?"

Yes.

"What does it fucking matter? You're clearly gonna be angry either way"

"Yeah, I'm angry" Tris retorts, "you've been sleeping with my sister behind my back! Of course I'm fucking angry!"

"Stop saying it like that, it's not like that" Brad argues but Tris clearly isn't listening to him properly.

"Oh my God, Ella was your Newcastle girl" Tris states in disbelief, "my sister was your fucking Newcastle girl!"

I cringe and Connor slips his arm around my shoulder, pulling me into his side and rubbing my arm soothingly.

"You bragged to us about sleeping with my sister"

"No, I didn't! I didn't brag!" Brad counters, "I didn't even want to talk about it but you lot kept hounding me even though it was none of your business"

"None of my business?" Tris scoffs, "it's my sister and my best mate"

I don't think that I have ever heard my brother swear this much.

"Tris, you do understand that this is why we didn't tell you? Because we knew that this is how you'd react"

"Oh, you thought I'd be pissed about the fact that you and my sister have been sleeping together behind my back? Whilst we all live in the same flat? After you both promised me that nothing would happen between the two of you?" my brother spits, his voice dripping with a sarcasm, "well, yeah, no shit, Brad"

Suddenly, Tris comes barging out of the kitchen and storming past us.

"Tris..." I sigh, grabbing his wrist to stop him but he very quickly rips his arm out of my grasp.

"Are you serious, Ella? She who prides herself on being so fucking honest" he seethes. The expression on his face is heartbreaking to me. I've never seen him so genuinely angry and disappointed with me. I watch as he storms to the front door, swings it open aggressively and then slams it back shut so hard that the whole flat seems to shake a little. I'm still staring aimlessly at the door when I feel a pair of arms slide around my shoulders and I know straight away that it's Brad.