Frisson

45 | betrayers

"I-I don't understand it. I was doing so w-well, and I-" She rubs her nose and cowers behind her hands. "Tyler was next to me and-and-"

"What happened?" Fear leaps into my chest. I pull back to get a good look at her face and how she conceals it. Is it fear? Guilt? What does Tyler have to do with anything?

"I've been wanting to tell you something." She hiccups. "T-Tyler...I was waiting for Tyler to tell you at first, but he hasn't. And-and now something else happened since then."

"Did you guys get into some sort of trouble?" I sit up straight and fight off the grueling irritation at me. "Does he need money?" It wouldn't be the first time my brother has gone into some sort of debt and kept it under wraps until it spiraled out of control. If Dad knew how many times I've paid someone off for him, he definitely wouldn't be offering me a position in his company.

"No, it's not money. He...he..." She looks up slowly, face red and eyes nearly swollen shut. "He kissed me." A void vacuums every emotion out of my chest. Time comes to a freezing halt. "I kissed him back." She shields her face. "I don't know what came over me. M-maybe I missed you so much or I was missing affection-"

"You're lying." You wouldn't do that to me. We're honest with each other. We trust each other.

Her eyes disappear beneath her truth and her lips curve down. "I don't know what came over me."

"Did you like it?" I ask, my voice grows cold and distant, resembling a tone my father would use. I can't feel anything. Can't think. Don't use your emotions. Don't show weakness. The world spins as my father's teachings consume me while my worst fears come to life. My brother and the girl I love; a fear I tried to avoid.

"W-what?" She shakes her head. "I- of course not."

"You kissed him back," I state plainly. "Some part of you enjoyed it. You could have kissed anyone. Any woman you found attractive. Hell, I said you could sleep with Rosie even though we have a one night rule. Yet out of everyone you could have sought affection from, Tyler just had to be it. My fucking brother. Why would you do it?" I thought you were different. Different from all of them. From Jessica. Every girl who's used me to get closer to what they wanted. Wealth. Status. My father. Now my brother.

'I don't know what came over me. He was just-' Jessica held herself like she was bothered by my question. Bothered like I had no right to question her actions. 'It just happened.'

'Just happened?' I yelled. 'How does something like that just happen? Were you ever here for me?'

"I don't know. I-" Emotion alters Rory's expression, fixed to explode out of her. A beautiful woman turning to a hideous lie.

"Did you enjoy it? That's all I want to know."

"M-maybe some part of me did, but not the part that matters. Not the part that's me. I think I need help." She digs her fingers into my arms. "A part of me that I've been fighting so long is trying to come back."

I pierce her with a glare. "What are you talking about? What does this have to do with you kissing my brother? Let me guess, did this happen while I was gone? And you're just now telling me?" Now it all makes sense. She was so sad because she felt guilty. She told me she loved me knowing what occurred.

"Tyler promised he would tell you! He said it had to come from him."

"You're my girlfriend."

She flinches. "I-I know. I wanted to tell you sooner, but that's not even what I'm trying to tell you now."

"What could possibly be more important than this?" I stand up quick and back away with my head in my hands. How could this happen? So fast, our relationship has become a disaster when things were going so well. This is what happens when you get caught up in a fairytale.