two hours earlier
"The least you could've done was dress up for me," Scott rolled his eyes dramatically as I jumped into his car.
I glanced down at my plain grey crop top and Levi's shorts then laughed. "Sorry brother."
"I bet you would've put in more effort for Chris."
"On the contrary, I would've put in less effort and just showed up naked."
"I hate you," he chuckled while backing out of his parking spot in my apartment complex.
Today marks my tenth day of no contact with Chris and I still have no idea what I want to say to him. With only four days left until our reunion, I decided to seek advice from the person who knows him better than anybody else: Scott.
After everything that went on with Michael, I haven't a clue where Chris's head is at. I'm not sure whether to acknowledge our flash in the pan of a relationship or just try to move forward without mentioning it.
The last thing I want to do is go into depth about the things Michael and I did together, including our afternoon of passionate sex. But I also don't want it hanging over us like a dark cloud. The only way Chris and I will get a fair shot is by putting everything on the table and discussing it.
While I wanna be respectful of my feelings for Michael, which obviously won't dissipate overnight, Chris is my top priority and I want him to know that. I just don't know how to tell him that I need some time to get over my feelings for Michael, which my therapist said is completely normal.
After spending months kissing, cuddling with and talking to Michael, it's a huge adjustment not having him in my life anymore and even though the choice was mine, I'm still allowed to be sad about it.
I sighed as I replayed my therapist's words in my head: "Just because Michael had all the positive attributes one typically seeks in a partner doesn't necessarily make him the right person for everybody. There's absolutely nothing wrong with ending a relationship that doesn't feel right, even if it looks perfect on paper. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with him, or you for that matter. It just wasn't right and that's a valid enough reason. You two simply don't operate on the same frequency."
"Hey!" Scott took his right hand off the steering wheel and squeezed my knee. "Did you hear me?"
"No sorry I was... thinking about... things," I blinked. "What'd you say?"
He returned his hand back to the steering wheel. "Tell me about Chris."
I bit back a smile, turning my head toward the window to hide it. "What about him?"
"Anything you want to share?"
"Um, I love him. Is that share worthy?"
Scott glanced over at me with a knowing look then returned his eyes back to the road. "Uh no. I've known that for a year. Give me something new."
"Wow. I was expecting a little more excitement from you. Thanks for not reacting to my big revelation."
"Lizzie, you've loved that man since the day you met him. Anyone with eyes can see that."
"Let me rephrase that. I'm IN LOVE with him AND I wanna be with him, officially. Forever. That's new."
Scott practically squealed, removing his hands from the wheel to clap. By then, we were already driving down the street on the way to my favorite restaurant, The Vegan Joint.
"Don't kill us before I can tell Chris!" I scolded.
"Sorry, sorry," he apologized, laughing. "So what's next?"
I shrugged. "It's kind of difficult to try and pick up where we left off over a year ago because we're both totally different people now. I just wish we didn't..." I shrugged again. "...waste so much time, you know? When you say you have no feelings for a certain person and repeat it to yourself over and over, you kinda start to believe it. But I think I've always been in love with Chris. He's my equal. Does that make sense?"
He didn't answer right away, remaining silent for a few moments.
"Scott? Helloooo?"
He stared straight ahead at the road with a clench jaw. His grip was so tight on the steering wheel that his knuckles were white. That's not good...
Scott let out a sarcastic laugh, shaking his head. "I'm done."
"What?"
"I'm fucking done."
"Scott, you're not making any sense. Mind giving me some introspective?" I frowned. "What are you done with?"
"Your manipulative brother. I'm pulling the plug. That's it."
I let out a sigh, torn between defending my brother (who I've been blindly loyal to our entire lives) and keeping my mouth shut.
On one hand, it was pretty manipulative for Brandon to put me in the position to choose between him and Chris but on the other hand, I made the choice myself. I would've rather lost Chris on my own terms than Brandon's.
"So the wedding is off?"
"It's been off for weeks, Elizabeth," Scott admitted. "I cancelled the venue, caterer, photographer... we didn't even send out the invitations. I knew I couldn't marry someone I didn't trust or respect."
"But you were still together even after cancelling everything?" I asked.
Guilt filled my body as I thought about how disconnected I'd been from Scott and Brandon lately. I've been so wrapped up in my own life, figuring out how I felt about Michael and Chris that I didn't connect the dots when it came to Scott and Brandon's crumbling relationship. I should've known something was up.
"For convenience, yes. But there was no love lost, believe me."
"And Brandon knows you feel this way?"
"Of course! What do you think we talked about all those hours in couples therapy?" He blew out a breath. "Our therapist told your brother directly that he was manipulative and unkind."
"That's only a half truth," I mumbled under my breath. Manipulative? Very much so. Unkind? That's debatable. "Why don't you just break up with him?"
"Honestly Lizzie, a large part of me was staying with him for you. For Chris. I knew if we ended things, your relationship with my family would suffer and that's the last thing any of us wanted," Scott confessed. "You would stop coming to Boston and we would lose you forever. I needed to know that you and Chris were okay before I made any lasting decisions."
"Why would you-" I stopped, unable to keep up with the thoughts that were penetrating my mind.
I knew for a while that Scott and Brandon were going through something and that they probably shouldn't get married but I selfishly wanted them to stay together so I wouldn't lose access to the people who have become family to me.
In spite of that, I don't understand why Scott would stay in a relationship that made him beyond miserable just to give Chris and I a shot... what a selfless fucking thing to do! How could I ever even begin to repay him for tolerating my dramatic brother just to keep me around?
All the days Chris and I spent bickering to avoid our true feelings, Scott was going home to a monster and never once complained about it...
"I know you and Brandon are a packaged deal but maybe you should think about stepping out of his shadow."
"Does Chris know what you did? That you're not happy?" I asked although I already knew the answer. Chris would NEVER allow Scott to stay in a situation that made him unhappy, even if it was for Chris's own sake. "He wouldn't have let you stay. Neither would I."
"It was my choice and look, it's worked out for everybody because now you and Chris have a chance at happiness."
"Scott..."
"I don't regret it and I would do it again."
"I'm sorry," I apologized. "Chris and I have been so wrapped up in our own lives that we weren't there for you as much as we should've been. It would crush him to know that-"
"That's why we're not going to tell him," he cut me off.
"I can't not tell him... I don't wanna start our relationship on a lie."
"So you're gonna tell him about Brandon then?"
"Eventually, yes." When the time is right.
"You know what, we're making a pit stop," Scott announced. He pulled into the left turn lane to make a U-turn.
"And where exactly are we going?"
"Home. To confront Brandon."
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I have a little trivia question for those who have read all of my stories! This is a chance for those who support me by voting and commented a chance to become a part of the story. Winner gets their name dropped in a chapter!
What do all 3 of my characters (Lizzie, Andi, and Phoenix) have in common?
Hint: It's not a personality trait, zodiac sign or their race/ culture.
Bonus question: they all share birthday's in the same month, what month is it? (If you get this and the first question right, you'll be name dropped in multiple chapters spanning from this story to the next).
Shoutout to @leucadia