Chapter Seventeen
Alana
“You’re not going in today either?” Peyton asks. “I get that you’re avoiding him, but why?” she asks. “Talk to me.”
“I didn't call you for a heart-to-heart,” I say with a growl. “Just call in sick for me again. Please,” I add for effect.
“Only if you talk to me,” she replies stubbornly.
“Fine,” I mutter, not caring anymore. “If you want me to talk, then call in sick yourself and come over.”
I hang up on her before she can respond, then I shove my pillow back over my head and attempt to go back to sleep. It works until, twenty minutes later, when someone pounds on my door.
“Let me in, Lanna!” Peyton's muffled voice floats through to my bedroom.
I groan because I didn't expect her to actually come over here. Reluctantly, I force myself out of bed and walk over to the door. I open it and frown at her. She ignores my pissed off expression and hands me a coffee. I take a sip as she guides me over to the couch and sits me down.
I got back late Sunday night after booking myself an earlier flight. I couldn’t stand the thought of being that close to him for three hours, so I paid an obscene amount for a business-class ticket. Monday morning rolled around and the idea of seeing him still made me feel like hurling, so I called Pey. She didn’t ask questions, but she knew something was up.
Today though, she is asking questions. I know I’m not going to get away with not telling her everything. Who knows, maybe talking about it is exactly what I need? Maybe if I get it all out, I’ll feel better and be able to put this behind me and move on.
“Now, tell me what the hell happened,” she says. “Don’t try and tell me it’s a coincidence that Chase didn’t turn up until three in the afternoon yesterday, either.”
I release a big sigh and lie back on the couch, closing my eyes, hating that hearing that makes me feel good. Where do I even begin to try and explain this to her?
“He lied to me,” I say, then I laugh, because that doesn’t even begin to cover it. “Well, really, it was lie after lie after fucking lie. I think I’m pretty understanding, but even I have limits.”
“What did he do?” she asks.
“I told you that the big meeting he needed me there was to see his brother marry his ex-wife,” I begin. She nods and takes my hand. “I found out the reason they split up. Chase cheated on her.” I shake my head, all the anger and emotions feeling as raw as it did yesterday. “I sure know how to pick them, don’t I?”
Peyton shakes her head. “Oh, honey. I can't believe that he’d do something like that. Are you sure it isn’t just someone trying to cause trouble for him?”
“I heard him say the words himself. He was talking to her parents and I overheard.” I twirl my cup around the palm of my hands. “Jesus, Pey. I mean, what's to stop him from doing it again and cheating on me?” I ask with a frown. I blink back tears, because it all feels too real. “I can't go through that again. I promised myself that I’d never let anyone treat me like that again,” I say. I shake my head and laugh as I look at her. “Am I making a bigger deal out of this than it needs to be?”
She gets up, stepping over to the couch to where I am. She sits down and wraps her arms around me, kissing me on the cheek.
“No, you’re not. You did the right thing, getting out of this before things went any further. I know it hurts, but it's better finding this out now than after you’ve fallen in love with him,” she adds, wiping away my tears.
“I think it's too late for that,” I mumble as she strokes my hair, soothing me.
“I can stay if you need me to,” she says. “I told them I was running late, but I can say that I won’t be in at all.”
“No.” I frown. “I'm not very good company right now, and it would be just my luck that he’d fire you because of it. If you call in sick, he’ll totally know that you're here with me.”
She nods and kisses me on the cheek.
“I hate leaving you like this.” She frowns. “Call me if you need me, and I’ll stop by on my way home too.”
“Thanks, Pey,” I say, giving her a squeeze.
After I walk her out, I have a shower in an attempt to try and feel at least a little bit human. I feel marginally better, but not enough to actually motivate myself into getting up and doing anything. Instead, I lay in my bed and try to distract myself with a book. The problem is, all I can manage is a few pages before my mind replays what he said to her parents.
God, I'm so angry at him.
All the messages and phone calls in the world won’t make me listen to him right now. He lied right to my face. I bet he doesn’t even feel bad about it. He got what he needed from me, after all. I can’t believe I actually fell for all of the bullshit he fed me. Am I that naïve?
I click out of my Kindle and bring his number up. My finger hovers over his name, my heart pounding. I just want to let him know how I feel, but I can’t do it. Frustrated, I toss the phone across the bed, just as someone knocks on the door.
Peyton. She’ll be impressed that I’m dressed.
I climb off the bed and walk over, peering through the people before I open it. Shit. It’s not Peyton at all. It’s Chase’s brother.
Josh stands there, looking around as he shifts from foot to foot. He looks nervous. Why is he here? Did Chase send him to try and talk to me? I’m tempted to pretend that I’m not home, but my curiosity gets the best of me.
I open the door and frown at him.
“Hey,” he says flushing an embarrassed smile. “Sorry to turn up like this…” He hesitates. “I was hoping that I could talk to you.”
“About what, exactly?” I say, my tone guarded. “And how did you know where I live?”
“I, uh, found it in my brother’s phone while he was in the shower,” he murmurs with a wince. “Look, I’m not here to cause you any trouble. I just wanted you to know that Chase is seriously cut up about whatever went wrong between you two. I haven't seen him this worked up about anyone since…” His voice trails off.
“Since Casey,” I say flatly. He nods. “I appreciate you coming over here, but it was pointless. He cheated on Casey. I know that it wasn’t me, but I’ve been hurt before by someone I thought that I could trust, and I can’t go through that again.”
Why am I even saying all of this? I don’t owe anyone an explanation, least of all him.
“Give me five minutes,” he pleads, a look of pain passing through his eyes.
I sigh and nod for him to come in. He points at the couch and motions for me to sit down. I sigh, but I do as he asks and sit, my hands clasped in front of me, waiting for his big piece of news that will change everything.
“He didn't cheat on Casey, Alana.”
I stare at him. “What?” I say, frowning. Now he’s lying too? Maybe it runs in the fucking family.
“It didn't happen like that.” He sighs and sits back in the chair, running both hands through his hair. “I’m sorry, but this is really hard for me to say.”
“Take your time,” I say, not sure what’s going on.
He nods. “Their marriage wasn’t a good one. Chase had one focus: his career. Casey struggled with not being put first in their relationship. He was working a lot and she couldn't handle that. She felt unloved and unwanted. A professor started paying attention to her. She rejected his advances, but after a while, she started to let things happen. That fling ended very badly one night. Naturally, she couldn't speak to Chase about it, so she called me.”
“She cheated first?” I mumble. He looks up at me, his eyes meeting mine.
“She was the only one who cheated, Alana.” He rubs his eyes and sighs. “I knew they were having issues, but I had no idea how bad things were. When I picked her up, I knew something major had happened. She panicked and told me that Chase had been cheating on her and that she’d caught him. She didn’t know what to do. She was so upset, and I was so angry at my brother for treating her like that.” He presses his lips together, still torn up over it. “Focusing on his career was one thing, but to turn to other women, when he had an amazing one at home waiting for him every night? That wasn’t right.”
“So, did you confront Chase?” I ask. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “I don’t understand how she could get away with saying it was him. I mean, surely the first thing you would do is confront him?”
“I wanted to, but she begged me not to. She asked me to stay, because she didn’t want to be alone, and…” He stops, looking down at his hands. “I did something I’ll always regret that night. I told myself so many times that it was justified, because he cheated on her, but even if that were true, it would still be wrong.”
“Then what happened?” I ask softly. My heart races, thinking about how Chase must have felt when he found out.
He shrugs. “Casey kept calling me. I was the only person she could talk to. We grew closer, and I eventually realized that I was in love with her.” He groans and shakes his head. “The first thing Chase knew about any of this was when he caught us. The same night Casey asked him for a divorce. I’ll never forget the look in his eyes when he saw us like that. There was no anger or hate. It was worse than that. He was disappointed in me.”
“He caught you?” I whisper. Oh God. “Did he confront you or ask you why?” I mumble, my heart breaking for him.
“I think he was expecting it. Not us, but he knew she wasn’t happy. I hated that he could make me feel guilty when he was the one who wronged her, and I went crazy at him over it. I wanted answers. I asked him how he could cheat on her. He looked me in the eye and he shrugged.”
Josh raises his eyes to mine.
“Sometimes you hurt the people you love, even though you don’t mean it. That’s what he said to me,” he mutters. “All along, it was me hurting him.”
“How did you find out?” I whisper. I feel for the guy. God, I feel for both of them.
He laughs bitterly. “Believe it or not, Casey told me. She chose our wedding night to sit me down and tell me that she had been the one who’d cheated.” Josh shakes his head, angry. “You have no idea how it feels to discover that you’ve betrayed your own brother. And he did nothing about it. God, he stood there by my side and watched me marry the woman who fucking ruined his life. How am I supposed to live with myself after that?”
I shake my head, wishing that I had answers for him.
“I just don’t get why,” I say softly. “Why would he take the rap for it?”
Josh shrugs. “I guess he could see how happy I was. He knew how guilty I’d feel if I knew that she was the one who cheated, and I was one of the people she’d cheated with.”
He sits forward, and then he straightens himself up, meeting my eyes.
“Look. I’m not here for your pity or to make you feel bad. I just thought you should know the kind of man my brother really is and decide what you want to do based on the truth, rather than just half of it.”
He stands and walks over to the door. I follow him, still not sure what I’m supposed to do now.
“Will you be okay?” I ask him suddenly. I can’t imagine what he’s going through. To find all of this out on your wedding night? I shudder, feeling for the poor guy.
“I don’t know,” he mumbles. “Ask me in a few weeks?”
“You said you came here to tell me the truth,” I say, something hitting me. “How did you know that I knew?”
He smiles. “Casey. She saw the exchange between Chase and her parents. I think your reaction is what prompted her to be honest with me.”
Wow. I wasn’t expecting that.
I watch him leave, not sure how I’m feeling, other than lost and a barrage of other emotions that are doing nothing for helping me decide on what to do next.
I need to talk to Chase. I need to hear all of this from him.
Because that’s the only way I’m going to know what the truth really is.