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“Yeah. And, uh…just for the record, he told me everything.”
“Everything?” I repeat. “What everything?”
“Everything everything. From that first night at the Gridiron when he didn’t know who you really were up through the box of tests on your bathroom counter.”
“Oh,” I say softly. “So when you say everything, what you really mean is everything.”
“Yeah,” he murmurs.
He told my brother everything? When? How? Why?
A million questions plague my brain.
He’s the one who was scared to tell my brother, and my brother just confessed that he knows everything, and he’s so casual, so cool about it, and I’m pretty much confused as hell as I try to piece out why Grayson would tell him now—after it’s been over for months.
Because it’s not over for him, a little voice in the back of my head tells me. Maybe this is his way of trying to clean the slate so we can start over.
My chest warms at the thought.
“Are you okay with it?” I finally ask.
“I mean…yes and no. But you’re not together now anyway, so does it matter if I’m okay with it?” he points out.
“I guess not.”
“Why aren’t you with him, again?” he asks. “I’m a little fuzzy on that part.”
I chuckle. “It’s not always very clear to me, either. But more or less he left me when I felt like I needed him most.”
“He left for camp. He didn’t have a choice.”
“You’re hearing his side,” I point out. “He broke up with me. He left me.”
“And according to his side, he’s been working overtime to make that up to you.” He makes a damn strong point.
I wander around my kitchen as I make a confession to my brother. “I miss him, but I also can appreciate the friendship we’ve formed. I’ve been on my own now for almost three months, and that’s the longest stretch of independence I’ve had since I was a teenager. Isn’t that all sorts of screwed up?”
“Not really. I haven’t had much independence since I met Rachel, and I wouldn’t trade a second,” he says.
“But you two are perfect together.” I roll my eyes as I think of how sickeningly perfect they really are.
“Don’t you think you and Grayson could be, too?”
“Sometimes I do because for a moment in time, we were. But I’m so scared, Beck. What if he leaves me again? I can’t go through that twice in one lifetime.” I sigh heavily as my brother extracts the fear that has pulsed beneath the surface for months.
“What if he doesn’t?” he counters. “Isn’t it worth the risk?”
I’m not sure how to answer that.
“Anyway, I have to go. I just wanted to check in with you and see if you’re taking visitors. We’re looking at the second weekend in November. The Aces have a home game, and I’m planning to stay through Wednesday so I can hang with you and Grayson.”
“I’ll get the dates on the calendar at the bakery,” I say.
“I’m sure I’ll talk to you before the trip, but I’ll see you then.”
We hang up, and even though it’s still a few weeks away, I’m excited to see my family…even if my brother is staying with my ex.
Chapter 60: Ava Maxwell
