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“Maybe and maybe not. But that’s not up to you. You do need to be firm with him and tell him how this has impacted your life. Tell him that you’ve met somebody else and that you’re planning to spend your life with this person. Maybe that’s the harsh reality he needs to hear to snap him out of his delusional fairy tale that you guys are going to end up together. Clearly nothing else seems to be working.”
“Yeah, maybe you’re right. At least Tyler knows now. Even if he never wants to talk to me again, at least he knows the truth about Neal. And if things do work out between us and Neal tries to come back into my life, he’ll help me handle it.”
Mallory smiles. “That’s the spirit. And if Tyler doesn’t handle it, Silas and I will.” She winks. “Now, do you have any junk food to go with this wine?”
I laugh. “I think I have some Doritos. That work?”
“You get the chips and I’ll cue up Pretty Little Liars.”
I tapmy fingers nervously on the table in the back of the restaurant. The bell above the door jingles and I look over my shoulder. It’s just an older man probably stopping in for lunch.
I glance down at my watch and it’s 11:28. Neal agreed to meet me today at 11:30. After some serious doubt, I managed to talk myself into unblocking him last night and sent him a direct and curt message that we needed to meet and talk today.
I nervously pick at the skin around my fingernail when the door opens again. This time, I turn around and my eyes meet Neal’s. A huge grin spreads across his face as he makes his way over to me.
“Hey, Brook.”
He comes at me with open arms, but I don’t reciprocate. I hug my arms tighter against my body and shake my head.
“Oookaay then,” he says, taking a seat across from me.
“Thanks for meeting me.”
“Yeah, of course.” He darts his hand out to grab mine as I rest it on the table. “You look good.”
I pull my hand back before he can touch me. “Please don’t.” I grab my water and take a sip as the waitress walks over.
“Hey there, can I get you something to drink or an appetizer?” She smiles sweetly.
“No thanks, nothing,” I quickly say.
Neal looks at her and shrugs and she walks back to the kitchen.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I ask him. I can’t hold back my anger any longer and he looks genuinely surprised, which only pisses me off even more.
“I came out here to see you—to talk to you. You called me then started dodging all my return calls. You didn’t respond to a single text, so I was worried.” He feigns sincerity, and it makes me want to throw this glass of water at him.
“Worried? You went to my parents’ house!” I’m starting to raise my voice, but as I glance around, I’m relieved to find nobody noticed. “You went to my parents’ house and told them you and I were on a break when you know damn well that I told you we were done—for good.”
“I was just upset is all. I’m sorry, babe, you know ho—”
“Don’t you dare.” I point my finger at him. “I’m not ‘babe,’ I’m Brooklyn. You completely fucked up my relationship, you know that? That guy you spilled your guts to in the bar?”
He looks at me, thoroughly confused. “Wait, what?”
I let out a sigh and try to calm my rapid heartbeat. “I’m seeing someone. I have been for some time now, and he’s the man who was in the bar the other night. The man youstraight up lied to and said I was your fiancée? What the hell, Neal?”
“Whoa, okay, first of all, I didn’t ruin anything. It’s not my fault you didn’t tell him about us.”
“There is no us!”I shout, and this time the old man who came in earlier turns around to look at me. I smile and turn back to Neal. “You have no right to be here or at my parents’ place or texting Mallory. Like, honestly, what is it going to take for you to get it through your head that we,” I motion between us, “aren’t a we anymore and haven’t been for a very long time?”
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. So I misspoke about the fiancée thing, Brook, but I was hurt. You just up and left without so much as a warning or anything.”
“I didn’t owe you an explanation or a warning, Neal. We weren’t together and we hadn’t been together for months. Just because we were still living in the same apartment didn’t mean we were sharing a life together. And while we’re on the subject of not telling each other everything, nice of you to tell me that you and Becca started dating.”
He hangs his head when I bring up my best friend. “Yeah, that was . . . it was nothing. It meant nothing, Brook. I was just hurt and lonely and she was missing you too and it just kind of happened.”
“Does she know that it meant nothing? Because that’s really shitty if you just used her. Also, how strange that both of you missed me so much, yet neither one of you reached out to me.”
