My Brother's Best Friend (Crazy in Love Book 1) (14 page)

“No, baby,---“ “Colin, you’ve got to go. We both know it so let’s not argue about it. You know your stepdad is not going to foot the bill for college. You need this scholarship. I’ll be fine. I’m okay. I won’t even drink anything.”

Colin shakes his head and tells me, “I don’t feel comfortable about this. I can’t shake the feeling that I shouldn’t leave you.” I put my hand on his chest in comfort and say reassuringly, “I’m going to be with Anna all weekend. I won’t drink at all, and I won’t get into any trouble. You both have to go do this. I will be good, promise.”

Colin holds my face in his hands and looks deeply into my eyes. “I need you to be okay. I can’t leave you without knowing that you’re going to be alright, baby.” Smiling, I shove him lightly, “What the hell? You know I’m independent and self-sufficient. Stop babying me and go turn some heads. You know that you’re going to have to keep me in the lap of luxury.”

Looking around the house before looking back at me, he replies, “Sadly, you’re not kidding. You’re used to the best.” Wallace finally breaks back into the conversation laughing. “True, man, she is.”

I wrap my arms around the back of Colin as they walk out to Wallace’s Range Rover. I grip him hard and know that I don’t want to let him go. I’m not ready for them to both leave me, and I don’t want my grandma to die. I’m scared of Colin and Wallace leaving me behind for college. What the hell will I do without them?

But I mask the dread and give Colin a kiss that he’ll remember for the weekend. I jump on my brother and give him a huge hug and before I can blink they’re gone. I trudge back up my stairs and start to clean my room since Anna’s coming over to spend the night and keep me company.

The hours till Anna gets here stretch on. I hate being alone with my thoughts right now and when the doorbell rings I rush down the stairs to answer it. Anna’s standing there in pajama shorts and the cutest pigtails I’ve ever seen. I wonder if I could sneak a picture for my brother, I know he’ll be sad he missed out on this.

“Hey, girl, come on in. I’ve got ice cream and popcorn ready, and I’ve got a selection of movies for us to watch.” Anna’s face lights up with her sweet smile before she says, “I’m excited to have a girls night, Reagan, but it feels weird without the guys, doesn’t it?”

I nod and tell her, “It does, but we’re independent women. I’m determined that we will enjoy this time together and not miss them every second that they are gone.” And it turns out that we don’t.

We watch movie after movie until finally we stop to talk for a little bit. Anna asks me, “Do you remember clearly meeting Decker when you were younger.” I shake my head and tell her, “No, not really, I remember that he was a good listener and incredibly kind to me, but I don’t recall a lot more of our encounter. Why?”

Baffled, she shakes her blond head in confusion before explaining, “He still can’t get over you. He’s obsessed. He asks about you every time he sees me. And I tell that each single piece of information he hears about you is important to him. He doesn’t even see all the girls that throw themselves at him because of you. I’ve told him again and again how serious and intense you and Colin are, but he won’t listen. Nothing I say will get him off his focus of you. I love him, he’s my brother, but he’s a little scary when it comes to you.”

Sad for Decker, I tell Anna, “I like Decker as a friend, and I think he’s seems like the sweetest guy when it comes to me. But I know that I’ll always want to be with Colin. For some reason, he pulled me to him from the first moment I saw him. I could never see myself with anyone but him. And even talking to Decker upsets Colin so I’ve tried to stay away from him to not make the situation worse. I’d hate for them to get in a fight where someone got seriously hurt.”

Anna nods in agreement, “I think that’s the best thing to do. Cause with the way Decker feels, anything you do would be encouragement, and I don’t think you need to tip what is already an unhealthy interest into something more. I just wanted to warn you that it’s been years and his feelings are still the same. I’ve tried to keep the two of you separated as much as I can.”

With a grin, I change the subject. “Enough about me, when are you going to put my poor brother out of his misery? I know you’ve thought about it, but as of now, I know nothing has changed. My brother has a tortured look on his face every time you touch him so I know you still haven’t gone the distance yet.”

Anna makes a face, “Yuck, Reagan, you’re talking about me and your brother. It feels weird to even share this with you.”

I just laugh and tell her, “But you can, I won’t judge, promise.” Anna blushes and looks down before saying softly, “I’m going to tell him I’m ready this week.” “Wow, that’s changed. I thought you were waiting until you exchanged I love yous.” She blushes even more and forces out, “We did, and I know that I want him to be my first.”

“Well, just don’t rush yourself. Wallace would never want you to feel forced into being ready. This is huge, and you don’t need to feel pressure from anyone on this.” Anna giggle nervously before saying, “Reagan, do you hear yourself. You and Colin have sex so much that even I’ve heard you. Do you think that you’re really the person that should be giving me the “Wait till you’re ready” lecture?”

I laugh at her statement before defending myself. “Colin and I had been together long before we decided we were ready. So believe me, I know not to rush into anything. I was just making sure that this was your decision and nobody elses. That’s all.”

Anna says, “It is. Now let’s put on another movie. I think I’ve had enough embarrassing conversation for one night.” And we turn on a light chick flick until we fall asleep.

Groaning, I turn my head away from the pillow and check the time. It’s after twelve, Anna and I’ve slept till the afternoon. Attempting to be quiet, I get up and stretch before heading in to the kitchen for a breakfast bar. As I sit on the counter and drink some milk and eat, my phone lights up with Colin’s picture, and I answer it quickly.

“Hey, baby, how’s football camp going? You kicking ass?” He chuckles and responds, “More like getting my ass kicked, baby, but I’m surviving it.” I know him so well that I can tell that he’s being modest. His tone tells me that he’s handling himself and making an impression.

“Hey, why didn’t you answer last night or this morning, sweetheart? I was worried about you at the house alone.” Insulted, I tell him, “You know that I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself, right? I miss you and Wallace, but I’m independent enough to be okay on my own. Besides, Anna stayed the night last night so I wasn’t even by myself. “

He tries to explain, “I’m sorry, Reagan, I didn’t mean that you were incapable. I just wanted to talk to you, and you didn’t answer the damn phone. That had me nervous. Then this morning, you wouldn’t answer before I had to go back out on the field. I needed to talk to you and make sure you were okay.”

Sighing, I tell him firmly, “I’m fine, Colin, promise. I can’t wait for you and Wallace to be home tomorrow.” We chat for a little while longer before I cut in, “Hey, I’ve got to go get a shower and wake up Anna. It’s after twelve, and she still hasn’t moved.”

“Lazy,” Colin teases before asking, “Alright, what are your plans tonight, baby?” I can hear the apprehension in his voice, and I know he’s trying to not tell me what to do but doesn’t want me to go to a party. “I’m going to head to a few parties at the beach, then Anna and I might pick up some random guys at the Crossings. Why what do you think we should do?”

Raising his voice, Colin replies, “Reagan, I swear that if you’re not kidding. I’m going to come home and lock you in your room myself. Just wait till tomorrow night, sweetheart, and I’ll take you to as many parties as you want.” I can tell the worry in his voice, and I know that I caused that, my drinking and erratic behavior since I found out that my dad could weasel his way back into mine and Wallace’s life.

I’ve barely been able to bring myself to talk about it, but I can tell that Colin knows and is worried about me. I’ll try to talk to him when he gets home. For now, I encourage him, “Concentrate on showing all the scouts at this camp your best. I’ve got everything under control here. I love you!” “Love you too, baby, always, love you.”

After I hang up with Colin, I harass Anna until she slowly opens her eyes and complains at me that it’s too early. I don’t feel any sympathy and continue to insist she wake up. “We never get any time without the guys with us. Let’s take advantage of a girl’s day while we can. Come on, Anna, let’s go shopping and have some time together. Please?” I continue to beg until she slowly stands up and shoots me a dirty look before walking to the bathroom area.

We’re both not overly fussy about getting ready and are walking out of my house forty minutes later. We’re both wearing high cut jean shorts and different color tanks with flip flops. “First you have to feed me, after forcing me to wake up, then we can shop,” Anna demands as she climbs into my car still looking a little grumpy about being forced up before she was ready.

I laugh at her expression and respond, “I knew that we’d have to eat first anyway. For being so tiny, you’ve got as big of an appetite as Wallace. I’ve no clue where you put it all.” She giggles sweetly and says, “Well, your brother loves that I love to eat. Half of our conversations are about what we want to eat and how much we enjoy it. Wallace and I speak the same language.”

Grimacing at her, I say, “That has to be the least romantic thing I’ve ever heard. You both speak the language of food. How boring is that?” Anna shakes her head at me and defends, “It works for us!”

Determined to not miss a minute of shopping time with our guys gone, I drag Anna everywhere. We shop all day. She protests, but I buy her and I shoes and new dresses. We pick up some new shorts and tops before picking up some shirts for Colin and Wallace. Even though they’re not here, we couldn’t not get some stuff for them too.

After we’re done shopping, it’s late so we grab some dinner before heading back to my house. We’re both exhausted. Anna laid her seat all the way back and closed her eyes. “Thanks for keeping me company on the drive home,” I say sarcastically. She replies back with a smile, “No problem.”

As I look at her, I realize how grateful I am to have a genuine friend that I don’t have to pretend or worry she’ll talk about me. She’s real, and we care about each other. I’m so glad that my brother was lucky enough to find someone like her. The way that they care about each other reminds me of Colin and I. The two of them were less flamboyant about it is all.

One of my favorite songs comes on, and I turn it up and sing along as I pull into my huge driveway. But I stop before I drive it all the way in the garage. A very expensive white Mercedes is sitting in front of where Wallace parks. Confused that someone would know the key to our gate, I get out.

As I walk over to it, my father slowly steps out and says, “Hello, princess. How are you?” The same feral hate is still glowing in his eyes, and as he steps towards me, I cringe back. A powerful, good looking man, no one would believe all the abuse and hate he’s heaped on me and my brother. “Not happy to see me, huh? Your grandmother has taken a turn for the worst, and I thought I’d come here and spend time with my family during this period of grief.”

He looks down at my shorts before telling me, “I see that you still insist on dressing like a whore. Blood always tells. Your mother was a slut and so are you.” Trying to keep my voice steady, I spit out, “Why can’t you leave me alone? Why do you hate me so damn much?”

He starts to step towards me, and I shuffle back until I’m right beside my car door. “I’ve always hated you, Reagan. Your mother took everything good about me when she cheated and then died shortly after. She taught me how worthless she was, and you are. Your grandmother has protected you these last few year, but no more. I will be in charge of you and Wallace again soon, don’t worry.”

He went to grab my wrist, and I flung my door open and hit him hard with it. My car was still on, and I jerked it into drive before pulling out and speeding away. Anna had woken up as pulled out. “Reagan, what the hell are you doing?” She looked at me, and I could feel her eyes staying rested on my shaking hands.

“What happened back there? Who was that man?” Focusing on breathing and remaining as calm as possible so I didn’t endanger either of our lives, I tried to explain. “That man is my father. He’s insane, and he hates me more than anyone else on earth. We can’t go to my house tonight.”

“Umm, okay, should we get a hotel?” she asks quietly. Shaking my head, I rush to explain, “I’m not yet eighteen. They won’t rent out to us without an adult, and if they try to call one, they could get a hold of my dad. We can’t get a hotel either. Where are we supposed to go? It’s ten, and I don’t want to bother Wallace and Colin until the morning. If they try to figure a way back here tonight, Wallace might try to kill my dad. I can’t handle him getting in any trouble right now.”

Anna nods in understanding before she states, “Well, we’ve got to go back to my house then, I guess.” Startled, I look over at her to gage if she’s serious. I’ve never even been to her house since we’ve been friends. Anna’s always done her best to keep Decker and I apart, and I know that she’s not extremely close to her foster parents. She’s told me they aren’t bad people but just in it for a paycheck.

“Uhh, will your parents mind if you bring me to spend the night?” She shakes her head and explains, “Steve and Debra are out of town visiting family. Decker’s throwing a party so we should be fine. But the house is going to be crowded with people from my school and our football team.