Page 96 of Finding a Melody
Bryan laughed as he went to the back and opened the door, letting him out. Bebe was more than happy to run off into the backyard, letting out some soft barks as he disappeared from sight.
“You do this often?”
“Often enough. Let’s see what Seth has to eat.”
“Can I ask something?”
“Sure.” Bryan went into the kitchen, digging through the fridge.
“Why are you here so often? Why don’t you spend so much time at home?”
Bryan didn’t say anything as he pulled out lunch meat, bread, and fillings.
“You don’t have to answer,” I finally said, thinking I overstepped my boundaries.
“No. It’s not that. I guess I’m trying to find the nicest way to say it.”
I snorted. “Then don’t be nice. I promise, you won’t offend me.”
“My parents are bastards,” he finally said. “Uppity, snobbish assholes who only care about their ‘pristine’ reputation. We’re old money, an old family line that can date itself back to the earliest settlers. My whole life is them insisting how much of an elite I am. I hate it. There’s nothing to be proud of when it comes to my family, not when they have a history of stepping on other people to get where they are. Not when a branch of my family had moved south and even owned slaves. Did you know I have people in my family tree who were part of the KKK? It’s disgusting.” Bryan shuddered. “So I hang out with the guys as much as I can.”
Bryan smiled as he began putting sandwiches together. “The day Seth got his keys for this house, he gave me one and told me I could come here whenever I want, no matter the day or time. So I’ve been doing just that. Once a week, I bring groceries too because I know how much he feeds us.”
“And you have a place away from your parents.”
“Exactly.” He sighed as he placed ham on the bread. “My mom has been hanging around a lot lately. She loves to travel, to go to the weirdest locations, but I guess she’s taking a break. Be better if she just left. Whenever she’s home, she’s on my ass about school, my future, my plans, just everything.”
“And it’s exhausting,” I said softly, thinking about how Lindie only ever talked about how much more work we would be able to get done after I graduated. That I didn’t need to worry about college because my life was already set. Every time she went on about it, my stomach would twist so tightly that I wanted to throw up. I’d feel completely trapped, like there was no end to the current state of my life. That I’d always be stuck with her.
That wasn’t the case for me anymore.
I glanced at Bryan as he focused on making the sandwiches. I was free now, but Bryan wasn’t. Not yet anyway.
“Here.” He pushed a ham sandwich my way, remembering that I liked it with mayo and a small squirt of mustard.
“Thanks,” I said, picking it up and taking a bite.
“You know,” he said slowly as he played with his sandwich. “Things would be so different for me if I didn’t have the guys. Frankly, it’s a miracle that I was even able to meet them. I have no idea what kind of person I’d be without them. They ground me, remind me that life isn’t shitty and that how my parents treat me isn’t okay. I learned a lot about friendship and family from them. Even Laura and George treat me like I’m one of their own.”
I smiled, thinking about how silly George was and how warm Laura had been. “They’re good people.”
“They are. My point is, you aren’t alone. I’m here for you. I can help you. The others too. We are all itching to help you. To keep you safe.”
My heart warmed with his words and I blinked furiously, it hitting me a little extra harder for some reason. I gritted my teeth, refusing to cry here, like this, over Bryan saying something so simple.
“Thank you.” My words still came out thick, nearly choking me.
“No one is going to hurt you anymore. We won’t let them. You aren’t alone anymore.”
Damn. I blinked furiously as my sight blurred.
I wasn’t going to cry. I wasn’t going to cry. It ended up being a battle I barely won.
Once again, all I could say was ‘Thank you’ as I ate my sandwich using it as my opportunity to not talk. Otherwise, I was probably going to break down and I didn’t want to do that.
Chapter Thirty
We ended up on Seth’s back porch as the sun began to set. His backyard was perfect for the view as we watched the sun lower down over the thin tree line. There were houses on the other side, but the trees were just thick enough to pretend we weren’t in a suburban neighborhood. After we ate, we came out here and hadn’t moved since, keeping conversation light as Bryan did his homework and I just got lost in my thoughts.