Chapter
8
Nick scampered about his bedroom somewhat
giddy, as he got ready. A squirt of his favorite cologne, a quick check in the
mirror and a splash of breath spray before grabbing his keys off his dresser.
He hurried down the stairs where he found Brian leaning calmly against the
front door with his arms folded tightly across his chest. “You wouldn’t dream
of skipping out on your own party.” He said coolly.
“I was
just-“
“I know what you were doing.” Brian said
cutting him off. “Sure is a nice night for a drive isn’t it?”
Brian took the keys from Nick’s hands. Nick
gave his brother a guilty expression. He knew he was busted. He figured there
was no sense trying to deny it so he immediately began defending himself
instead. “Brian, she’s amazing!”
Brian smirked at the stupidity of his little
brother. He agreed that Sarah was amazing, but he knew Nick had no idea why. “I
think I’m in love.” Nick said with a sigh.
For the first time in almost a year Brian was
truly disappointed in Nick. It was like all the progress of the last year had
been erased and he was staring at that same irresponsible, fickle, ladies man
that he used to resent.
Brian was angry with his brother for so many
reasons. Nick was being so selfish at the moment. He was about to betray Deanna
and destroy everything that he’d spent the last year building with her as if
her feelings didn’t matter at all. He also hadn’t stopped to think that if he
broke her heart right now their little business venture would most likely fall
apart. Deanna had not signed the contract yet and wasn’t likely to if Nick
dumped her. The blatant threat she made to Brian by the pool was proof of that.
Brian had worked so hard for this. It had consumed his life for months and he
was not about to see it all flushed down the toilet because Nick decided to get
a new crush.
“Love?” Brian repeated with disdain. He felt it obvious Nick didn’t know what that
word meant and to hear him say it so cavalierly about a girl Brian held so dear
to his heart was enough to make him feel sick. “That’s funny. You said the same
thing about Deanna.”
Nick shrugged as if to say what can I do about
it? “This morning!” Brian added making Nick’s face drop.
“I thought you liked being in a serious
relationship.” Brian questioned in a very harsh tone.
“I did at first.” Nick insisted, “But lately I
don’t know. She’s been driving me crazy with this wedding and talk about the
future… and… and that damn dog!”
“You gave her that dog!”
Nick sighed as he struggled with the mixed
emotions that were clouding his heart and his better judgment. “How can I stay
in a relationship with Deanna when I feel this way about Sarah? I’m crazy about
her. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her all day!”
“And what about Deanna? Are you just going to
hurt her without even thinking it over first?”
“Better now than later don’t you think? I mean
what if we’d spent three years together before I realized it wasn’t meant to
be? What if we were engaged?”
Brian’s blood began to boil. “Listen to
yourself!” he yelled, “Better now than later? Geez Nick! How big of a jerk can
you be?”
Nick was surprised to see his brother so upset
and it stung to hear him say he was a jerk. Brian regained control of his
temper and placed his hands firmly on Nick’s shoulders. “I know you think you
like Sarah.” He said quietly, “She’s beautiful and new and it’s exciting, but
trust me, you’ll regret it tomorrow.”
Nick stared into his brother’s eyes feeling
distressed and desperately searching for an answer. “Think about it.” Brian
said, “You don’t want to break Deanna’s heart the day before her best friends’
wedding.”
Nick shook his head slowly as he started to
realize what his brother was talking about. He was confused but he really
didn’t want to hurt Deanna like that. There had to be a better way. “Then what
do I do Bri?” he asked.
“Look, Deanna leaves in the morning. Use this
time apart to really think it over. If, by the time she comes back you still
feel the same way, then break it off. Just don’t do anything impulsive that’s
going to hurt people.”
Nick stood there thinking about his brother’s
words when Deanna walked in the house, dripping wet with make-up running down
her face. A look of concern swept over Nick and Brian nudged him. “Go be a good
boyfriend.”
Nick began to walk off but suddenly turned to
Brian with a worried look. “What about Sarah? She’s waiting outside.” He
whispered.
Brian smiled. “Don’t worry about Sarah. I’ll
talk to her.”
“Thanks Bri.” Nick said sheepishly and then
quickly went to the aid of his very upset girlfriend.
Brian leaned against the door with a heavy
sigh as he watched Nick help Deanna up the stairs. The crisis had been averted
for the moment. Brian’s thoughts then turned to Sarah. He stepped outside to
see her dreamily staring up at the stars as she leaned against the corvette.
Brian smirked. There was something eerily familiar about all this. She may be
wearing a dress but she was still the same old Sarah.
Brian quietly closed the door behind him and
watched her for a moment. Brian had always watched her from a distance from the
time he was old enough to take any notice but he wasn’t like his brother. The
opposite sex made him nervous. He never knew what to say and always felt out of
his element. Having Nick as a younger brother didn’t exactly make it easier
either.
Brian desperately wanted the chance to talk to
Sarah, he’d been dying for it ever since their bitter goodbye. She didn’t know
it, but they were having the exact same problem that night. They were both in
love with someone who wasn’t in love with them back. Brian wanted to simply
whisk Sarah into his arms and run away to a place where no one would ever find
them so they could live out the rest of their happy lives far away from
Whitmore Lake. But Brian knew that would not be happening tonight because as
long as he’d watched Sarah she’d watched Nick with the same look in her eyes.
If only she knew. If only she could see past the charm. If only she could see
what was in Brian’s heart then maybe she could look at him the way she looked
at Nick. Brian took a deep breath, mustered all of his courage and then picked
a flower from the landscaping as he slowly made his way to where Sarah was
waiting for Nick. “Nice night for a drive.” He said as he walked up beside her
looking at the clear night sky.
At the sight of Brian, Sarah’s beautiful
genuine smile became forced. Brian gulped and then held out the flower with a
shaking hand. “Nick wanted me to tell you that he is very sorry, but he won’t
be able to make it tonight.”
Sarah didn’t try to hide her disappointment.
She stared at Brian in confusion and then accepted the flower cautiously. Brian
felt bad knowing that he was not the brother she wanted to see. He didn’t have
the heart to tell her about Nick’s girlfriend but he still wanted to give her
an explanation. “Something came up.” He said when he was unable to come up with
an actual excuse for the lack of his brother.
“Is everything all right?” Sarah asked.
“Yeah,” Brian stammered, “Yeah he’s fine.”
Sarah waited for some sort of reason but Brian
still couldn’t think of one that wasn’t going to hurt her and that was
something he never wanted to do. Instead he held up the keys to the corvette
and gave them a shake. “I’ve come to take you for a drive.”
The subject change was successful for the
moment. Sarah was not only surprised by the gesture but also confused. “That is
what you wanted, isn’t it?” Brian asked.
Sarah opened her mouth to say something but stopped
herself and managed a polite smile. From what she could tell Brian was just
trying to be nice. Brian nodded slowly. “I understand.” He said.
He turned around to lean against the side of
the car. “Some things never change.” He sighed.
Brian looked up at his house resentfully.
There was no use in trying. Sarah would never love him. Brian couldn’t help by
feel angry and jealous. He didn’t understand why everyone liked his brother so
much more. Sarah was a smart girl. How come she couldn’t see through his
brother’s façade? What did Nick have that he didn’t? Brian’s mood turned in the
blink of an eye. “Well there’s no use in waiting out here all night for someone
who isn’t coming.” He spat bitterly, “So let me at least take you home.”
Sarah looked at Brian curiously and was
insulted by the tone in his voice. He sounded so condescending and she’d never
heard him like that before. “Did Nick send you to blow me off?” she asked
becoming defensive, “Cause if that’s the case, you could have just said so.”
“Not that it would be the first time he’s
asked me to do that,” Brian grumbled, “But no. Unfortunately, he really did
want to come, he just couldn’t.”
Brian was venting his frustrations and didn’t
hear how that sounded and was too busy sulking to realize how much he’d just
offended Sarah. “Then why didn’t he come?” she asked.
Brian frowned and to himself mumbled,
“Hopefully because he came to his senses.”
He didn’t manage to say that quiet enough and
unfortunately for the both of them, Sarah understood every word he said.
“Excuse me?” she gasped.
Brian was pulled from his inward tantrum by
the sheer shock in Sarah’s voice. His face paled as he realized his mistake.
“No! Wait! That’s not what I meant!” he said trying to backtrack but it was too
late.
“And just what exactly did you mean? I mean I
know I’m not exactly sorority material and all.”
Sarah’s sarcasm cut right through Brian’s
heart. He came out here hoping to make the situation better, not worse. He
began to panic. “Look, you don’t understand ok?” he pleaded.
Sarah folded her arms tightly across her chest
and gave him an expectant stare. “Then help me understand because honestly I
don’t see what’s so horribly wrong with me that you should be so against your
brother and I going out.”
The more Sarah yelled at him, the more
flustered Brian became. He was not the confrontational type. Especially not
when it involved girls. He stared at her at a total loss for words. There were
so many thoughts in his head he just wanted to scream out what he was feeling.
He wanted to tell her that there was nothing wrong with her, that she was
perfect. He wanted to tell her that Nick didn’t deserve her but the words just
couldn’t escape the tip of his tongue. “There’s nothing wrong with you.” He
finally managed, “It’s just that one dance with you and my brother’s ready to
jump ship.”
“So you’re here to see that he doesn’t? Who
made you damage control?”
Brian sighed again out of pure frustration. “I
just want what’s best for my brother.”
“And that couldn’t possibly be me. What the
hell do you know anyway? You don’t know me.”
Sarah was no longer just angry; she was
quickly becoming upset. “I know you better than you think.” Brian said. “Nick
is fine dining and expensive suits. You’re more K-mart and a carburetor.”
Sarah froze. She didn’t know how to react to
such a comment. All the sudden the warm summer breeze felt icy against her bare
skin and her eyes stung as she fought back the pool of tears behind them.
Finally when she was sure she could speak without breaking down she looked at
her feet and whispered, “Nick doesn’t seem to mind.”
“No?” Brian asked softly, “How many times did
he ask you out before you got your hair cut and a fancy little dress?”
Sarah was crushed. The answer to his question
hurt far worse than anything he’d said in the last five minutes. The tears
she’d been holding back began seeping to the surface and the flower she held in
her hand fell to the ground. The moment was pure torture for Brian. He knew he’d
upset her but he also knew he was right about his brother and he wanted so
badly for her to see that. Sarah wiped the tears from her eyes and gave Brian a
piercing stare. In a calm cold voice she said, “I’m a big girl Brian. I’m
capable of making my own decisions… and so can Nick. If I want to go out with
Nick, that’s my life, not yours. If you want to live someone’s life, try living
your own.”
As Sarah walked away from him, Brian realized
she had a point. He needed to live his life. He was tired of making all his
decisions for other people. He was tired of being a slave to it and he was
tired of not having what he wanted. Before Sarah had time to get in her car
Brian caught up to her and grabbed her hand. He gave it a gentle tug whirling
her around to face him. “You’re right.” He said, “And I’m sorry.”
Brian’s heart began to race. His head and his
heart were telling him two different things but this time his heart drowned out
everything else. He’d wanted to tell Sarah how he felt for so many years but he
never knew how. If he couldn’t tell her, then he would show her. Before he had
time to think about it he pulled Sarah in for a kiss. Sarah was stunned. When
Brian let her go he took a shy step back. He felt sick to his stomach when he
saw how pale she looked. She was so confused that she couldn’t move. She didn’t
know what to make of the kiss. How could someone be so angry at her and so
insulting one minute and then kiss her the next? Sarah could hardly breathe and
the tears returned to her eyes.
Brian immediately regret his action and felt
like an idiot. All he’d done is frighten her. Even after kissing her Sarah just
didn’t get it. She couldn’t see his feelings for her. Maybe she didn’t want to
see. Sarah stared wide-eyed at him waiting for him to say something. Brian knew
that if he were Nick right now he could say the perfect thing and she would
leap into his arms, but he was just Brian and he had no idea what to say. He
decided it was just best to call it quits and cut his losses. The best thing to
do was say goodbye but he knew Sarah needed an explanation. All he could think
of was, “Nick asked me to tell you goodnight. I just wanted to do it properly.”
Sarah thought he was mocking her and slapped
him sharply across his face. She immediately drew back her hand showing some
remorse for hitting him but said nothing. Her tears began streaming down her
face and she was sobbing before she pulled out of the driveway. She was angry
at herself for crying in front of him but not nearly as angry as Brian was with
himself. He was so lost and overwhelmed by his emotions that he wasn’t really
sure what just happened. He wasn’t sure why she hit him and he wasn’t sure he
would ever be able to make it right. He watched until her car turned the corner
and was no longer visible, then slowly made his way back to the house. When he
turned around he saw the flower he’d picked lying on the ground. He kicked the
flower and then went inside to sulk in his new found depression.
***