Mara clutched her things closer to her chest when he tried to take her bag. “But I need to go home. Trent left last night and never came back. We had a fight,” she admitted. She hated to put her brother in between her and Trent. It wasn’t fair. They’d been friends far longer than she and Trent had been a couple and he didn’t deserve to be pulled between them. But surprisingly Matt didn’t seem shocked at her words at all. If anything his features only grew more grim.
Mara had the sudden feeling that she wouldn’t be going home for while.
“We need to talk, sis.”
Chapter Five
TRENT WOKE TO complete and utter darkness. He blinked, disoriented, trying to figure out what had woken him up. He’d come home a little after six o'clock, surprised to find that Mara wasn’t home from work yet. He'd sent her a message telling her that he'd meet her here after work. She hadn't responded but he'd assumed it was because she was still pissed.
As the hours passed, he’d started to get worried so he’d called her cell phone and several of their friends. Finally she’d responded and told him that she was spending the night at her brother’s house. She’d sent her message loud and clear. She didn’t want to talk to him. But they needed to talk and there was no getting around it. He’d gone to sleep in their bed, figuring that she couldn’t avoid her own house forever.
He turned his head at a slight movement to his left. When he caught sight of the dark, man-sized shape in the corner, his heart skipped a beat. He shot up in the bed, the sheets tangling around his legs. Once his eyes adjusted and he recognized Matt’s face, his heart slowed down.
Slightly.
“What the hell, man? You scared the shit out of me.”
Matt didn’t respond and Trent leaned over and turned on the light. “What’s going on?”
In the light, he could see what was hidden in the dark. Matt was furious.
He knows, Trent thought dimly. For once in his life, his father hadn’t been bluffing.
A pair of jeans hit him in the face.
“Get dressed and meet me in the kitchen. You have two minutes.”
By the time he snatched the fabric off his face, Matt was gone.
Fuck.
His brain still wasn’t firing on all cylinders but he knew enough to get dressed. Quickly. Knowing his best friend, he wasn’t going to give him more than sixty seconds or he’d be back. And it was doubtful that he’d come out here to confront him alone. Trent sighed. That meant he’d probably have an angry Jackson or Nick to deal with as well. He’d face a boardroom of angry shareholders any day before taking on his friends. Mainly because he actually cared what they thought of him.
But you knew when you chose to get involved with his sister that there was a very real chance that this would end badly.
When he emerged into the kitchen, he bit back another curse. Matt stood against the counter with Elliott Alexander. Any hopes of convincing his friend of his sincerity went out the window.
“You know why we’re here?” Eli asked.
Trent nodded. He’d always known that things would come out. But when you were in the midst of living a lie, you convinced yourself that you were invincible. That no one would ever figure out your game.
Until the terrifying moment when it ceased to be a game and became the thing you wanted most in the world.
“When did my father call you?”
Matt glanced over at Eli who looked similarly confused. “What the hell are you talking about? Why would your father call us?”
Now that gave him a moment of doubt. During this entire thing, the one wild card was his father. He’d assumed that he would eventually tire of waiting for Trent to come to his senses and would eventually out him. Eli noticed the look on his face and seemed to understand instantly.
“You think your father told
us? No. I investigated you at Mara’s request. She thought that you were cheating on her.”
He dropped down into one of the kitchen chairs. Despite everything, he’d never meant to hurt Mara. He’d never meant to hurt anyone. But he supposed it had been foolish to think that he could have his cake and eat it too. Such a silly expression, he thought to himself. After all, what were you supposed to do with cake if not eat it?
“I never meant to hurt her.”
Matt let out a disgusted sound. “Right. Just like you never meant to lie to her about your entire life. Was any of that shit you told us true? Your parents live in the Midwest? You grew up on a farm? Did you just make up the most generic all-American thing you could think of and decide to go with that?”