I turn into my street and see Brock’s car parked with him sitting in it waiting for me. Simon is standing next to the front door.
Oh my frigging God!
Shit.
With Brock being Brock, this is not going to go down well. What the hell do I do?
I can’t even avoid Simon. I’m not dressed to meet Brock’s family yet.
What a fucking nightmare.
I park out on the street just down and opposite from Brock, and I call him. He answers on the first ring.
“Hey, Pock. Where are you?”
“Hi, babe.” I sigh as I watch him in his car. He doesn’t know I’m here. “Erm, so, here’s the thing,” I whisper.
“Here’s what thing?”
“I just pulled up and I’m parked across the street.”
He glances up, sees me and gives me a sexy smile. I wave feebly.
“Simon’s here.”
He frowns. “What?”
“See the guy near the door? The one on his phone?”
Brock looks over to the front doors of my building, and I see his jaw clench.
“Brock, please.,” I whisper. “If you care for me at all, you will let me handle this.”
“Tully.”
“Please, babe. I’m begging you. Despite what you think of him, he’s done nothing wrong and is a dear friend.”
He glares at me through his windshield, exhaling heavily.
“Don’t say anything to him.”
“Fuck off,” Brock snaps.
“Brock, please,” I beg. “I love you, I’m with you. Let me handle this.”
He glares at me.
“Stay in the car and I’ll be ten minutes.”
“What does he want?” He barks.
I swallow the nervous lump in my throat. “He’ll just want to talk to me, that’s all.”
“He’ll want you to go back to him,” he says as his angry eyes hold mine across the road.
“That’s not happening. because I’m with you. But I need to have this conversation with him, and I swear to God, if you say one thing to him I will never speak to you again.”
He narrows his eyes. I can see his fury at my threat from here.
“Give me ten minutes and stay in the car,” I whisper before hanging up.
I get out of my car and Simon sees me straight away. He flashes me a crooked smile, and then Brock gets out of his car.
Damn it, Brock!
My heart begins to hammer in my chest as I walk up to Simon.
“Hi.” He smiles.
“Hello.” I smile, twisting my fingers in front of me nervously. “What are you doing here?”
“I flew home from London. Your mother said...”
“Hi,” Brock announces, moving to stand. beside me. He puts his hands into the pockets of his jeans. His legs are wide, his chin tilted to the sky.
Arrogance. Pure arrogance.
I gulp and scratch my head awkwardly. “Simon, this is Brock. Brock, this is Simon.”
Brock glares at Simon as they shake hands.
“Hey,” Simon mutters. He frowns and looks between Brock and me. “Who’s this?” he asks.
“Erm.” I frown. Oh God, please let the earth swallow me up. “Brock is my…” I pause, “Boyfriend.”
Simon’s face falls, his eyes searching mine.
Instantly, my eyes fill with tears, I’ve hurt him. “Si,” I whisper.
“It’s true then?
Brocks jaw clenches but he stays silent.
I nod slowly.
“But you said…” Simon starts.
I nod again. “I know I did,” I whisper. “I never meant for this to happen, and I care for you so much.”
Brock’s brow furrows as he watches me struggling.
“You know I love you, Simon, but I love Brock in a different way.”
Simon presses his lips together and his eyes fill with tears. Brock drops his head. Simon’s pain is palpable… even to Brock.
“I’ll wait upstairs,” Brock says quietly.
I smile through my tears and hand Brock my keys. “Thank you,” I mouth.
He nods and turns to Simon, pausing for a moment, not knowing what to say. “Sorry, mate.”
Simon’s eyes stay glued to the ground.
Brock disappears inside, and I grab Simon’s hands. “We’re friends, Simon. We’ll always be friends. But something was missing from our relationship.”
“Not for me.”
“Yes, for you. You were happy with that girl, I saw that you were.”
“That was different to what we have, Tully.”
“I know, but that doesn’t mean it was a bad thing. What we have will never be replaced, Si.” I squeeze his hands in mine. “We did all our firsts together.”
His eyes search mine. “I’ll come back now. I-I won’t even go back to London,” he stammers.
I shake my head. “It’s too late.”
“It’s not,” he blurts out.
“I never started anything with Brock until I saw you with that girl.”
His face falls.
“You looked so happy… happier than you ever did with me.”
“Tully,” he whispers.
“I’ve made my decision. I’m with Brock now. You and I won’t be getting back together.”
“How can you say that?” he whispers, clearly panicked. “You don’t even know him.”
I shake my head. “I know, not like I know you. This decision isn’t based on Brock. It’s based on us, Simon, and what was missing between us.”
Something snaps inside of Simon and he begins to get angry. “So, you’re getting it from him! What’s he got? A big fucking dick or something?”