“I fucked Bram,” I said baldly, setting the case on the kitchen counter.
Kate almost dropped the butter knife in her hand and scrambled to catch it.
“Say again?” she asked, looking at me like I had two heads.
“I fucked Bram. A lot. All over his house…and my house. A lot—”
“Yeah, I get it,” she cut me off, her face pulled up in disgust.
“Alex just figured it out, and he has a big fucking mouth, so I’m telling you before he does.” I nodded once for emphasis.
“Why the hell would you sleep with Bram?” she hissed, glancing over my shoulder to make sure no one was eavesdropping.
“Because he’s sexy.” I shrugged nonchalantly, hiding the way my skin crawled over our conversation. “And because he’s got a big—”
“Ew! Jesus, Ani!”
“So now you know,” I said, opening up the soda and carrying it to the fridge. We would have had to use the cooler for all of it, but since Bram had essentially ruined four cases with his butterfingers, we’d have room in the fridge.
“So are you guys together now? Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
“We’re not together,” I replied before she could start dreaming up fairy tales in her head.
“What?” she said, her voice growing hard.
“Leave it, Katie. We’re not together.”
“But—”
“Did I give you shit when Shane was fucking you around?”
“Yes.”
“Exactly.” I ignored her affirmative answer. “So drop it.”
I finished unloading the soda in the bottom of the fridge and got to my feet as Kate stared at me.
“Ani—” Bram called as he stomped in the back door. His eyes met Kate’s for one second, and that’s all it took. “Motherfuck,” he hissed, turning to me. “Thought we weren’t spreading that shit around.”
“It’s Katie,” I argued dully.
“And we fucking agreed—”
“Alex was going to tell her anyway!” I said, wrapping my arms around my waist as he glared at me.
“I just spent the last ten minutes talking Alex into keeping his fucking mouth shut!”
“Charming,” Katie drawled, snapping our attention to where she was watching our conversation with a pissed look on her face. “It’s a secret then?”
“Yes,” Bram said immediately, while I bit the inside of my cheek.
“Why, Bram?” Kate needled snidely. “You doing something you shouldn’t be?”
I inhaled sharply at her tone.
“Don’t act like I’m the asshole here—”
“If the boot fits,” Kate cut in.
“—we both agreed we were going to keep it quiet.”
“It’s fine, Katiebear,” I said, setting my hand on her back as she grew even more worked up. “We both agreed that we weren’t going to tell anyone.”
“That’s bullshit,” she argued. “I’m your best friend—”
“It’s just sex.” I shrugged.
“Well, what if you got pregnant or something? It’s never just sex—”
“Not sure how I could knock her up when she’s missing most of her parts,” Bram said snidely.
I closed my eyes in defeat and dropped my chin to my chest.
“Oh, fuck,” Bram muttered quietly into the suddenly silent room.
“What?” Kate asked in confusion beside me.
“Ani—” Bram called, his voice dripping with apology.
“It’s nothing. I finally had the hysterectomy,” I said, opening my eyes and waving my hands in front of me. “Go me!”
“You did?” Kate breathed, her eyes filling with tears. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“That,” I said sharply, pointing to her eyes, which had begun to overflow. “That’s the reason. It’s fine, Katie. I’m fine. Stop crying.”
Kate’s mouth trembled as she searched my gaze, then her breath hitched as she pulled me toward her, wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling my face into her shoulder.
I shuddered as I felt my own tears rise to the surface. This was why I hadn’t told her. She made me weak when I wanted to be strong, because I couldn’t hide from her. Kate knew just by looking at me what I was feeling, and she wouldn’t let me brazen my way through acting like the whole thing wasn’t a big deal.
It was a big deal, and she knew it. She wouldn’t pretend like it wasn’t.
“I’m so sorry, Ani,” she whispered into my ear. “That sucks.”
“I’m fine.”
“I’m still sorry.”
“I know.”
She held me close for another minute, and when she let me go, Liz and Ellie were standing in the doorway and Bram was gone.
“So you finally told her,” Liz said with a small smile, swatting us as she pushed by us to get to the fridge. “Good. We don’t need secrets in this family.”
I looked up, meeting Kate’s narrowed eyes, and barely held back the nervous laugh that was bubbling up inside me.
* * *
“Look, I got you a pretty new couch to sleep on,” I announced later that night, leading Henry into my house.
“Aw, I hate pullouts,” Henry complained jokingly.
“Wear a condom and you don’t have to,” I said back, making him laugh. “Sorry, I don’t have any other furniture, and there’s no TV out here.”
“No problem, I’ll probably just crash here anyway. I’ve got plans with Trev and the ’rents pretty much every day.”