Wonderland

❄B17❄ The Other Side Of Her

Chapter Seventeen

Brayden's POV

The Other Side Of Her

 

It never occurred to me how lonely Heather was. I figured she didn't have many friends a while back, but I assumed she was always with her family. In high school, I rarely saw her after classes: As soon as her last class ended, she'd literally bolt straight for the bus stop.

But then again, now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen her with an actual friend. In high school, she hung around these two girls named Aislynn and Cyndi, but everyone in school knew that Aislynn and Cyndi were practically inseparable. I've gone to school with them since the first grade, and I know for a fact they were practically sisters. Their relationship was like that of Ryan and mine's. I've known Ryan for a while, and even though we're both in different states right now, we still continuously keep in contact with each other. I have a feeling Heather doesn't do that with Aislynn and Cyndi anymore, and sometimes, it kills me to see her so lonely.

Heather was acting really quiet right now. During the entire ballet performance (my sister was apparently cast as a student in an original ballet show their teacher had put together), she was just staring blankly at the dancers on stage, watching but not actually seeing the action.

I sat between her and my brother, and my mother sat beside him. She was smiling the entire time, and I resisted the urge to smack that fake smile off her face. The amount of hate I had for her was ridiculous.

Esmond was only half-paying attention to the show—I know so because he kept sneaking glances at his phone when he thought no one was looking. It was obvious as to what he was doing: texting. Once, I caught a glimpse of the name of the person he was texting: Clara B.

I frowned.

Clara B? As in Clara Bernini, his ex?

If I recall correctly, Esmond broke up with her a little more than a year ago. I know he liked her a lot at the time, but when he found out how much Susanna disliked her and how badly Clara was treating his sister, Esmond broke up with her. See, that's the thing I like about him: He puts family first. Yeah, he may have been a bit of a dick when he cheated on Bridget with his friend, but I believed him when, after we sorted our shit out, he said that he hadn't meant to cheat on Bridget and that he still loved her.

To be honest, I can't imagine my brother ever acting like our mother. It's unlike him. Esmond was compassionate; he always had been. From an early age, he always argued about the greater good of helping others; that was one of the reasons why he chose to be a doctor. He used to annoy the shit out of all of us with his doctor role-plays.

 Sneaking glances at his phone, I was dismayed to find him actually texting his ex. I caught a glimpse of a few of their texts. It seemed to me that Clara was trying to land a date with him again, which is ridiculous, because last I checked she was a student at Montana State University while Esmond is currently a grad student at UCLA. Long distance relationships almost never work. I've seen friends of mine from high school who have attempted, but failed, to make those kinds of relationships work. Plus, I don't think Esmond would give her another chance anyway. Once a bitch, always a bitch.

So to speak, Clara was technically Esmond's first love. He met her during a career fair his sophomore year at MSU. She was a freshman at the time. They apparently hit it off pretty well, and I know Esmond had a big crush on her. After knowing her for a few months, he finally found the courage to ask her out, and bam. Three weeks after their first date, they become an official couple. Clara came to a lot of our family gatherings, and she and Esmond were, even if I had to say so myself, cute together. Esmond always had his arms around her when they were together, and Clara always made him smile—even when he was loaded with piles and piles of homework. Whenever he was upset, Clara always knew how to make him feel better.