The Boy's of Westbrook

~Betrayed~ Chapter II

Chapter II

Rubio was more than angry. He felt betrayed. Numb. Hurt again.

He cursed, screamed at the windshield that he acted too late. He knew his dad was already home since he left before Rubio. They could have shared the same car but Rubio enjoyed the solitude of nothing but his own thoughts with whatever music he wanted to play. He loved his dad, he really did, but sometimes the man got a bit insufferable.

Rubio sat in the car for a little while longer. The rain was pounding so hard that he detected the pings of what sounded like hail. He felt he needed that. The sound helped Rubio keep himself together. How could he have let Ollie get away? And who the hell did that Ralph guy think he was? He dared to snatch Ollie up so quickly? Rubio was only away for most of the weekend. Now look what happened!

Then again, why not? Ollie was a great catch. This Ralph was simply smarter and didn't wait. Rubio felt like a complete idiot! Why did he wait? Why did he let the things like fear and doubt hold him back?

Rubio felt like crying. It was a matter of fact that he could cry. He was sure if he did cry, it could match the raindrops outside. Then again, that sounded far too dramatic to his liking. Rubio was more of a doer then a crier. Crying was a release, he was fully aware of that. That release could help clear his conscious so he could dust himself off and get back up again.

But for what?

The rest of the weekend, during that family reunion, when no one was looking, Rubio ran through different scenarios in his head. No point in thinking about those anymore. It was too late. The thunderstorm was loud enough so that nobody could see the tear that escaped, or hear the sound of his fists pounding on the dashboard.

First of August...

"You want me to what?" Rubio was sitting at the breakfast table, alone. He'd just finished another run. How many miles did he run yesterday? Ten? He felt like he couldn't get enough.

"Let me make sure I've heard you right." Rubio needed to start over, at least make sure the words said to him was what he really heard. "My cousin, Veronica, is the girl you want to impress this week. Right? Did I get anything twisted here? My cousin!"

Rubio needed to loosen his hold on the phone. If he broke it before the contract was up, that would leave him with no phone for a while.

"You do realize that right?" Rubio felt the need to stress the fact that he was indeed related to this Veronica and Pierre (Rubio's buddy) needed to realize there was some entitlement. Maybe even a taboo. Rubio knew full well the kind of guy Pierre was. Veronica deserved better, despite that they had nothing in common with each other than being related.

"Well yeah Rubes." The dreaded nickname. He shivered involuntarily but it was better than his first name. "She and I have been talking since the end of the school year. Ever since she went on that trip for the weekend, I've realized how much I kinda missed her you know? She had like no cell reception out there. Where were you guys anyway?"

Rubio decided to avoid the question by first glaring at the phone now laying horizontal at the palm of his hand. "So you expect me to be the third wheel?" Rubio had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from yelling.

Screw things like love! Love betrayed him, or so he felt. Rubio had spent up to two days hunkering away in the dark licking his wounds. He made sure not make any runs by-Rubio couldn't even think the name without opening those wounds again. Not only that, he started to feel angry and hurt all over again.