Blue Belt

Chapter 21

                                                                    XXI.

        I thought that maybe Brett would be around in his room.  I headed right down there to get to the bottom of this.  Sure enough I heard loud music when I arrived at his door, so he was probably there.  I knocked immediately.  Brett turned down the music and opened the door.

            "Hey Matt.  Congratulations dude."  He said calmly.

            "I....I, I need to talk to you about something."  Brett and I had not really become all that great of friends or anything, so just asking him what I wanted to ask felt awkward.  I entered the room.

            "Yeah, what's up?"  He asked.

            "It's about Cammie."  That's all I got out at that point.

            "Yeah, and?"  He asked with a more serious look.

            "Well, do you know where she is at?"  I resorted to my other question.

            "Yeah."  He said.  He could now tell I was frustrated.

            "Where is she?"

            "She's over at the city dojo.  She went over there to work out on her own.  She does that a lot.  I'll let her know you're looking for her though."  He responded.

            "Don't bother."  I answered abruptly.  "She's awful at getting back to people."

            "Okay then."  He responded back calmly.

            "So what's up with you guys?"  The question flew right out of my mouth.

            "Your asking about Cammie and my relationship?"  He seemed somewhat annoyed suddenly.  "Is that what this is about?"

            "I guess I just want to know."  I said back looking straight at him.

            "Well yeah, she and I have been more than friends at times if that's what you're asking."

            "And now?"  My voice was a bit shakey.

            "And now it's none of your business my friend."  He answered, sitting down on the sofa that he and his roommate had brought into the room.  I felt betrayed.  My mood sank further.

            "But I can tell you she cares a lot about you."  Brett added, seeming to have completely calmed down himself.  "Do you want a soda?  We have a few in the min-refrigerator over there."  I looked at him, realizing the two of them had talked about me.

            "Bull shit."  I said back, the words just coming out of me.

            "Okay, calm down dude."  He said, standing up again.  "You'd better not talk to her like this."  I looked down, waiting to decide what to say next.

            "Look, I know when she heard about your accident when you first got here she wanted to help.  She wanted to be involved."  Brett added before I could say anything.  I instantly looked up at him right after he said this, shocked by what he just said.

            "Accident?"  I asked, thinking more about the implications of his words 'when you first got here'.  "You mean all of this time?"  I asked, taking a deep breath.

            "She just wanted to help man."  He sat back down on his couch.  "She asked to work with you.  And the more she got to know you, the more she thought she could help."  I looked at Brett as I'm sure my face was a bright red at that point.   I fought to hold back tears as I ran out of his room, slamming the door very hard behind me.