Dirty Little Secret

Finale

Finale: the act of being done; discontinuing; the end.

It took me three hours to tell Brandon everything. And when I say everything, I mean absolutely everything. I made sure to start from the beginning and tell him everything from the wedding leading up until now.

"Wow," he scratches the back of his neck. The past three hours have been full of tears, anger, hurt, and happiness from reminiscing on the memories of Ethan and I.

I wipe the smudged eyeliner from under my eyes and just shrug. "I guess nothing matters now between me and him. He's changed and I don't know if I like that or not," I admit not just to Brandon, but to myself for confirmation.

"I thought you actually liked me." He surprises me by changing the subject. I stare blankly at him from across the large sofa on which we are sitting.

"I do like you, Brandon!" My voice is quiet but he just gives me a I'm-not-stupid look.

"Chloe, look," he takes a deep breath and I feel as if I am not mentally prepared to hear what he is about to say. "I have liked you since the first time I saw you at Jasper's party. You literally took my breath away; you're so gorgeous." He pauses for a moment with a smile.

"But when you came home with me that night and you rushed away, I knew there was a guy in your life that you loved. There was just a part of me that knew your heart belonged to someone else so I was just going to let us be friends and you could come to me," I give him and understanding nod and he continues. "When we started hanging out more and texting and calling, my feelings continued to get stronger for you and when we went on that first date, I as ecstatic." I blush at the thought of him being so happy about getting a date with me.

"But as Ethan and I came to know each other - when you decided to move in with me - I knew that he was madly in love with you and that made me significantly jealous but I kept my cool. I guess what I'm trying to say is, you deserve to be with him. He had you first and I know he still loves you and you love him," I'm at a loss for words when he finishes his speech. I feel awful for doing this to him; not that I did it intentionally. But Ethan has always been mine and I have always been his; through thick and thin, through the yelling and the fighting. We have always been there for one another and he will always have a place in my heart.

"I am so sorry, Brandon. I feel absolutely awful about all of this." I admit.

"It's okay. I understand. Besides, we can still be best friends. That will never change. I love you, Chloe." I smile and wrap my arms around him in a hug.

Brandon is the best friend I could ever ask for. He cares about me so much and he loves trying to help. I can't believe he made that sacrifice for me.

"What should I do?"

"I guess just give it some time," he shrugs while my mind is racing with thoughts.

_____________________

DECEMBER

It's been almost a month since I've seen Ethan. My feelings haven't changed but I continue to live with Brandon and go to school and work like I am perfectly fine. I am stuck in a rut and I don't like it.

Today is Christmas which means more screaming girls for Starbucks than necessary.

"Will you go unload the boxes of cups from the back?" Alexis nods me off toward the back and I am more than gladly to go. Leslie and Renae are working with us today because of all the crowds. Even though we have double the work today, everything is still super hectic.

I grab three boxes and hook them to the little cart thing and roll them into the back room. Renae grabs some of the cups from the boxes and I stack the rest onto a storage shelf.