When It all Falls Down

Chapter 3.5

CJ

I know Sam cares about me, and that's why she likes to pry. I'm just glad Gabriella showed up when she did. I didn't want to talk anymore. Not to anyone.

I didn't show up to our normal spot at lunch, and I'm sure they will confront me on it as soon as they see me walking out of this building.

Cody was waiting on the curb for our mom. I walked up next to him. "Hi," he said.

"Hello."

"Your girlfriend wasn't here today." Of course he wants to talk about that.

"I don't have a girlfriend anymore," I said, and he gave me a confused look.

"What?"

As if he doesn't know. "I broke up with her." I shrugged. Maybe he didn't know. But, he wasn't good at hiding his excitement.

"Why?" He was pretending to look for our mom, so he wasn't facing me. I could still see the smile on his face.

"I don't know. Maybe because she was cheating on me with you."

His smile vanished. He turned to look at me. "She told you?"

"I don't think she was actually going to tell me. Kaleb was the one who told me," I said, and he sighed.

"I didn't mean to hurt you bro. I like her. A lot."

A small laugh escaped my mouth. "So you just let me get hurt? You lied to me for months. You're my little brother! I can't believe I didn't see the signs. You basically told me when you hinted that she had moved on." Now that I was thinking about it I saw all the signs. Like when he started listening to all of my conversations about her.

"If you're looking for an apology you're not getting one. Now that you're out of the way I can actually be with her," he said with a shrug.

"What happened to you? You were never like this," I stated and he shrugged again. "Fuck you, Cody." I walked away from him and towards our house. There was no way I was getting into a car with him.

I had been walking for 10 minutes when a white Chevy Impala pulled up next to me. The passenger window rolled down and Gabriella's smiling face appeared in the driver's seat. "Need a ride?" she asked, and I nodded. I quickly hopped into her passenger seat and sighed.

"Where's your house?" she questioned, and I started directing her towards it. "Why are you walking?"

"Didn't want to see my brother," I answered, and she made a weird noise that sounded like an approval. "Do you have siblings?"

"Yeah, she's back in Washington though," she answered, and she was no longer smiling. "I talk to her everyday though. I didn't think I'd ever be this far away from her."

"What's she like?" I asked, and her face lit back up.

"She's so great. She's funny and she always has the best comebacks. She's smart, and she's majoring in psychology." The way she talked about her sister made me forget that my family was falling apart. She was so proud of her. It was like she looked up to her.

I hope none of my siblings look up to me.

"This is my house," I said and pointed at it. "Thank you for the ride."

"I'll see you tomorrow," she smiled, and I shut the door.

Sam was right. She's not an asshole.

My dad was sitting on the front porch, obviously waiting for me. "Who was that?" he asked.

"Gabriella. She's new."