3. CAUGHT RED HANDED

The last place Kylie probably wanted to be was at the court watching Brian's match, but I had forced her to come. Even Simon had been taken by surprise when I asked him for two tickets for the match.

          We had come to the court with Simon, Brian, Lyla, and Rita. Simon and Brian had been very welcoming and had joked with us the entire ride, and Rita had tried to make conversation and had been very sweet. Lyla, on the other hand, had given us a complete cold shoulder. When we reached the court, we had to separate because, at the last minute, the only tickets Simon could get for us were quite far from theirs.

           So Kylie and I were sitting at the back, sipping our cold drinks. The match, when it finally did start, was great. My eyes did not leave Brian for a single second. Whereas my brother is a really good player and did really well too, Brian just has that finesse that makes you want to stare. His flushed face glistened in the court lights. Every time they would score, Simon and Brian would run towards each other, roaring, and then they would chest bump each other. After the winning basket, Kylie and I went down the stairs to meet up with them.

             " Where's Lyla?" was Brian's first question when we met him. I could practically hear Kylie rolling her eyes. 

        "She left to get herself a drink; in the middle, I didn't see her after that." Informed Rita to the boys. So the hunt for Lyla began. Kylie really did not want to help, but the concern in Brian's eyes made me beg her. He called Lyla's phone several times, but it kept going to voicemail. Kylie and I checked the women's bathroom, we checked the food area, and finally we decided to take a break. Just before I was about to sit down, I saw the area beneath the bleachers. I decided to give it one last look. I asked Kylie to join me, but she said she was too tired, so I decided to just check and come back. 

         I walked into the darkness, but suddenly it got too dark for me to see. I switched on the torchlight on my phone and walked a little further, only to hear the sounds of someone breathing heavily. I thought to myself that, obviously, Lyla would not be hiding anywhere in the dark. So I turned to leave, but something made me stop in my tracks. I could just take a peek, just to be sure. So I peeked inside, and the sight I saw made me clamp my hand over my mouth. 

                  "Steph?" I heard Brian call my name. Of all the places I would have wanted Brian to find me, this was not the one. I do not think I could bear seeing him get hurt. But I am unable to say anything, and my clasped hand on my face made him walk in front of me. He walks inside the room, and I see his eyes go wide as he registers the sight in front of him.

         Lyla's arms and legs were wrapped around a guy. They were so busy making out that they did not notice any of us. The squelching sounds made me want to gag. 

     "Lyla?" I could hear the disbelief in Brian's voice. The guy saw Brian first and immediately separated himself from her. That was when Lyla turned around, looking horrified. 

           A few minutes later, Brian was sitting on the bleachers gripping the edges tight until they became white. He looked more shocked than hurt. His eyes grew misty and then I would see him clench his neck holding his tears back. Seeing him like this broke my heart, and I could feel anger welling up in my chest against Lyla. However, I kept quiet. Lyla herself was teary-eyed; her mascara was smudged under her eyes.

         "I'm really sorry. It was an accident. I know this is obviously wrong, but I have been so lonely ever since we've had to move to different colleges, and then this long distance has been so hard. I've been so alone; you were so busy with your practices that you made no time for me."

         I could not believe what I was hearing this girl say. She was manipulating her boyfriend and making it sound like he was the reason she cheated.

     "How long has this been going on for?" Asked Brian. 

   "He found me crying in my apartment last month—" 

    "A month? So this has been going on for a month." Brian cut her as he shook his head in disbelief.

    Wow, I thought to myself, this girl had a nerve. 

     "Brian, you know I love you. I'm really, really sorry. Just please try to understand. I really didn't mean to—"

      Brian, not being able to take it anymore, stood up and left her mid-sentence. Simon tried to go after him, but Rita stopped him. "Let him go; he needs to be alone for a while." She whispered to Simon. We all left Lyla with the boy. On the ride back home, there was a deafening silence in the car; no one had anything to say. No words of consolation. But we were all really worried about Brian. Even Kylie was. 

I woke up in the middle of the night feeling parched, so I went downstairs to grab some water for myself. There in the living room, I found Simon and Brian. Brian was in a state of disarray with his disheveled hair and looking haggard. The sight of him made my heart sink. How could a man go from rejoicing about their victory to this in a matter of a few hours? Simon indicated through his eyes and asked me to leave. I grabbed my water bottle and rushed back upstairs. 

          Brian had been staying over at our place for a week now. His mom and I were in constant contact, as she had been extremely concerned. Brian had felt trapped inside their house, so she decided to give him space. Simon had been forcing him out to parties in the beginning, but that had just resulted in Brian coming home drunk and battered every night. 

Last week, he had gotten into a fight with a guy at the club, who had accidentally spilled his drink on Brian.

        “Watch where you're going, asshole?” Brian growled, his voice low and menacing.

   The guy, taken aback by Brian's sudden aggression, apologized. “Dude, I'm sorry, it was an accident….” 

     “Accident.” Brian scoffed. “That's what she had said. I'm sick and tired of these fucking accidents.” Brian snarled, grabbing the guy from the collar of his shirt and slamming him against the bar. He began to punch him repeatedly with a furious scowl on his forehead.

       Brian and Simon had then been kicked out of the club, and Brian was covered with bruises all over his hands, bloody shirt and a cut lip.So I talked Simon out of it, saying that if he was a good friend, he should really be concerned about Brian's health. So that put a stop to it.

         This morning too, I went straight into the kitchen to make breakfast for all three of us. As I was frying eggs, I heard the bathroom door creak, and Brian walked out of it, drying his wet hair with a towel. I smiled at him and asked him to join me. He sat by the table, looking through the wall across him with a piercing glare. His jaw was clenched, his muscles tense, with his veins popping out. I noticed his swollen and bruised knuckles when he said with a grimace, "Don't look at me like that."

       “Like what?”

  

       “Like, I'm some injured animal in your pet store that needs to be pitied.” 

   Alright, I get that he's hurt, but I didn't do anything for him to talk to me like that, "One, it's not a pet store, it's a pet day care and two, I don't think I'm pitying you, but you are definitely holding this confrontation with the wrong girl," I scoff, shaking my head. We hold a deep gaze, I notice the fire in his eyes, until my eggs start crackling, so I turn back to them. 

 "I am going to confront her one last time. I need to talk to her." When I do not say anything, he asks me what I think of it. I do not know what came over me or why I said the next words. 

Don't go to her! I wanted to scream at him. Come to me, and I'll take all your pain away. Give me a chance, and I'll show you what it feels like to be loved! I chanted in my head. But for some reason, my head and my tongue didn't cooperate on the same thing. 

 "Do what you think is best for you, Brian. If going after her one last time is what you think will help you, then do it. Do whatever's best for you, and I will always be here to support you, I promise." I said leaving an ointment next to him on the table. 

       He stared at it for a few minutes then left without tending to his wounds leaving a deep pit in my heart. I do not know why, but tears started pouring down my eyes.