Page 23 of Unrequited Sloth

“Fuck! Why do you keep hitting me? Can I come inside, and we can talk about this?”

She huffed and stormed back into the flat. He followed, with some apprehension, wheeling his suitcase with him. She hadn’t been lying. There were boxes packed up against the wall, and he could see his stuff in them. It looked as though he was moving out. God knows what he was going to do, but he could worry about that later. They needed to talk first.

“Why are you back early?” he asked.

“I could ask the same of you,” she snapped.

Alex could get stroppy, and it could be like being in a relationship with a petulant teenager, but she was also loving. That wasn’t the side he was seeing today. In fact, he couldn’t remember the last time she’d been like that. She’d been distant for months, and he’d put it down to the stress of the wedding. Now he knew better.

“I came back a day early because I didn’t want to be on the plane with all the others.”

“Did my brother come back with you?”

“Of course he did. He’d arranged the seat upgrades, and he didn’t know anyone else other than me. Why would he stay with a bunch of strangers?”

“And how long have you been fucking my brother?”

He stared at her, dumbfounded. What was she talking about?

“You’re not denying it, I see.”

“Yes, I am,” he said, finding his voice. “What the fuck, Alex? There’s nothing going on between me and your brother.”

“Why did you invite him to your stag do, then?”

“To get to know my future brother-in-law better. That’s what you wanted. You told me you wanted us to be friends.”

“I should have known better. I mean, the signs were there. It’s clearly in your blood, given your brothers are into men.”

“Woah. Don’t bring my family into this. Nothing is going on between me and Gabriel. We’re just friends, and speaking of which, are we forgetting that you’re the one who’s been fucking my best friend for months behind my back?”

She flew at him, slapping him again. He held her off without using too much strength. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he wasn’t just going to stand there and let her hit him.

“Alex! There is nothing going on between me and your brother.”

He wanted to add that he was straight, but it didn’t feel right saying that. Gabriel was a handsome man and would make someone very happy someday. If Bobby were that way inclined, he would definitely be interested. He could appreciate a guy’s attractiveness without wanting to fuck him. The point here wasn’t about his sexuality. He would never cheat on his fiancé, and especially not with another family member. It wasn’t like what she’d done with his best friend.

“I know you slept in Gabriel’s room at the hotel,” she said, crying.

He looked at her and knew she was faking it. She did this a lot, but he’d said nothing about it because it was usually cute and he loved her. The moment he’d learnt about Dillon, his love for her had died. Perhaps it hadn’t been as strong as he thought. He still cared about her, but now he was seeing sides of her that had always been there, and he’d been too besotted to see them as what they were: red flags.

“Yes, I stayed in his room, but that was just so the others wouldn’t hassle me. There is nothing going on.”

“I know those rooms only have one bed.”

“Two people can share a bed without having sex. Look at us for the past few months.”

“Don’t turn this around on me after what you’ve done.”

Bobby would not be able to have a sensible conversation with her today. She had it in her head that something was going on with him and Gabriel, when she had been cheating on him for months. If she was this mad at Bobby just sharing a room with her brother, imagine what she’d say if she knew about the “wedding” they’d had. Thank fuck it wasn’t legally binding, or that would be a disaster.

“Why don’t we talk tomorrow when we’ve got clearer heads?” he suggested.

“You need to take all your stuff now. I don’t want you to come back here.”

“And where am I supposed to go? My brothers all have flatmates. I can’t turn up with boxes of stuff.”

“Why don’t you take it to my brother’s place? He’s got loads of space.”