Page 21 of The Has-Been

I sit there in silence, finishing my coffee, trying to unpack everything we talked about.

But one thing keeps interrupting my thoughts.

So, I leave my room and pound on Brennan’s door.

He opens it quickly, his tousled hair covering his sleep-deprived eyes, narrowing on me as I mumble, “Why was June Vaughn sneaking out your window at nine a.m.?”

Brennan’s mouth drops open as he quickly turns around to pull on a pair of grey sweats.

I make myself at home, pushing open his door and letting myself in.

“You’re totally hooking up with her. Aren’t you?” I know my voice is rising. But at the moment I couldn’t care less. My head feels like it’s splitting apart.

Therapy was enough for one day, but now I have to deal with this.

He sits on his bed, leg shaking as he looks out the window. Brennan raises his hands, but just as I think he’s about to admit to it…Reid walks in.

“Why the fuck are we yelling?” He looks from Brennan to me, holding up his index finger as he scolds us. “It’s the one day I get to sleep in, and I wake up to you assholes arguing.”

“He’s sleeping with June Vaughn,” I declare as Brennan throws his arms in the air.

Reid only shrugs.

Well, that was anticlimactic.

I was certain Reid would back me up on this. But he just shows me his palms as his shoulders pull upward.

“Brennan sleeps with everyone,” Reid states plainly.

I slam my eyes closed as Brennan chuckles.

“But—” I begin.

“We’re just messing around…It’s nothing serious,” Brennan counters, his eyes finally finding mine. “Look—I didn’t want to tell you. You’ve been doing well, and I didn’t want to set you off.”

Set me off? Did he seriously just say that?

What an insensitive prick.

“I’m not a fucking bomb, Brennan,” I yell, pacing around his room.

He sighs, stammering some bullshit excuse, but I just turn my back on him.

“I’m going for a run,” I announce, then quickly add, “I wouldn’t have cared, man. Just pissed that you hid it from me.” I turn, facing him to finish with, “And for fuck’s sake, have her use the front door next time!”

I slam Brennan’s door as I leave. With my back against the woodgrain, I force in a few deep breaths, but not before I catch Reid blurt, “You snuck her out the window?” He bites back a snort, “Dude, you can be such a fucking idiot sometimes.”

It’s quiet for one second. Two. And then…the two start howling with laughter.

I love Brennan Barnes like a brother; he’s one of my best friends, but he can be a real dumbass. Most days, he treats women like doormats, and June deserves so much better than him.

But, despite all that, I find myself joining in on their laughter.

For a split second—as I lace my sneakers and pull my coat on, quickly stretching—I pull out my phone and have an overwhelming urge to call Aubrey and tell her.

Ignoring the temptation, I tuck it away and jog off the porch.

I circle the block once.