“I’m sorry, Charlie,” he says softly.
“You knew?” I ask, not daring to believe the truth that’s right in front of my face.
“Oh yes, Troy’s known for a while, right, son?” his odious mother replies. “But instead of standing by me, you betrayed me. You picked his side just so you could keep fucking his daughter.”
“Mother! That’s enough.” Troy grips his mother’s arm and drags her to his car. “I’m taking you home.”
She doesn’t fight him, but even if she did, it wouldn’t matter. The damage is done.
I turn around too fast, needing to get away from this scene, and almost fall on my face. Ben reaches for my arm just in time and steadies me. My parents start to argue, but I block them out. I just want to get out of here. With Ben’s help, we make it back to the house.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” I say.
There’s not a chance I can get to a bathroom in time, so I hop on one foot to the kitchen sink and throw up the little bit of food I had in my stomach. My tears come down in rivulets, and even after I quit dry heaving, they don’t stop.
“It’ll be okay, Charlie,” Ben says.
Damn it. I’m supposed to be offering him comfort, not the other way around.
“He lied to me, Ben.”
“No, he omitted the truth.”
I whip around to face him, incredulous that Ben is defending Troy. “It’s the same thing.”
Ben drops his chin to the floor. “I like Troy.”
His heartfelt admission makes everything ten thousand times worse. I love Troy with all my heart, but how can I stay with him after this betrayal? And even if I could move past it, there’s no erasing the fact that his mother broke up my parents’ marriage. How can I pick him over my family?
This is hopeless.
46
TROY
After I drop off my drunk-ass mother at her house, I call Andreas. I know I won’t be able to talk to Charlie anytime soon, and I need to vent all my frustrations to someone. I don’t disclose anything over the phone, just ask if he’s home. He tells me to come over.
I find him slouching on his couch, watching football with a beer bottle in hand and a bag of chips on his lap.
“Where’s Danny?” I make a beeline to the fridge. I can’t do this without a drink.
“Went to visit his mom.” Andreas glances at me and immediately notices something is up. “What’s with the frown? Did something happen?”
I chug the beer down, almost emptying the bottle. “Yeah. My mother was screwing Charlie’s dad.”
“What? Are you serious?”
“I’d never joke about something like that. A few weeks back, Jane and I caught Mom with a mysterious man at a restaurant in Manhattan Beach. It was Charlie’s father, only I didn’t discover that until I met him at the hospital.”
Andreas passes a hand over his face. “That’s brutal, man.”
“That’s not the worst of the story. The asshole asked me to keep it a secret from Charlie. I mean, how fucked up is that?”
“Shit. And you kept your mouth shut and she found out anyway, right?”
I down the rest of the beer. “Yep. In the most spectacular fashion too. My mother showed up at her parents’ house, drunk out of her mind, and spilled the beans. I had to drag her ass out of there before things got worse.”
“And what about Charlie?”
I stare at the empty beer bottle while I fight to get air into my lungs. I’ve never felt such agony like this before. “The way she looked at me, man… so broken, and betrayed.” I sigh. “I don’t know.”
“Dude, it’s obvious she cares about you. Sure, she’ll be mad as hell for a few days, but after you explain you didn’t really have a choice, she’ll have to understand.”
I shake my head, knowing it won’t be easy. “You don’t understand, Andy. My mother is the person responsible for breaking up her parents’ marriage. Even if she could forgive the fact that I kept that information from her, I’ll be a constant reminder of the betrayal.”
Andreas gets off the couch and heads over to the kitchen. He has his serious expression on, the one he usually saves for game day. “First of all, your mother wasn’t responsible for breaking up anyone’s marriage. If Charlie’s father had an affair with her, it’s because he wasn’t happy in his marriage.”
“Do you think that’s going to matter?” I retort angrily, slamming the bottle down on the counter.
“Fine, maybe it won’t matter. But if Charlie is really into you like you’re into her, she’ll forgive you. Grovel, do everything you can to win her back.”
“I thought you didn’t like Charlie.”
He shrugs. “I didn’t like her when she was your enemy. I have nothing against her now.”
“We haven’t broken up.”
Yet. I know it’s coming. I saw the certainty in her eyes that she believes we’re over.
“Then start working on your recover game right away, Troy. You’re the fucking Rushmore Rebels’ quarterback. You don’t know defeat.”
I stand straighter. “You’re right. I’m not going to give up Charlie without a fight. She’s my endgame.”
“That’s what I’m talk—wait, what? She’s your endgame? For real?” His eyes widen.
“Yeah, for real.”
“How do you know?”
“I just do. Hopefully, you’ll get that someday.”
He twists his face into a scowl. “No, thanks. Hard pass. I like my bachelor life too fucking much to give it up. The only chains I’d be down for are the ones that come with whips.”
“Why do you have to make everything so dirty?”
He lifts his shoulders in an it-is-what-it-is gesture. “That’s how I roll, man. What are you going to do about Charlie?”
“I can’t go back to her folks’. It must be war central right now, and my presence would just make everything worse.”
“What about your mom’s car?”
“Ah hell. I’d forgotten about that.”
Andreas grabs his jacket from the back of the highchair. “Come on. We’re going back, and now you have an excuse. I’ll drive your mom’s car, and you talk to Charlie.”
“Shit. That means I have to get her car keys first. Great.”
“Perfect. That should give everyone time to chill out back at Charlie’s.”
He heads for the front door like he’s about to step onto the field before a game, his shoulders squared and chin high. He said I don’t know defeat, but he’s the one who doesn’t believe in it.
CHARLIE
I’ve been lying in bed, crying my eyes out since Troy left with his mother. At least my parents are no longer shouting, but only because Mom kicked Dad out of the house. She asked for a divorce—no, shouted for one. Even the neighbors must have heard her.
Troy has called several times and sent a dozen messages. I’ve ignored them all. I’m not ready to deal with his betrayal face-to-face. I’m so torn about everything. Maybe Ben is right, and Troy was put in a terrible situation. But it changes nothing.