Hurt
I'm jolted awake by the ringing of my phone, slightly disoriented and confused. The ringing ceases, and I glance around the room. Veronica's head is resting on my chest and her steady breathing indicates that she's still asleep. The DVD menu for ‘Iron Man 2’ is on constant replay. I must've fallen asleep, too. Our Chinese take-out containers are on my nightstand, next to my phone.
The ringing starts up again, and I know someone needs to speak to me. I don't want to wake Veronica, so I try to tilt my body and slide her head off my chest and onto my bed. I reach over her to grab my phone from the stand, disconnecting it from the charger. My heart rate instantly speeds up when I read the name on the screen. I slide the green icon over, then place the phone to my ear. “What's up, man?” I ask, nonchalantly. Play it cool, man.
“I'm out front,” Vance says before the line goes silent.
Everything comes crashing down around me, and I feel like the air instantly got kicked out of my lungs.
“What's wrong?” V whispers as she turns onto her back. I glance down at her beautiful face, her eyes slightly squinting from sleep.
“Vance is here.”
Her eyes widen at my response. She’s wide awake now. “What? No, No!”
“It'll be okay.” I kiss her forehead and move off the bed towards my bedroom door. I rush down the stairs and can see Vance's form as I approach the front door. Taking a deep breath, I open the door, and Vance comes in without a word. He walks into the living room, just off the foyer, leaving me standing with the open door. I run through my options, but I know there are none. It's time to come clean.
A swift push of my hand on the door, and I move towards the opening of the living room. The sound of the door clicks shut from behind me. Vance is facing the fireplace, his back to me, and I allow him to gather his thoughts. After a few seconds--which felt like minutes--he turns to stare me dead in the eyes.
“Why is V's car out front?” he asks, but he doesn't wait for me to answer before firing off another question. “Is she here?”
“Yes,” I answer. There’s no point in lying, now.
“Veronica!” He screams loudly and unexpectedly; it makes me jump.
I remain quiet but from my position, I can see her moving down the stairs cautiously. When she reaches the middle, a small creak emits from her steps. Vance glares at her. She stops, almost as if he froze her body. A laugh of incredibility escapes him. “Yanno, I ran into Shannon tonight.”
My eyes move to him, remembering that we did see her at the China House. Vance continues talking, “She mentioned seeing you two together, and I had no idea what she meant. But she kept mentioning how you guys were together. I mean, I thought there was no way. No way that my best friend and my sister would be hooking up behind my back. That's what this is right?” He pauses, and we both remain quiet. I glance at Veronica just as she looks at me. “Right?!” he yells again.
A weak “no” comes from V, at the same time I begin to speak. “Dude…” but his hand comes up, cutting me off.
“I don't want to know and don't call me dude.” He points to me. “We are not dudes! Dudes do not lie to their best friend, and dudes do not fuck their best friend’s little sister!” his voice has risen dramatically, his hands have turned into fists, and a small vein is starting to bulge in his neck.
“Vance,” V starts to speak.
“No!” He points to her.
“Let us explain!” she tries again.
“Explain what exactly? That you guys have repeatedly lied to me? How long has this been going on?”
“That doesn't matter,” V says, “We care for each other,” her voice is soft.
Vance paces, and the anger is radiating from him. I look back to Veronica, who shrugs her shoulders and mouths ‘do something’.
“Vance,” I step forward but pause when his pacing stops, and he looks up at me. His stare is hard, and it's threatening. I've been in tough situations, but never one to have someone who's almost like a brother look at me like I've completely betrayed him. And I have. It hurts.
“What about Nic? I thought you were seeing her.”
I sigh, “I am.”
“What the fuck?” he shouts, not allowing me to finish and before I can blink, I'm abruptly pinned to a wall. It happens so quickly, it knocks all the air out of me. I'm gasping for breath and seeing black spots behind my eyes. I can hear him yelling but can't make out the words. I can hear Veronica's feminine voice and the fear behind her words.
“How could you?” Are the first words I can make out.
“Vance, let him go! You're hurting him!”
The spots start to clear. He has me by the shirt, hands on both sides. He slams my back into the wall again, “Fucking explain to me!”
“We're trying. You need to calm down!” Veronica's voice is broken by sobbing hiccups, and there are tears streaming down her face. He releases me, and I drop to the ground. V's hands are instantly on my face. “Are you okay?” she whispers. All I can do is nod.
Behind her, Vance is running his hands through his hair. Veronica helps me up, but I keep my body against the wall for support. She turns to face her brother. I've seen his anger quite a few times, but it's always been towards other people. I'll admit, it's scary being on the receiving end.
“I am Nic,” V confesses.
Vance's head snaps up, “What?”
“I'm sorry, Vance,” She moves forward to stand directly in front of him. She reaches just under his chin, and I want to protect her, but I know she's strong. His nostrils flare slightly. It's like prodding a bull--though he'd never attack a woman, let alone his sister. “We were planning to tell you, but his is what we were afraid of. You're overreacting.”
“Overreacting?” he scoffs. “I doubt Victor, Vaughn, or Vin will be thrilled to find that you two are hooking up.”
“Stop!” Veronica shouts, and it surprises Vance. “We are not just hooking up.”
Vance laughs. “That's all Chase is capable of, V! He's just like me.”
“He's nothing like you!” She’s seething, “He's treated me with nothing but respect. I have yet to see you treat any girl with anything close to respect,” her voice is strong. “How dare you? You've been scaring guys away left and right! I love Chase, and Chase loves me.” His eyes widen at her admission. He starts to speak, but she cuts him off, “Shut up! I am so tired of this. I can understand why you're mad! I do, I get it. But this--the way you're acting-- is exactly why you’ve been left in the dark. I was afraid to tell you! Chase has wanted to tell you since the beginning, and I told him I didn't want you to ruin the one good thing to come into my life.” She pauses then continues, “We were going to come to you tomorrow, and I'm sorry you had to find out from someone else. But how you feel isn't going to change how we feel.” Vance continues to stare at Veronica. He doesn't make a sound. He grumbles something, and walks around her, coming to me. I stand up, willing to take whatever he's going to dish. I expect a punch or something, but he doesn't even look at me. He walks right to the front, opens the door, and disappears behind it.