“Tillie,” Liam called as we entered.
When we turned the corner, we found her sitting in the middle corner of the L-shaped couch. Her knees were pulled up tight to her chest, her arms wrapped around her shins, and her face was buried in her thighs.
Her body rocked back and forth. It took everything in me not to go to her and gather her in my arms. Liam walked over and sat down beside her. He put his hand on the middle of her back and stroked while I took a seat on the opposite side of her.
We gave her a few minutes to calm herself down. Eventually, she lifted her head. I took one look at her tear-stained cheeks and puffy eyes and wanted to kill the guy who made her look like that. Instead, I asked, “What happened?”
“It’s over,” she rasped.
As relieved as I was to hear that declaration, I couldn’t tell her.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I questioned her.
She shook her head, indicating she didn’t, but answered, “He’s the biggest jerk on the face of the planet. I really liked him.”
Liam and I looked at each other before turning our attention back to her. Tillie didn’t look at either one of us. She simply stared straight ahead as she shared, “I mean, I liked him but not enough.”
“What does that mean?” Liam wondered.
Shifting her gaze to his, she explained, “It means I enjoyed spending time with him but not to the point where I felt I was ready to have sex with him.”
My body went solid. If this asshole forced himself on her, there was no doubt in my mind that I’d go after him.
I glanced at Liam and could tell he was thinking the exact same thing I was.
“Tillie.” Liam’s voice got even softer. “He didn’t…”
She shook her head. “No. But he wasn’t happy when I turned him down either.”
“Did he hurt you?” he pressed.
Looking back and forth between us, I could see she was hesitating. Tillie got beyond whatever it was and murmured, “We were making out in his car. I was fine with the kissing. I liked it. But then he started doing a lot of touching. I kept moving his hands away from places I didn’t want him touching. When he didn’t stop, I stopped kissing him. He tried convincing me to take things further with him, but I’m not ready for that. Not with him.”
She paused a moment to collect her thoughts. I let her take the time she needed because I didn’t exactly trust myself not to say or do anything crazy.
“I told him I was fine with kissing, but nothing else. Initially, he seemed okay with it because he started kissing me again. But it wasn’t more than a minute or two later when his hands started drifting once more. When I pulled away from him for the second time, he basically told me that I should consider myself lucky to be with him and that there were plenty of other girls who weren’t teases. At that point, I told him we were over and just asked him to bring me home.”
“What’s his name again?” Liam asked.
“Andy Swift,” Tillie answered. “Why?”
Liam looked at me and ordered, “Stay here with her. I’ll be back.”
“Liam, no,” she said as she grabbed his wrist.
He shook his head. “No. I’m sorry, but this is not okay. I can’t let this go. Because you still have the rest of the school year left. I need him to know that he’s not going to even look in your direction.”
“I don’t want you to get involved in this mess.”
“Do you want to get back with this guy?” he questioned her.
Tillie shook her head. “No.”
“Great. Good. Because he doesn’t deserve you. He needs to be warned that I better not ever hear that he’s disrespected you again. If he does, he’s going to wish he hadn’t.”
“I’m sure it’s done. He’s just going to move on to the next girl,” Tillie reasoned. “One that’ll be far more willing than I was.”
“That’s fine. I’m still going to make sure it stays that way,” Liam stated as he stood and walked toward the door. “I’ll be back.”
With that, he walked out.
There was silence in the room for a few moments after the door closed behind my brother. Eventually, Tillie broke the silence. And when she did, I wished I’d left with Liam. Because Tillie didn’t say anything that I had ever wanted to hear.
“I might technically be an only child, but it’s like having my very own big brother.”
She thought of us as her brothers. The disappointment I felt was like nothing I’d ever felt before. It was worse than disappointment. It was devastation.
Despite my feelings, I turned my head in her direction and let out a laugh. “Yeah, I guess it is.”
Something shifted in her face, but I didn’t quite know what it was. As quick as it was there, it was gone. I did my best to ignore it and asked, “Are you okay?”
Her eyes held mine a moment before she brought her hand to my forearm and squeezed. After giving me a nod, she answered, “I am now. Thank you, Zev. It means a lot to me that I can count on you to be there for me.”
The feel of her touch on my skin sent shockwaves through my body. Just a simple touch of her fingertips on my arm felt like heaven. What I would have given to feel her lips on mine.
I had to snap myself out of it. This was the woman my brother was going to marry. I couldn’t keep thinking about her like this.
So, I shook off the thoughts and assured her, “Always, Tillie. You’re our best friend. We care about you just as much as we care about each other. Liam and I will always be here for you.”
Another look washed over her face that seemed like a bit of disappointment mixed with frustration. I didn’t quite understand it considering I’d just promised her that she’d always be able to count on us, but I didn’t question her on it either.
Tillie seemed to recover quickly and proved it by asking, “Want to check out some of the new ceramics I’ve been working on?”
“Sure.”
Later that night, my brother was sitting outside on our deck. I sat down next to him but didn’t immediately say anything. I knew he had the situation with Tillie on his mind, and I wanted to give him the opportunity to talk about it if he wanted to.
He didn’t.
So, after some time had passed and I’d grown frustrated waiting for him to bring it up, I asked, “Why haven’t you just asked her out?”
I don’t know why I did it. I didn’t want Liam dating her. I didn’t know how I’d be able to handle it knowing he was taking her out, being alone with her, kissing her, and most of all, loving her.
But I had to consider the alternative.
She could deal with assholes like the guy today.
And Tillie deserved so much more than what she got from him.
As much as I wanted her for myself, I wasn’t going to cross that line with my brother. And if it came down to her being with a jerk like she’d been with until today or being with my brother, I knew Liam was the better choice.
He’d love her.
He’d take care of her.
He’d never force himself on her.
All I wanted was for her to be happy. I didn’t want her to cry. I didn’t want her to feel pressured to do anything.