Betrayed (23 page)

Ethan took a deep breath to steady himself. I could feel him tense as he began recounting the story. Unresolved anger poured from him.

“It was the first time I had seen or heard from him in years. I had figured he had died in a ditch or something, because, surely, no father could abandon his kids for so long without so much as sending a postcard.” Ethan shook his head and focused on the road. It was my turn to wrap my hands around his and squeeze gently.

“You know what he had the nerve to tell me?” Ethan said, looking my direction. “He had the nerve to tell me that he needed money. He’d gotten himself into some sort of bind, and he needed some money to get out of it. He didn’t even have the courtesy to ask for a loan, or anything reasonable - he just told me he needed it, and he thought I should help him.”

I rubbed his hand some more. “That’s awful,” I said.

“I told him to fuck off,” Ethan said. “Asked him where he’d been when his two sons needed help. Told him that if we’d managed to make it on our own, then he could figure things out for himself, too.

Then you know what he did? He looked me straight in the eye and said,
Well, it looks like the two of you turned out alright, so what’s the big deal?
”

Ethan shook his head, again. The sporadic lights from the street illuminated his red-tinged cheeks as we drove past them. Ethan took a few deep breaths to calm himself.

“Anyways,” he said. “I told him I wouldn’t give him the money. I told him that he could go die and rot in Hell for all I cared. It pissed him off, too, and that made me happy. Then, he told me he was going to get the money from Trevor. He told me that at least one of his boys had to have some respect for him.” Ethan shook his head, and pushed forward. “I laughed in his face. I told him that Trevor wouldn’t come within a mile of him, willingly. I told him it would never happen.”

Ethan’s voice trailed off for a moment. His eyes took on a distant look, like they were seeing the memory of his past instead of what was in front of him. He lived in that memory for a minute, and I didn’t say anything to break him out of it.

“I called Trevor later that night and told him what had happened. I told him our father was back in town, and that he was looking for money. I warned him not to give it to him. He said the only money he had was his college savings - and that had all but been spent already.” Ethan looked at me again, and tried to turn the corner of his lips up in a short smile. “I should have known that bastard would con his son just like he’d con anyone else.”

“What happened?” I asked. Ethan struggled to continue, and I had a sinking feeling in my stomach about what was coming next.

“He told Trevor that he just needed the money for a week to clear some things up. He told him he had more than enough money coming in after that - he just needed a short term float. Trevor was young, naive. But more importantly, he wanted so much to see the best in his Dad. The man was clearly in a bad spot, and Trevor wanted to help him out.” Ethan blew out a sigh, and kept his eyes on the road for a while. “We never heard from him again.”

I clutched his hand tightly. “He just took Trevor’s college money and left?” I asked.

Ethan nodded his head tightly. “Trevor gave him almost every last penny. He had saved that money since he had his first job in high school. Every week, he’d set nearly all of his paycheck aside so he could one day go to college.”

We both grew silent for a while. I was beginning to get a better picture of Trevor than I’d ever had before. I was beginning to understand what drove him to act out. He had attachment issues - and for good reason. First his mother dies, and then his father abandons him. Then, if that weren’t enough, his father comes back to swindle him one last time. I wasn’t sure I would have been able to cope with the same situation if I had found myself in it.

“It was all my fault,” Ethan said out of nowhere. I frowned at him, and he nodded his head. “I never should have let Trevor get close to him - I should have kept them apart. Then, afterward, I should have helped him out more. But I was too wrapped up in my new career on Wall Street - and Trevor was dead set on screwing every girl in New York.” He shook his head and I could see glistening in his eyes. “I should have been there for him. But I was too selfish.”

“You were both so young,” I said. “You didn’t know how to handle that kind of situation - no one would have known. You just make the best of it with what you got and see how things work out.”

He looked at me hard and managed a smile. “That’s exactly right,” he said. “You get dealt a shitty hand, and you deal with it. It all helps to shape who you are and where you’re going. You just deal with it.”

I was beginning to understand just what he was saying. He was referring to me and my situation with Dana. The two didn’t have anything in common with one another, other than the fact that we had both been screwed over by people who were supposed to love us. Dana was supposed to be there for me just like Ethan’s father was supposed to be there for him. But they weren’t. And now, the only thing that mattered was how I dealt with that fact. The only thing that mattered was how I lived my life.

I squeezed his hand again, and he returned it. I curled myself around his arm for the rest of the ride home. I finally realized why he had told me the story. It wasn’t just because he wanted to share more of himself with me, it was because he knew that I needed comforting. He knew that I was lost in my own head, and that I needed to be pulled out of the maze I was trapping myself in.

In that very moment, I knew that what he had said earlier was the truth. Everything was going to be alright. With Ethan by my side - everything was going to be alright.

“You just kicked her out of the car?” Ethan asked, unable to hide the wide grin on his face.

“I couldn’t take it anymore,” Trevor said. “I finally realized how hateful of a person she is.” He shrugged. “I can’t let myself be with someone like that.” Trevor hefted his suitcase into the trunk of the Chevelle. The car sunk under its weight. “I deserve something more,” he said.

Ethan smiled at his little brother. His chest swelled with pride. He wanted to hope that the talk they’d had at the hospital had helped his brother sort things out in his head. He’d like to think that Trevor was on his way to a better life because of the love of his big brother. But, Ethan knew, the reasons didn’t matter. He was just happy that things were looking up for his little brother.

“So what’s next?” Ethan asked. They both walked around to the front of the car. A cool breeze washed over them, and they squinted through the bright Sun.

“I haven’t decided yet,” Trevor said. “I figure when I get to the highway I’ll either turn left or right. Maybe end up in the Rockies - maybe go East through Texas. Tomorrow, I’ll wake up wherever I wake up, and just keep moving along until there’s no reason to keep going.”

Ethan grinned at him.

“You’re your own man,” he said. He clapped his brother on the back. “I kind of wish I could join you.”

Trevor chuckled. “No, you don’t. You’re right where you want to be. Kayla would do anything for you, because she knows you’d do the same for her. It’s the most liberating feeling you’ll ever have. Live it up.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Ethan said. He smiled down at Trevor, then clapped him on the shoulder again. “I’m going to miss you,” he said.

Trevor nodded once. “I’m going to miss you, too.”

The two men stood there and regarded each other for a time. Ethan wasn’t sure when he would see his brother again, but he knew that everything was going to be alright. Trevor had grown up a lot in the last few months, and Ethan was happy that he could help him through some of it.

“You know I’m always here for your, right?” Ethan asked, his tone serious.

Trevor nodded tightly and clapped him on the shoulder, but said nothing. The two men looked out over the desert as it descended down toward the city. The Sun was high overhead, and there was a lot of day left. It was a peaceful day, though - a new beginning for the both of them.

“I should get going,” Trevor said.

Ethan nodded once. They threw their arms around each other and hugged tightly. Ethan missed this. He missed how close they used to be. They had seen each other through hard times, but he knew there were plenty of happier times left to share.

Trevor pulled away and climbed into the car. Ethan hung back and watched as the engine of the Chevelle roared to life. Trevor rolled the window down.

“Thanks for everything,” he said again. “The last few weeks were dark - the darkest of my life. Thanks for pulling me through it.”

The older brother waived his hand dismissively. “You’d have done the same for me.”

Trevor’s head tilted to the side. “I’d like to think so,” he said.

“Shoot me a call sometime,” Ethan said. “I’d like to hear about wherever you end up.”

Trevor grinned. “Count on it.”

Ethan smiled and nodded once. He rapped the top of the car twice and backed away. Trevor threw it into gear and eased out of the driveway. As he came to the street he tapped the horn twice and revved the engine. It rumbled, loud and fierce.

Ethan stood in the driveway for a long time after Trevor drove off. He didn’t know what to say, or what to think. Something in the world just felt right - and he wanted to savor it for as long as he could.

* * * * *

My dorm was tight and small - a stark difference to Ethan’s expansive home. But I was used to it. Part of me found it comforting. It reminded me of where I was, and what I was there for. It also reminded me of where and what I had come from.

I left the door to the room cracked open to let the room breathe. The halls outside were quiet still. Tomorrow, at that time, they wouldn’t be. Students would be arriving first thing in the morning, and classes started in only three days. Winter break was meant to be long and relaxing, but it always ended faster than you’d planned.

My MacBook dinged as it turned on, but I had already turned my attention away. I’d been unpacking since I left Ethan’s place early that morning. Now, there was only one more thing that needed to find its home. The photo of me with my parents - fresh with a new frame - sat on my bed.

I picked it up and admired it again. Dana had broken the old frame, but there was no damage to the picture itself. The night before, Ethan surprised me with a new frame. It was a simple, black thing, but along the top and bottom, written in white calligraphy, it read “There’s No Place Like Home”. It was the sweetest thing he’d done for me since writing me the love note on Christmas. It was an example of the many reasons why I was falling so hard for him. It was perfect.

The tiny nightstand next to my bed would be a perfect home for it. Last semester’s textbooks still lay there, and I stashed them in a neat pile under my bed. I propped the frame on the nightstand next to my lamp. It was angled toward the room. I wanted it to be visible from anywhere.

Perfect
, I thought again.

There was a knock on the door. I jumped, startled by the sudden sound. Looking over, I saw Ethan standing in the doorway, nudging the only partially closed door open.

“Can I come in?” he asked.

“Are professors allowed in dorm rooms?” I teased.

“Only the untenured ones,” he said, smiling. “It’s one of the few perks.” He shut the door behind him when he entered. “All set up here?”

“Getting there,” I said. “It feels like a lifetime since I’ve been here.”

“You know you’re welcome at my place anytime. The door is always open for you.”

I grinned. “Careful what you wish for, Professor.”

“I’m not your professor,” he said. His intensity made me heart flutter, and a grin began spreading across his face. Our eyes lingered on one another for a long moment until he looked at the picture on the nightstand. “It fits the room well,” he said, nodding toward it.

I smiled. “It’s perfect,” I said, admiring it one more time. “Thanks, again.”

I beamed at him, and he moved in close and kissed me. He ran his fingers through my hair and I felt my legs tremble. His kiss was soft, and gentle. It lingered for a long moment. I wanted him right there, but I knew we couldn’t have each other. There were some lines we had agreed not to cross.

I bit my lip as he pulled away, savoring the taste of his tongue.

“Now I really think this place is too small,” I said.

He grinned.

We held each other there for a while, not saying anything. I knew that this would probably be the only time he was ever in my dorm. While neither of us really cared if our relationship was discovered, we weren’t about to begin advertising it. Fate didn’t need any more tempting.

“Have you heard from Dana?” he asked.

I shook my head, and blew out a sigh. “She has too much pride,” I said. “I’ll have to beat her door down before we’ll ever talk again.”

“She might come around, some day,” he said.

“I don’t think so. She was pretty upset.”

“You were both close friends. She’ll realize that someday.”

“Maybe.”

I hoped what Ethan was telling me was true, but I just wasn’t sure. Dana was one of the closest friends I had, but she had fooled me.She had ended up being something very different than what I thought. She scared me; and I wasn’t sure if I could ever trust her again.

“So, last day of freedom,” Ethan said. I snapped out of my daze and grinned. “Got any big plans?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Just unpacking. Maybe going to bed early,” I said. “Residents will be here by eight tomorrow morning.”

“Come have dinner with me,” he said. “One last hurrah before the semester is back in full swing.”

I grinned again and nodded. “That sounds nice.”

Just then, my laptop dinged. It was the sound of a new email. Instinctively, I looked over and my heart leapt into my mouth. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw who the sender was: Charlotte Kacey, my business school advisor.

I scrunched my forehead walked over to it. Clicking through a few buttons I opened the email.

From: Charlotte Kacey

To: Kayla Ellis