Shattered Hart (26 page)

The silence surrounds me like a fog as while Damien clenches and unclenches his jaw.

“It’s not that I wanted you to go
away
Brooke,
it’s…
.”

I interrupt him
with a yell. 
“NO! 
You
answer the question. 
No more lies.
  No half-truths.  No evasions.
You
take some goddamn responsibility for what
you’ve
done.
Did.
You
.
Do.
This.
So.
That. I. Would. Go. Away?”

I’ve never seen him look so shattered, but I’m past the
point of caring.  My humiliation and rage pulse through me like fire
,
and I need him to admit what
he’s
done.

“Not in the way
you
mean Brooke, but yes.  Yes, I did.  I
thought that if
…”

In a nanosecond, I am across the room, shoving past him to get to the door.

Grabbing for me, Damien pulls me in to his arms.  “
Jesus Brooke! 
Please
don’t
go.
  I fucked up
honey
.  I
didn’t
want to do this.  I was clutching at straws
and
I was wrong.  I’m sorry! Please…. I’m so, so sorry.”

I hate myself for the way my body leans in to his as my pulse accelerates. 
I’m furious and hurt, but every cell screams out for him anyway.

Pushing against his chest with my right hand, I struggle to escape his grip.  “
You
win Damien. 
You’ve
finally got what you wanted.  I’m done.  Let me go!”

Groaning, he pulls me in closer.  His hand slides around the back of my neck to hold me steady as his mouth covers mine in a kiss so sad, I feel my heart break in to a million little pieces. 

I try again to pull back, but
he’s
having none of it. The more I try to get away, the more he holds on to me. 
“No Brooke.  Please, no. 
I didn’t win! I lost.  I fucking lost everything. 
Don’t
leave me.  I want
you,
I’ve always wanted you.  I’ve been a damn fool. I need you.”

I allow myself to return his kiss. 
He’s passionate and intense, our tongues mated in the most tender kiss I’ve ever been a part of
.
 
I love him so much that it’s too much, but in the end, i
t changes nothing.

I
can’t
stay here.  I
am broken
inside, devastated by his betrayal.  I need time alone.

Shoving him back, I drag the back of my hand across my mouth. 
“
You’re lying to me Damien. If you cared, you would never have done this in the first place
.  I
can’t
be with someone who would rather lie to me than be with me.  I’m done with
you
Damien.  Now let me go.
  You accomplished what you wanted to tonight.
”

His face is a mask of agony, but I just
can’t
care anymore.  I need
to save myself.  Turning away from him, I walk out of the room, closing the door with a soft click behind me.

I run down the stairs, anxious to leave.  I need to put as much distance as humanly possible between Damien and I, immediately.

I skid to a halt at the bottom when my sister comes at me through the foyer.
  I can see that
she’s
been crying, and I feel awful. 

I hug her hard for a moment before stepping back.  “
Rina
, I have to go.  I
can’t
see him right now.  I’m going home.  If
you
want to talk tonight, come over.  If not, we can meet tomorrow.  I’m sorry I
can’t
stay.  I
can’t
.”

Turning on my heel, I run out the front door and
race to my car.  The sooner I’
m out of here, the better. 

I’m
home
relatively quickly, and I throw myself on the couch as my tears start to fall.

I’m alone for about five minutes before Sabrina walks in.
  Coming over to the couch, she sits down and pulls me in to her arms. 

“Brooke, why
didn’t
you
tell me about you and Damien? 
You
know I would have been there for you, right?”

Sighing, I pull back.  “Yes, of course I knew
you
would be there for me!  I
didn’t
tell
you
because I
didn’t
want to cause a rift within the family
, which is the same reason you didn’t tell me about Dante
.  Also, nothing that ever happened with Damien was official.  He
wouldn’t
do anything because I’m a virgin.”

Smacking her forehead with her hand, Sabrina stares at me in shock.  “So
that’s
who you were talking about when you told me that you wished you
weren’t
still a virgin?”

“Yes. 
It’s
been him si
nce the first night we met.  I
was head
over heels for
him.  C
learly, he
didn’
t
feel the same way. 
Bringing that girl to dinner
just to have her
pr
etend to be his girlfriend
so that he could make me go away proves that.
  I feel like a damn fool.”

Shaking her head, Sabrina stares off in to the distance for a minute as she gathers her thoughts.  Turning back my way she says, “No.  I
don’t
think so.  The night before I left for Las Vegas when I
ran
from Dante, Damien told
me he
had feelings for someone.  He was
very
sketchy about it
,
and
I
w
as too out of it to pick up on what he was saying at the time, but he was talking about
you
Brooke.  I know what he did was wrong, and believe me, I am livid. 
But
I saw him tonight
for a minute
after
you
left, and he was in agony.
I
didn’t
realize that Damien felt that way about anyone
,
until I saw it on his face.
Remember,
he’s
got
the same issues that Dante did
. 
If you really want to be with him, I think you should try.
 
Dante was worth the fight for me, and I think Damien would be worth it for
you
, too.”

I ponder this silently for a few min
utes, trying to get how I feel across to her
. 
Looking back at my sister I
break it down for her in the only way that I can.
  “I
can’t
Rina.  I just
can’t
.  Not anymore.  I’m beyond humiliated, beyond hurt. 
What Damien did was cruel, and I can’t reconcile that
with someone who would have any feelings for me
.
  I’m sorry Sabrina, because I know this makes it awkward for
you
, Dante and the rest of the family.  But I
can’t
.  I will try my best to be as pleasant around him as possible, but other than being cordial, I’m through with him. 
Forever.”

I’
ve made a
horrific mistake. 
Bringing Tally here was a bad idea, likely the worst plan I’ve ever followed through on.
 
With each passing second
I am more and more certain that I
can’t
do this. 

I think that Tally senses
it too,
because
I can feel her shaking nervously next to me as I finish introducing her to Dante and Rina.
 

Putting my arm
around
her
waist in a gesture of support,
I blurt out, “
I
can’t
do this.  Rina, Dante… Tally
isn’t
my girlfriend. 
She’s
just a…”

I feel the air in the room change, and immediately I know that Brooke has entered the kitchen.  Turning toward her, I try to make eye contact with her, but she refuses to look at me.  Her eyes
are locked
on the back of Tally’s head
,
and
my stomach plummets. 
It’s
crystal clear that
she’s
upset, and to top it all off, both of my sisters are glaring at me. Even Spencer looks un
comfortable
, and this was his idea
. 

Making the decision
to confess
what I’ve done, I open my mouth to explain.  I
am interrupted
by the sound of two gasps.  I recognize the one as having come from my sister Dominique.  I stare at her as concern rockets through my body as I see that
she looks as though she’s just been kicked
. 

What I hear next makes my eyes bulge almost out of my head.  Staring at my sister Tally asks, “Nikki?  What are
you
doing here?”

I hear Spencer inhale as I turn to look at him, and the two of us excha
nge shocked glances.  Holy shit!
  My sister Dominique is Tally’s Nikki. 
Which means my sister is gay and has been hiding it from all of us.

The room all but explodes in a flurry of energy as everyone starts moving
.  Dominique runs from the room,
Brooke and Delilah hot on her tail
. Tally runs out the side door and
Spencer gives me a look to let me know
he’s
going to handle it.
I’m left alone with Dante and Sabrina.

My brother wastes no time in getting straight to the point.  “What the fuck just happened here?”

Leaning back against the counter and crossing my arms across my chest, I say, “Well.  What just happened was… I brought Tally here tonight to pretend to be my girlfriend.  Thing is… Tally’s gay. 
She’s been talking to Spencer and
I
about a girl named Nikki that she likes who won’t commit to dating her because
was afraid
to come out to her family.
 
Turns out, Nikki is actually Dominique.”

Dante and Sabrina both look shocked, but Dante
just about explodes in frustration
.  “Wait.  Are
you
telling me that our sister is gay and was afraid to come out
to us?
What the hell?”

“Yeah.
Tally has talked to Spence and me quite a lot lately about
‘Nikki’
, and how adamant she was about not letting her family know that she was a lesbian.  I
can’t
believe that Dominique thought for one second that we would care about that!”

“Damien, we need to tell
her we
don’t
care one way or the other.  I just want her to be happy.  Come on, let’s go upstairs and find her.”

As both of us shift to leave the room, Sabrina speaks.  “No.  Hold on a minute.  Damien.  I think
you
owe us an explanation for why you brought a girl here to pretend to be your girlfriend.”

Turning back my way, Dante gives me an assessing look.  “
Rina’s right.
What the fuck would
you
do that for Damien?”

It feels
as though
there
is a spotlight
on me
.  My heartbeat speeds
up and my pulse spike with anxiety.
  This
isn’t
going to go over well.

It takes concentrated effort not to fidget as I shift so that I can face Sabrina. 
I need to make her understand why I chose to do this in a way that doesn’t end with her hating me.
 

“Rina… please don’t hate me for this.
  I brought Tally here
tonight;
I did all of this
,
because Brooke
and
I have feelings for each other.  It was getting out of hand, and I just wanted to spare Brooke the burden of dealing with my bullshit.  We all know that your sister deserves better than the likes of me.”