Round 35

S o.” I clapped my hands together. “What’s next on the agenda?”

Their sympathy-filled eyes, minus William’s, were still locked on me. The despondency weighing on his slumped shoulders was so thick I wanted to grab it and shove it off him. I nudged him. His gaze dropped to mine with a look so far away that I feared I wouldn’t be able to find him.

“We are not going to sit around moping about this. I am sad…” I said.

William curled deeper into himself.

“… but I’ll get over it. And right now, I’m with my favorite people in the world, and I would really like some cake and some wedding chatter as a distraction.” I turned to Neema. “How many people have confirmed they’re coming?”

She smiled and unlocked her screen, the wedding website already open. “One hundred and two people.” She looked up at Shaun. “Oh, and that includes your parents.”

Shaun and William froze. It was as though the air shifted, bringing with it a heavy stillness.

“What do you mean?” Shaun scratched his head, his jaw clenched. “My mom said my dad was scheduled to present at some medical conference in Rome or something. They declined the invite and made apologies.”

“Yeah, I know.” She nodded and read from her phone. “But your mom changed their RSVP and left a comment to say your dad made special arrangements to be here.”

Shaun and William shared a look, but neither of them said anything. Their shoulders squared and stiffened, and their frowns deepened, both ready for battle. But who were they fighting?

“Rose, do you wanna come with me to the ladies?” Neema asked, reading the same tension I’d picked up.

I hopped to my feet and followed her, but we hadn’t even made it halfway up the stairs before Shaun’s and William’s voices rose in a heated argument.

“What do you want me to do?” Shaun’s voice fluctuated between anger and disbelief. “Uninvite my own parents?”

“I don’t care what you do,” William huffed. “We had a deal.”

“You can’t make me choose.”

“You can’t make me face him either.” William’s tone was furious. “He won’t want me there.”

“This has nothing to do with what he wants. It’s not fair. You’re punishing me because I want our father and my brother—who, let me remind you, is my best man—to both be at my wedding?” Shaun’s voice was so loud that we had no difficulty making out every word from our position at the top of the first staircase.

Neema and I froze, partially from shock and—if I was being honest—out of curiosity.

“I’m not making you choose,” William said, both calm and vicious. “I can’t be there. Besides, he’s your father. It’s not like he was ever there for me. I don’t want to see him.”

“You’re my best man!”

“I don’t care.”

“You’re such a jerk,” Shaun snapped. “Maybe that’s why you don’t get along with him, because you have the same foul temper.”

Quick footsteps thumped on the wood floor. “You know nothing about his temper,” William growled, his voice cracking as he reached the end of his sentence.

Shaun’s tone twisted and mimicked William’s. “I know he was only ever angry around you. The only time there was ever any conflict at home was when you were there.”

A dry laugh escaped William. “I know. Nothing he hasn’t told me before. I ruined his life. And you were his perfect boy. The son he wanted. The one I was constantly compared to and could never live up to. I’ll bet he’s paying for this place.”

Shaun was silent for the longest time before finally responding. “So? What’s wrong with that, huh? Why don’t you get all your resentment out and hit me like you hit my boss? Rose’s boss! She’s gone through such trouble because of it—because of you—and now she doesn’t even have a job. Do you care about that? Do you care about anything?”

Shaun paused but William said nothing.

He then continued, his voice lower and more threatening. “You think I haven’t figured out that you’re hooking up? And I know you met Stacey in the parking garage the other night too. This isn’t a game, William. You don’t get to play around with Rose. She’s my best friend and the only person I ever asked you to stay away from. You couldn’t even do that for me.”

The air was sucked out of me in the seconds of silence that followed. Neema’s hand shot out to cover her mouth.

“Look at what it’s resulted in,” Shaun said.

“She lost her job?” William asked with much less bite.

“I asked for one thing. One thing. I told you, Rose is good. She’s too…”

“Too good for me,” William interrupted.

“That’s not what I said.”

“That’s what I’m hearing.” William’s voice shook as he spoke. Nearly as much as I was shaking.

There was a brief silence followed by heavy footsteps stomping toward us. Neema and I flew up the next stairwell and hurried to our room.

Shutting the door behind us, we stared at each other in silence.

Neema rubbed her hands across her face, her breath coming out in quick bursts, much like my own.

My heart pounded against my chest, and Neema found her words before I could. “Shaun told me William and their dad don’t get along, but what was that? I mean, that’s—that’s not simply not getting along. Am I being too sensitive?” she asked. She was rarely anxious, but with the upcoming wedding, her emotions had been on show and emphasized—all of them.

I tried to find the right words to say, but my mind had caught on something Shaun said, and Neema picked it up instantly.

“And Stacey? Rose, did you know?”

This was not part of our game. I didn’t know how to play this round. I knew we weren’t exclusive. We hadn’t discussed it. We didn’t go on dates. He was William—a charmer. And my ex-boyfriend proposed in front of him. I was in no position to be jealous over a man who hadn’t made me any promises. Yet I was horrifyingly jealous.

My silence answered her question, and she blinked away the same tears I was holding back. In all our years of friendship, Neema had been the strong one. The tough one. Whereas it only took a gentle breeze to twirl me into a spiral.

I reminded myself this wasn’t about me. Or William. I swallowed the lump in my throat.

“They’re big boys. They can figure it out. This doesn’t affect you and Shaun,” I whispered, steadying my voice. “You two are perfect. And I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“I thought Patrick’s proposal would be the curveball. I didn’t expect this.” Neema shut her eyes, taking deep, intentional breaths.

“There are still a few days before the wedding. Maybe they’ll sort it out. I hear siblings fight all the time.”

She nodded, but neither of us believed that.

The door across the hall slammed shut. Neema and I waited, listening for a second pair of footsteps. A moment later, Shaun entered the room without knocking, his face red with anger and tears shining in his eyes.

“I messed up,” he said, avoiding eye contact with me.

The door across the hallway slammed again, and we jumped. William’s recognizable footsteps walked past the door and down the hall.

There were a lot of things I wanted to say to Shaun, but he was a broken shell of a man in need of comfort—comfort I couldn’t give him and wasn’t sure I wanted to. I slipped through the door, leaving them alone to talk. My conversation with Shaun would happen eventually.

I ran down the hall and made my way to the parking area, where William stood behind his car, throwing his bag into the trunk.

“Where are you going?” My stomach clenched with a harshness I didn’t know was possible.

“I need to get out of here.” He banged the trunk closed and stormed to the driver’s side of the car.

I was rooted to the ground, afraid if I took a step toward him I’d fall apart. “Can we talk?”

He fumbled his keys as he attempted to unlock it. I’d never seen him so frantic.

I opened my mouth to ask him about Stacey, but my voice got caught in my throat at the redness in his eyes when he looked up at me.

“Rose, please. I can’t do this now.” His voice shook.

“Do what now?” I managed, each word almost hurting as it escaped me.

“This. Play this game.” He shut his eyes, pressing his fingers against his eyelids.

My heart cracked open at his words. This wasn’t a game to me. Not anymore. But when I tried to speak, when I wanted to ask him to reassure me, Shaun’s words struck me.

Was Shaun right? Was this a game for William?

The broken parts of me shattered.

When I said nothing, he shook his head and muttered under his breath, “Patrick is still in your spreadsheet, and even after all of this… You really don’t remember. I’m such an idiot.”

“What?” was all I got out, and I must have looked pathetic saying it because William’s entire expression softened with one look at me.

“Rose…”

He paused, and I thought he might walk over to me. I thought he might hold me. Instead, he froze before going ramrod straight. I turned in time to see Shaun marching up to us.

“I can’t be around him right now.” William’s voice cracked in a way I had never heard before. “We had a huge fight.” Inhaling a shaking breath, he opened his car door and dropped into the driver’s seat. “Rose, I just need time. I’m trying here. I’m really trying. I didn’t mean to screw all of this up, okay? Even though I should’ve known I would.” He groaned and shook his head. “Shaun was right about one thing: You’re too good, and as usual, I managed to ruin everything.”

“William,” Shaun said upon reaching us, but his brother was already in the car, and the engine drowned out our voices.

Shaking his head, William closed the door and shifted into gear. Then he drove off without another word, leaving me behind to face my aching heart.