Nothing and Everything

RONNIE

~“Enemy, familiar friend,”~

~My beginning and my end,”~

~Broken truth, whispering lies,”~

~And it hurts again…”~

~– RED~

***

I spent the next few days dodging calls from Oliver and Laura.

Their betrayal was a fresh wound, deeper than anything I’d experienced in the past few months.

I’d thought Laura and I had patched things up, and I’d started to see Oliver as a brother I could trust and love wholeheartedly.

They’d both done things to earn my trust, but they’d kept one huge secret from me. I had to find out on my own.

To say I was devastated would be an understatement. I wasn’t ready to talk to either of them. I needed time to cool down before I could face them and express my feelings.

When I told Frey about it during our session, he seemed concerned.

“They should have told you,” he agreed, “but I don’t think avoiding them is the answer.”

“Why not?” I asked, my face twisting in a grimace. “I need space. They need to know they hurt me.”

“They hid the fact that your best friend slept with your stepbrother and is now pregnant with his child after a secret relationship. That’s a big deal.”

“I’m not saying they were right,” Frey said, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder and offering a soft smile.

“I’m just saying they probably understand how much they hurt you by your reaction. Maybe you should cut them some slack.”

I looked into Frey’s purplish-gray eyes. I felt a calming warmth spread through me, but also a spark of something more.

Frey often seemed too perfect—always understanding, always right. There had to be something off about him, but I didn’t want to find out what it was.

Despite the drama with Oliver and Laura, Frey had been pulling away emotionally.

It was ironic, really. I was usually the one to create distance with men.

The fact that he was doing it to me now spoke volumes about our relationship. I wanted to talk about it, but Frey wouldn’t say a word.

“I don’t know,” was all I could say. I couldn’t voice the unspoken words, the ones Frey was determined to keep hidden.

Frey stood up and helped me to my feet.

“Until you decide, let’s start our Krav Maga training,” he said, and we began the session.

By the end, I was drenched in sweat and my muscles were screaming.

I said goodbye to the man I loved, promising to see him next time, and headed home. After a shower, I got ready for my night shift at Bernard’s.

On my way, Lucy called.

“Hey girl,” I said, smiling as I put her on speaker and continued driving.

“Hey you,” she replied, her laughter filling the car. “What’s up?”

“Not much,” I said, taking a turn. “What about you?”

“That’s the thing,” she said, her voice turning apologetic. “I can’t meet you tonight.”

We’d planned to grab a drink together.

“Why not?” I asked, my brow furrowing.

She sighed. “My fiancé’s family invited us to a fancy dinner. I can’t really say no.”

“I see,” I said, disappointment creeping into my voice. “Well, have fun.”

“Hopefully,” she said, chuckling. “Thanks. Maybe we can meet up tomorrow night instead?”

“Sure,” I said, “just text me the time and place and I’ll be there.”

“See you then,” she said, and the call ended.

When I arrived at Bernard’s, I parked and got out. Drake was waiting for me outside, and he grinned when he saw me.

“Hey you,” he said, wrapping an arm around me in a friendly hug. “Why the long face?”

“I’m just bummed I can’t meet a friend,” I said, managing a smile. “But now I’m getting a hug from another friend, so I’m good.”

“At least I’m good for something.” He laughed.

We walked into the upscale restaurant together.

“So, what’s going on with your…situation?” he asked, giving me a meaningful look.

He was referring to Laura and Oliver. I’d told him about them a few days ago.

“Nothing new,” I said, my brief moment of amusement fading. “I’m still not talking to them.”

“Are you sure that’s the best way to handle it?” he asked, concern shining in his electric-blue eyes.

“It’s all I can do right now,” I told him, and memories of that day flooded my mind. “I can’t get over the fact they hid it from me, and probably everyone else, for so long.”

“It’s understandable, but it must be exhausting,” Drake said, giving me a sympathetic squeeze.

“Oliver is your brother, and Laura is your best friend. You need to talk to them. They’re both important to you.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” I snapped, then immediately regretted it. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, pressing a comforting kiss to my temple. “Take all the time you need. I’m sure they understand you need to…process.”

I managed a weak grin. “It sounds funny when you put it like that.”

“That’s the whole idea,” he said, pointing at my half-smile. “See? You’re not gloomy anymore.”

I rolled my eyes and laughed as we walked into the staff room, where Jeff, Bryan, Tara, and Darcy were hanging out.

Drake left my side to greet Bryan, who slapped him on the back and said, “Hey, Adams,” while Drake returned the gesture and said, “Hey, Buckley.”

I was about to discuss my upcoming shifts with Jeff when Tara suddenly linked her arm with mine.

“Hey,” she said, her hazel eyes sparkling, “are you and Drake a thing?”

Caught off guard, I stared at her. “What?”

“You guys walked in practically arm in arm,” Darcy chimed in, nodding in agreement.

“And he’s all over you,” Tara added with a hint of excitement.

Laughing a bit awkwardly at their interpretation, I said, “No way, Drake and I are just friends. Seriously.”

Their faces fell. Clearly, they were hoping for a more exciting story.

Luckily, before they could dig any deeper, Jeff came over and I was able to discuss my shifts with him.

***

The shift was going smoothly.

I made a good amount of tips, joked with my coworkers, and teased Jeff about being completely unaware of Tara and Darcy’s crush on him.

By the time my break rolled around, I was in high spirits and wasn’t thinking about upsetting things like Oliver and Laura or Frey’s feelings for me.

As I was heading into the kitchen to grab a bite to eat, someone grabbed my hand.

I turned to see Drake, and his serious expression immediately brought my good mood crashing down.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“There’s someone here to see you,” he said, nodding towards the kitchen entrance. When I turned to look, I saw Laura.

A chill ran through me.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, my voice surprisingly emotionless.

Laura flinched, and when I looked at her closely, I saw she looked terrible.

Her blonde hair was a mess, her blue eyes were red and puffy with dark circles underneath, indicating she’d been crying and hadn’t slept much. She also looked pale and desperate.

Despite my cold demeanor, worry crept into my heart. What was wrong with her? It couldn’t just be about me.

“Drake,” I said, turning to my friend. “Can you give us a moment?”

He nodded and left. Then it was just me and Laura.

“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice cracking, and suddenly she collapsed to the floor and started crying.

I couldn’t maintain my cold front anymore. I went over and crouched next to her.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, pushing aside the wave of anger I’d been holding back because of her betrayal.

“I—I know you’re mad at me,” she said shakily, “a-and I know you don’t want to see or talk to me. But I needed to talk to someone.”

“Spit it out, Laura,” I said impatiently, my worry turning into fear. “Is something wrong with the baby?”

Laura looked up at me and the despair in her eyes had nothing to do with the baby.

“It’s Oliver,” she whispered, hugging herself. “He… He said he doesn’t want anything to do with me.”

I froze. “What?”

“It’s because of you,” she sobbed, “because he doesn’t want to hurt you. He ended things with me, he said he’ll still be there for me because of the baby, but any relationship we had… is over…”

Honestly? I couldn’t believe Oliver’s audacity.

“That’s ridiculous,” I said angrily, “who does he think he is? To leave you just because I’m upset?”

Laura looked at me, clearly confused. “But you’re upset because we’re together!”

“No, that’s not why I’m upset!” I said, surprised she didn’t understand. “I’m upset that you hid it from me! That you hid the fact that your baby is actually my niece!”

She flinched. “I didn’t mean to, I wanted to tell you, but Oliver and I agreed–”

Not wanting to hear her excuses, I cut her off.

“I’m upset because you decided I didn’t deserve to know.”

“But if I put my anger aside, the fact that you two are together actually makes me happy, since I know you’ve liked him for a long time and I think you could be good together.”

“But my anger has nothing to do with that—it’s about the fact that you lied to me.”

Laura seemed stunned, and she was about to say something when a familiar voice said, “So that’s what this is all about.”

We both turned to the kitchen door, where Oliver stood, arms crossed, his eyes soft.

“I get it now,” he said.

“O-Oliver?” Laura’s voice was weak.

My brother stepped closer and wrapped his arms around Laura, helping her up and continuing to hold her.

“I didn’t mean to end things with you,” he told her quietly. “I just wanted to hear the truth about Ronnie’s feelings.”

I stood there, dumbfounded, when I realized what Oliver had done.

He’d broken up with Laura on purpose, knowing she would come to me and I would soften towards her and tell her why I was so upset, and then he would come in and make me talk to him as well.

For a moment, I didn’t know whether to applaud him for his deep understanding of how I worked or to slap both of them.

Instead of doing either, something else crept into me. Something dark and cruel from the time I’d been Veronica. Something that made me revert back to my former weak self.

My face hardened, my eyes narrowed, and when I saw my stepbrother and friend laughing, talking, and then kissing right in front of me, I spoke in a voice that didn’t sound like my own.

“Get out.”

They both spun around to face me.

“What?” Oliver asked, his face twisted in confusion.

“Get out,” I repeated, my voice eerily calm and my eyes dry. “I don’t have time for your drama. I have work to do.”

I brushed past them and walked into the restaurant, ignoring their calls after me.

I found Jeff and told him, “I’m giving up my break. I need work to do.”

Jeff didn’t question me.

“There’s a private dinner in one of the booths on the second floor,” he informed me. “They just went in, and now they’re yours.”

“Thank you,” I said and headed toward the second floor, hoping that by the time I returned downstairs, Oliver and Laura would have taken the hint and left.

Reaching the second floor, I approached the occupied booth and forced a polite smile onto my face.

“Good evening—”

I stopped in my tracks, my mind taking a few moments to process what I was seeing.

A man and a woman in their late fifties sat at the head of the table.

The man was handsome and fit for his age, tall and broad-shouldered with hazel eyes and a mop of dark brown hair, messy and unruly. His golden skin tone was distinctively familiar.

The woman was beautiful, with chocolate-brown curly hair, a tall and curvy figure, ivory skin, and dark blue eyes. Midnight-blue eyes.

On one side of the table sat Jax Cole, looking as handsome as ever with his dark brown hair, messy as usual, and those midnight-blue eyes.

He looked exactly like the older man, clearly his father, and although he looked nothing like the woman, those similar eyes told me this woman was his mother.

Next to Jax sat the woman who’d been with him that day at the mall, Tally.

She was just as beautiful as I remembered, with her long brown hair filled with natural golden highlights, her hazel eyes that matched Jax’s father’s, her model-like slender figure, and golden skin.

She was obviously Jax’s father's daughter, but she bore no resemblance to the mother.

The answer to why was on the other side of the table, where two people I knew all too well sat.

Lucy Danvers, of all people, was sitting there, looking as pretty as ever with her ginger hair, green eyes, cute freckles, and her creamy-white skin, almost glowing in the dim light of the restaurant.

Her hand, the one with the engagement ring on it, was held by the man sitting next to her.

That man was Frey Holmes, looking as handsome and gorgeous as ever, with his thick dark mohawk, those magnificent purplish-gray eyes, and his tall, ripped body.

His face, while undoubtedly masculine, bore a resemblance to the woman in her fifties. To the woman who was clearly Jax’s mother.

Jax, Tally, Frey, and Lucy were all looking at me with different expressions.

Jax with complete astonishment, Tally with mild surprise, Lucy with a baffled look, and Frey with something akin to frustration.

My shock was so great, I stood there frozen, mouth agape, and eyes so wide it was a wonder they didn’t pop out of my face.

The crushing realizations hit me so hard, so fast, that I was somewhat surprised I could still breathe.

Frey’s half-brother, the one his mother hid her pregnancy with from Frey’s father, was Jax.

Tally was Jax’s half-sister from his father's side, and was Frey’s stepsister, which made her the woman who broke Frey’s heart.

And to top it all off, Lucy, who told me she was going for a dinner with her fiancé, was here, her hand intertwined with Frey’s, which made him her fiancé. Which meant he was engaged.

Which answered so many of my questions about what he felt for me.

Whatever it was, ~if~ it was, meant nothing, because he was engaged.

The only man I had ever truly loved was engaged. To my friend. And he was my former lover’s brother.

Everything clicked into place now. I finally understood so many of the things Frey said and didn’t say.

Someone asked, “How long?” and it took me a few moments to realize that that someone was me. “How long have you known about all this, Frey?”

Frey didn’t answer. He gave me a look of utter despair and apology. He said nothing.

I didn’t want the answer. I didn’t want anything.

So, before any of them could say anything, before Jax could jump up and try to say something, I turned on my heels and ran as far away as I could from that booth of hell.

As far as I could from Bernard’s. As far as I could toward home.

I didn’t want anyone to hear my heart shattering to pieces.