Four Summers

“You could have told me,” I tell him. “All these year…you could have said something.” He’s been carrying that alone and it has to be killer.

“Yeah?” he sounds like he’s not sure if he believes me.

“It doesn’t matter to me. You’re still my brother and…I don’t think I’ve given you the credit you deserve all these years. I just didn’t know, man. I didn’t know you were holding all of that in and I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry you felt like you had to keep quiet about it and…I want you to know, I’ve never been more proud to be your bother than I am right now.”

I’ve obviously just said the wrong thing because Brandon looks like he’s about to be sick. “I’m sorry,” he whispers.

“What is it?” I scoot back, waiting for him to tell me something huge. Nothing prepares me for what he says.

“That second summer…Alec and I…”

“What?” I jerk off the couch and push to my feet. My world tilts, then things start to align. “Alec?”

“I mean, I kind of new that first summer, but I didn’t want to believe it. I tried to fight it, but we talked all that year. I thought maybe if I didn’t go back, I could try and forget everything. Then the second summer…we just got closer then, ya know? I know you hate him, but you don’t know him like I do, Nate. Not a whole lot happened that year, but yeah, we started…” Brandon trails off before picking up the conversation elsewhere. “We kept talking again all year after that, and then last summer…”

I shake my head. Not wanting to hear more. Somehow knowing exactly what he’s going to say. “Don’t.”

“I have to. I need you to understand. We were scared. No one could know. His dad…and college…football…” He’s throwing out all sorts of words, but not finishing a sentence.

“What are you even talking about? Alec’s been all over Charlotte her whole life. He hated me. Kicked any guy's ass who messed with her. He wanted to run The Village with her one day.”

One look at him tells me it was a lie; Alec was lying, just like Brandon did. That Alec wanted to use Charlotte the same way my brother did with Sadie. “Tell me,” I grit out, backing away.

“Charlie caught us that night. Alec went after her. He was freaked out, Nate. He thought she would tell and he was scared.”

“So he kissed her to make up for it? And you knew. You knew I was gutted all year and you never said anything!”

“Fuck you, Nate! That’s easy for you to say. You don’t get it! You’ll never get it unless you’ve experienced it.”

“What I don’t get is letting your brother be miserable for nine months. I loved her, man and you let me think she wanted him!”

“Gutted? What about Marisol? You moved on.”

“The way you did? You just admitted to me that you were with people you didn’t want, so fuck you, Brandon. I love her! We had all these plans and…and you all knew. Everyone knew, but me.” Now it’s me who’s pacing the room. “I was the only one in the dark. I was wrecked and all three of you could have said something to ease it, but no one did!” Another thought hits me and it takes everything inside me not to tackle my brother and kick his ass. “I lost her so you could what? Keep Alec? So you guys could have your secret?”

“No. That’s not it! We didn’t talk last year. It didn’t feel right. You don’t fucking get it, Nate!”

The downstairs door opens, and Alec and Charlotte walk in.

“You didn’t tell me,” is the first thing I say when she walks in.

Charlotte looks at Brandon, then at me and back to Brandon again, putting all the pieces together. Alec is right next to her. I can’t read the guarded expression on his face and I don’t want to.

“How could I, Nate? I wanted to, so bad, but it was their secret to tell. It…it wouldn’t have been right.”

I’ve always felt like I fit with Charlotte. Like we belonged, matched even though there are things about us that are so different. We made sense and I felt like I would always fit with her.

But I was wrong. Just like last summer, they’re on one side, and I’m on the other.

“No matter what, I would always do anything to make sure you weren’t hurt. Do you know what it felt like to see you with him? It was like you punched through my chest and ripped my heart out. You could have found a way. Someway to tell me something at least so I wouldn’t spend all that time wondering what I did wrong or if everything was a lie.”

“I spent months the same way!” Charlotte steps closer to me. “After the first summer you just dropped off the face of the Earth and left me hanging. Don’t you think that whole time I wondered what I did wrong?”

“No.” I shake my head. “That was different. We hadn’t spent the summer saying we loved each other.”

“So? Saying it doesn’t make it truer! I always knew I loved you. I did everything I could to tell you I didn’t want to kiss Alec, without telling something that wasn’t mine to share. You’re the one who chose not to trust me.”

At that, the room goes silent. I’m breathing heavy. Alec has walked over to Brandon. Charlotte and I are standing about five feet apart, staring at each other. She’s right. I’ve probably always known it. I’ve thought about it lately, how I didn’t trust her, when I should have.

Words are lost. I don’t know what to say. Brandon’s cell ringing makes it so I don’t have to.

“Dad? What’s wrong?” I hear my brother say. He pauses. “We’ll be right there!”

Brandon pushes around me and heads for the door. “We have to go! Mom’s having the baby and they can’t stop the delivery.”

Alec drives Brandon’s truck because we’ve both been drinking. How screwed up are we? Our mom is in the hospital, trying not to go into preterm labor, and we’re getting drunk. Not that I feel any kind of buzz now, but still.

No one says a word, except for Brandon reminding Alec how to get to the hospital. We go to Labor and Delivery.

One of the nurses we’ve seen before is at the desk when we get in. She gives us a sad look.

“You guys are going to have to wait here. They’re delivering right now. I should have some news for you soon, okay?”

My hands are shaking as I nod. We take a seat in the waiting room. My right leg bounces up and down, but I can’t make it stop. I feel like I’m going to shake out of my skin.

I don’t know what to feel right now. I’m scared to death for Mom and the baby. For Dad. Scared of losing the baby. Hurt from Charlotte and Brandon. Confused. Guilty for not believing her or not realizing my brother held such an important part of himself from me.

I lean my elbows on my knees, head down, and try to take a couple deep breaths. Without letting myself think, I reach over and grab Charlotte’s hand. None of our problems matter right now. She locks our fingers together and leans into me. Kisses my shoulder and whispers, “I’m here. Whatever you need, I’m here.”

Just knowing there’s someone there to share some of the pain, helps.

My eyes find Brandon. Tears stain his face. He’s shaking just like I am. I see the fear in his eyes. Alec sitting beside him…yet he can’t comfort Brandon the way Charlotte does me.

Or I guess he can, but they’re scared. I cock my head, trying to figure out what that would feel like. To be so lost and freaked out of your own mind, but the fear of letting someone else see who you are is stronger.

It’s not only my pain that Brandon’s fear won the battle with, but his own. Yeah, he wasn’t honest with me, but it wasn’t to hurt me. And seeing him hear and knowing he’d probably like to have someone share some of his burden the way Charlotte does with me, shows me he’s suffered too. Longer than I ever have. Alec is within his reach, but he can’t go to him. Someone to support him, but he’d suffer alone. I hate it.

“Go somewhere,” tumbles out of my mouth.