Page 53 of My Brother's Teammates

He must be so disappointed in me right now, losing my job, his friends knowing before he did… Disappointment. Failure. Waste of?—

“Come in.” He steps back, swinging his arm wide in welcome.

Lydia’s standing over the chips and dip laid out on their kitchen island. She’s making guacamole from scratch—it’s the only good thing about her.

Fuck. That’s cruel. Just because I don’t know what Harrison sees in her, doesn’t mean she has no redeeming qualities. There has to be something good about her, or Harrison wouldn’t waste his time. And as long as she’s not fooling around with his friends, she’s a better woman than I am.

That said, I’m not sure their relationship is end game. I just don’t picture Harry with someone like her forever, so getting the secret recipe to her guac before it implodes is now on my to-do list.

“A blind date, really?” I quirk a brow at him.

He shrugs. “If I’d asked you to see me today, just us, would it have worked?”

Gnawing on my lip does nothing but tell him he’s right.

“See?” He points at the lip pinched between my teeth. “You wouldn’t have come. And we need to talk.”

Ugh. He couldn’t have just wanted me to come for game night, right? That would have been far too simple in this maze of secrecy and lies we’re ambling through.

Why do those words bring out the same reaction in me, no matter who they come from?

We need to talk.

Sure, we might, but that doesn’t mean I want to. I fold my arms. If he’s going to make me talk, I need some form of armor across my chest first. I gesture for him to go ahead.

He casts a glance over his shoulder, probably making sure Lydia hasn’t noticed I’m here yet, before taking me by the elbow and leading me to his bedroom.

“Why didn’t you tell me you lost your job?” His brow furrows. “And how did Jace know? Did Roman and Mateo know? How did my friends know before I did? And why? Why did he—they—know first, Charlie? Is there anything else I should know? Anything else my friends know that I don’t?”

His rapid-fire questions all land direct hits to my chest, knocking the air out of my lungs with each one.

Fuck.

Steeling myself, I momentarily brace for what I need to do. I need to add more lies on top of existing lies—to protect the guys, the team, and my brother from complete destruction.

It’s the only way.

If I tell him now that I’ve been living with them for days, he’ll go supernova, and the whole team will implode. With a game tomorrow night, that won’t end well for anyone.

I need to hold the lie.

I’m not sure if I’m trying to convince myself or reassure myself, but the decision is made.

I take a breath and school my face, scrambling to put on a casual mask when my insides feel anything but casual.

“Because you always put me on a pedestal, Harry. I hate disappointing you. I’m the family fuck-up, and this was just one more way that poor little Charlotte has made a mess of her life compared to her superstar big brother who has his shit together.” I suck in a big breath, hurrying on before he can say anything else.

“Jace knew because he and the guys—yes, they knew too—saw me on the day it happened. I was a mess, crying, sitting in my car downstairs. I came to tell you, but I couldn’t… I couldn’t face telling you I was a disappointment yet again.”

Another lie to add to the pile. Tears well in my eyes, not because I got fired, but because the stack of untruths building up inside of me is swelling like a sponge in water.

“I was sobbing next to a box of all my beloved possessions like a maniac. I thought the guys didn’t see me, or they’d walk on by, but they stopped. I couldn’t lie to them, but I begged them not to tell you. It’s my fault, Harrison, not theirs. I asked them not to tell you, at least not until I got something else lined up, so you wouldn’t feel like you had to fix me.”

I shake my head, blinking back the tears. I refuse to cry like I’m the victim when we’re all keeping secrets from Harrison, and all he wants is to protect me from the whole fucking world. “It was a simple case of wrong place, wrong time, Harry. I wouldn’t have told any of them if they hadn’t bumped into me.” I sniff, wiping at the hot tears as he grabs me in a giant hug and pulls me to him.

“Easy.” He pats my back as I try to compose myself. If Alec thought he was bagging a catch tonight, he was sorely mistaken. “It’s okay.” He grunts next to my ear. “I don’t agree with why you didn’t tell me, Peanut. You should be able to come to me with anything. But I understand now why they knew and I didn’t.”

He holds me back and searches my face. “You okay?”

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