Page 57 of Pocketful of Shame

"He wouldn’t," Sketch bit out, clearly agitated. "But he still did. Which is why I don’t –"

"Shh!" Presley cut in. "Focus on your first answer. Chriswouldn’t. He lovedyoumore than life, and he knew that you lovedhermore than life. Neither one of you would betray the person you loved unless…"

"Unless we had nochoice," Sketch filled in, eyes narrowing. "What. The. Actual. Fuck?"

"Oh, keep listening, it gets better," Presley said. "Chris was seeing someone around the time ya'll broke up."

"What?" I squeaked out, mouth hanging open.

"Oh yeah." Pres drummed his fingers on the table while he spoke. "And it was pretty serious, too. A long-term deal. But one day, out of the blue, a couple of months after you guys broke up, Chris ends his relationship. No reason. No explanation. It was over." He snapped his fingers. "Just like that. The following day, he shows up to school holding hands with Romi."

"What?" Sketch narrowed his eyes. "Chris wasn’t dating anyone."

"Yes, Sketch," Presley replied. "He was."

"No," I said, agreeing with Sketch. "He wasn't. I would've have known."

"Exactly," Sketch added. "And so would I. He was my twin. No offense, Quinton, but I would know."

"Oh really?" Presley countered hotly. "Well,no offense, but did you know that your brother wasgay?"

Chapter Nineteen

Sketch

Too stunned to take it all in, my first reaction when Presley dropped the bombshell was to laugh. Not at the fact that he was saying my brother was gay. Gay or straight, it didn’t matter a damn to me. No, I laughed because I was two seconds away from losing my fucking mind. If Pres was right, if he was telling the truth, then I…hell, I didn’t know what to think.

"It was you, wasn't it?" Romi asked, eyes glued to Presley, who was tapping on the table like Happy fucking Gilmore. "Oh my god." Clearly putting the pieces together quicker than I could, she reached across the table and placed her hand on his. "You were in a relationship with Chris?"

Presley dropped his gaze to his notebook, giving only the slightest nod in confirmation.

"Pres." Swallowing deeply, she tucked her hair behind her ears and released a sigh. "I didn’t know."

"I know." He gave her hand a small squeeze. "And it's okay, baby girl. I'm not mad."

"Uh, well,Iam," I declared, glaring at the two of them. "I'm mad," I continued, knees bopping restlessly. "In fact, I'm very fucking mad."

"Sketch," Romi gasped, elbowing me in the ribs. "Don’t be a jerk."

"Oh, please." I rolled my eyes. "I don’t care that Chris was in a relationship with Pres. I care that Chris was in a relationship withyou."

Her cheeks turned bright pink and she dropped her gaze to her hands.

"He was gay?" I looked to Pres. "Chris was gay?"

Presley nodded. "Yes, he was gay, Sketch, and no, I'm not joking around. I'm being one hundred percent real with you here."

"Then why did he ask me out?" Romi blurted, looking dumbfounded. "Why did he lie to me?"

"You tell me," Presley replied with a shrug. "Because I've been dying to know why I was tossed aside for a vagina."

"Yeah, fuck this." Furious, I jerked to my feet. "Let me out, Ro," I instructed, needing to get out of this damn booth before I blew a fucking head gasket. "I need to not be near people right now."

"No, you need to stay," she argued, catching my wrist. "Because we need to figure this out."

"What's to figure out?" I demanded, allowing her to pull me back down. "I think it's pretty fucking clear we've all been played."

"Yeah, butwhy?" she countered, keeping ahold of my hand. "Just calm down and breathe." Giving my fingers a reassuring squeeze, she turned back to Presley and said, "We're listening, Pres. Tell us what you're thinking."

---