Page 139 of The Penalty

“Well, I’m sorry, but did you hear me? I love you!”

“You love me but you don’t know my name?” he asks, but he’s fighting a smile.

“What is Rhys short for?”

“Nothing, it’s just Rhys.”

“That seems weird,” I say like all names aren’t weird. They are just sounds we made up to call people like dogs. In fact, come to think of it language is just weird, and I don’t like it.

“Do you really love me?” Rhys asks.

I nod very seriously.

“Then why didn’t you say it back?”

“Because I was in my mind palace thinking about how happy I am and I forgot.”

“Well I guess that tracks….”

Standing in the lobby of the fancy as fuck hotel the next morning, Rhys’ phone buzzes with a text.

“Car is here,” he says, reaching for me. I link our fingers, and we grab our bags to head outside, side by side.

We’re barely past the doors when Rhys stops and I’m forced to, as well.

“Fuck,” he says under his breath and I look up to find my brother standing there with his lip trembling, hands shaking, and tears threatening to fall.

“I fucking knew it.” The words are harsh through his clenched teeth. “Both of you have been lying to me for fucking months. How could you?”

“Tobi—” Rhys starts but is cut off.

“Shut up!” Tobi yells. “I don’t want to hear any more of your lies!”

My heart is fractured and ripping apart a little more with every word. We knew this was going to happen, but we pretended it wasn’t. It’s our fault he’s hurt. My fault.

“Tobs, I’m sorry.” Each word hurts to get out.

He turns those betrayed eyes on me. “Get fucked, Theodore.” He laughs but there’s no humor in it. “I guess you already are. Congrats on stealing the one thing, the one person, I had that wasn’t yours.”

What the hell does that mean?

He laughs that broken sound again but ends with a sob. “I hate you.”

“That’s not fair,” Rhys moves closer to Tobi. “This isn’t all on him.”

“No, you knew how I felt about him—” he points an angry finger at me “—and you did this behind my back anyway.” Tobi sucks in a shuddering breath and points to Rhys. “You liedto my face.Some best friend you are. I’ve seen him over at your place. A lot more than just when you needed to talk about whatever bullshit was going on with your brothers. There’s nothingfakeabout what’s going on here.” He looks ready to throw hands, so I step between them. If Tobi wants to hit someone, it’ll be me. I more than deserve it at this point.

He keeps talking to Rhys like I’m not there. “You are so oblivious, so wrapped up in your own shit, that you didn’t see me sitting right fucking there when you walked past.”

What the fuck? I checked his location before Rhys got there, every time. Did he shut it off? Hide his phone in some other location?

“I even saw you after I texted you, watched you look at the screen, and ignore it.” His voice breaks on the last two words. His breathing is a mess and he’s starting to lose his composure. He’s starting to cry and it’s a knife in my gut. I can’t take my eyes off my brother’s face, off the agony etched into every line. We did this to him.Idid this to him.

“And you.” He looks murderous for a second but in the next blink, he’s broken. His shoulders droop, his hands loosen at his side, and the tension in his face goes away. He shrugs and shakes his head. “No point in wasting my words for something you’ll never understand anyway.”

My brother turns and walks away without a backward glance. Not that I blame him.

I’m the enemy. I am a traitor. But it wasn’t against my team. It was against my own brother.

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