Page 111 of Collateral Damage
“You’ve worked so hard,” he continues. “Your drinking habits have really improved lately. I hate to see you go back there, you know?”
He cares about me, but I’m defensive anyway, dangerous confessions sitting on the tip of my tongue.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I snap.
He stiffens, giving me a patronizing look, and I kind of want to punch him.
“I’ve been here through all of it, remember? You made an effort to control your drinking for the last two years. Don’t pretend you haven’t.”
“I’m on vacation.”
He doesn’t take the bait. “What the hell happened last night?”
God damn. This is not my idea of a good time.
“What happened?” I shake my head. “You tell me, Ethan. Oh wait, you can’t. You were busy fucking your new girl.”
Well, that was the wrong thing to say.
His glare is harsh. “Don’t talk about Arden like she’s some girl I want to hook up with. I’m in love with her. You know that.”
I swallow hard. “You… you don’t know what I’m going through. You’re in your own little world with her. Don’t pretend like you didn’t ditch me last night and now have a right to question why I got drunk.”
His jaw ticks. “You told me to go with her. Don’t act like a victim.”
“What do you want from me, then?”
He sighs but doesn’t leave. It would be a hell of a lot easier if he gave up like he used to.
“You do what you need to do, but I’m always going to watch out for you. Sure, I’ve been distracted the last few weeks, but I know you well enough to realize something is going on with you. You’re acting like college-Cooper, not mature-adult Cooper who has his shit together.”
Fuck.
Nerves race through my system, unraveling my secret shame. I’ve kept my feelings for Sybil to myself for so long that the idea of telling Ethan makes my stomach churn. If I don’t tell himnow, I might never tell him. At least this way, there doesn’t have to be a secret between us anymore.
“Fine,” I say. “I’ll tell you why I’m so messed up.”
He shifts his weight to face me better, eyes open and expectant. “I’m listening.”
“I’m in love with someone I can’t have.”
He frowns, clearly thrown off guard. “Who is she?”
I release a slow breath, the will to keep this secret any longer deflating with my lungs. I look him straight in the eyes when I say it.
“Sybil.”
The confession comes with an immediate sense of relief, and as I watch his hardened face soften, a chasm opens inside my chest, letting my brother in again.
“You’re in love with Sybil Laurence?” He sounds incredulous.
I nod, and he stares at me in disbelief.
“How long has this been a thing? We’ve barely seen her in years.”
I shrug. “Since we were kids, I guess.”
He blinks rapidly. “Fuck. Why didn’t you say something?”
