Page 40 of I Knew You
“How many other Brams do you know?” I snapped.
“I only want to ensure I’m working with the right information. What’s he doing crawling out of the woodwork? Please tell me he looks like an old high school gym teacher.” I could hear the eagerness in her vitriol.
“No. He’s even hotter than before.”
“Of course he is! The bastard.” I rolled my eyes, even though she couldn’t see them.
“Whit sent him to help me move in. But we’ve…been together.”
I waited for her to respond for at least thirty seconds. “What do you mean by ‘ been together?”
I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, then spoke. “I gotto Grams’ house, and Whit had completely remodeled the whole thing. Bram did the remodel work. They are still best friends. I wasn’t expecting everything to be so different, and I had a panic attack. All of this was more emotional than I thought it would be.”
“Oh no, I’m so sorry. I know how much that place meant to you.”
My heart sank. “Thanks. Then Bram showed up to help me unload my things from the truck and caught me losing it. Before I knew it, I was on my way to his house, which just so happens to be my childhood dream house. Then I fell in love with his dog. Her name is Lakey. Anyway, we got deep?—”
“Julianna Joy East, did you sleep with him?”
My mouth flew open. “Of course not! Let me finish my story.”
She scoffed. “Blah, fine. This is weird, but finish.”
I picked invisible lint off my lap to keep nerves at bay. “There’s not much more to it. I accidentally fell into his bedroom and saw him naked.”
Silence sliced deep from the other end of the phone.
“Kallie? You there?”
“You let him fuck you, didn’t you?” Her words were accusatory and made me roll my eyes again. She was dramatic, and I loved her for it sometimes, but this was not the moment.
“No. I swear on my life. I slept in his bed with the dog?—”
“I don’t even know what to say to all this right now.”
“Well, you better get to dishing out that bestie wisdom because I have two more minutes, tops.” My voice was a hiss.
I listened for any signs that Bram had returned inside, but didn’t hear anything. Kallie was uncharacteristically quiet, and I drummed my fingers on my thigh.
“Please, tell me?—”
“Let me get this straight,” she interrupted. “You stayed at his house? You slept in his bed?”
“And he wants me to come back and stay with him.” I bit my lip. “He’s worried about my well-being.”
“Are you worried about being alone?”
I thought about it for a moment. “Not really. If I ever did go down, I could call him, and he would rush over. Or I’d call 911. I always keep my phone on me for that purpose anyway.”
“Do you think he’s asking you because of the guilt he feels over the accident and the whole crushing your heart thing? Like he’s trying to make himself feel better about the past?”
“Maybe? Probably. We didn’t discuss it in depth, but he said last night he regretted everything, so he obviously still thinks about it.”
“As he should,” she muttered. “He should be on his hands and knees, licking your feet clean. I hate him, Julianna. I hate what he did to you. You need to get away from him as soon as possible.”
I sighed audibly, already tired of the conversation. I don’t know what I expected from Kallie, but she provided me with no clarity.
“Bram and I have a history,” I replied. “We made mistakes. Both of us. I need you to let go of your anger and give me actual advice.”
