Page 106 of Puck with Karma
More chaos ensues, with all of them raising their voices and yelling at each other. Van gets on the phone with someone, and walks away. Xander is on the ground, still lying on his back, with both hands up to his nose. Bran is in the same position, but head to the side, spitting out blood every so often.
Mallory is pacing back and forth, and me… I’m just standing by the car, crying my heart out about the entire situation.
“Come on, girl.” Van takes me by the arm and walks me back to the elevator. “It’s not that bad.”
“You should go to the hospital with them,” Mallory snaps at him when he sees us approaching.
“Oh,” he looks confused. “I thought you’d be going. I…”
“I’m not going.”
She turns her head away from us, not saying a word when we get in, or during our trip back upstairs. When we get to the door to Bran’s apartment, Van waits until we’re both inside before saying his goodbyes.
“I’ll keep you both posted.”
Mallory stomps over to the bedroom she’s been sharing with Brandon, leaving me alone by the entrance. When she slams the door closed, I wince, wondering how things could change this fast.
I’m not sure what to do with myself now, and I feel out of place. Since I’ve been here only for a short period of time, I don’tfeel comfortable roaming around. In the end, I go back to the spare bedroom where I’ve been sleeping since getting here.
My head hurts and my eyes feel swollen. All I want to do is lie down and sleep, but I have way too much going on through my head. I don’t think I can calm down enough to rest.
I pick up my phone and look up Xander’s number, wondering if I should text or call him. I’m not even sure which one I’d be more comfortable with. I don’t know if I can handle hearing his voice right now. My emotions are too raw.
Me: I can’t believe you’d kiss Mallory right in front of me like that
My breath hitches in the back of my throat when I see the three dots popping on the screen almost immediately. He’s responding.
Xander: I can’t believe you’d just flaunt your fiancé in front of the world after you let me fuck you for weeks!
My hands start shaking in an instant. I’m not sure what he’s talking about. I never flaunted Wesley in front of anyone. Not to mention, he’s not even my real fiancé, and…
The phone rings, Xander’s name showing on the screen.
“You have some nerve,” he yells at me as soon as I answer, the words coming out all muffled like. “You fuck with my head to the point where I can’t think straight! You make me out to be the man you’re cheating on that fucker with! I can’t believe that’s who you’re marrying!”
He continues yelling in my ear, but I can’t focus on all the words. There’s just too much information coming at me at once.
“How do you know Wesley?” My voice comes out hoarse from all the crying, and that is the only thing that throws me off from what he’s telling me.
Dead air meets my ear, and I wonder if he hung up on me, but when I lower the phone, I see that the call still shows as active.
“Who the fuck is Wesley, Abigail?” His voice sounds congested, I’m sure an effect from my brother punching him in the face.
Now it’s my turn to be stunned into silence. He’s been raging at me about my fiancé, but he doesn’t know his name? Unless… Our last fight before I left Minnesota pops into my head, and I think I understand where his head is.
“Xander,” I whisper into the speaker. “Who are you talking about when you say fiancé?”
“Brandon motherfuckin’ Karlsberg,” he snaps at me. “And you better tell me that Wesley is his middle name, and you’re not fucking over yet another person!”
“Brandon is my brother.”
I finally say the words I’ve kept inside for the longest time. It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. The relief I feel now at confessing to Xander what should’ve never been a huge secret is unparalleled.
I giggle like an idiot, but then stop when I realize Xander is not laughing with me. Or at me. Or… laughing at all.
“Brandon Karlsberg is your brother,” he asks for confirmation.
“Yes!”
