The other Brother

The midnight call

I’m not sure when or how but at some point during the night—-several drinks in, no doubt—-we’d ended up in Tyler’s room.

I sat at the foot of his bed, legs folded, hands in my lap. I must have looked a mess, drunken with my caramel colored hair left down in its natural messy waves, wearing sweatpants and a wifebeater top. I was at the point of drunk where my face felt droopy and my tongue felt numb and everything made me want to giggle. For the most part. There were random moments where I remembered just why I was drunk and recalled what a terrible day I had. Like now. “Can you please just call him?” I whined, just as desperate and pathetic as I must have sounded to him.

Tyler sat at the head of his bed across from me, his legs dangled off the side of the bed. As I looked him over, I realized we were wearing practically matching attire. He too wore a wifebeater but instead of grey sweatpants, he wore a grey pair of sweat shorts. His dark locks of hair were perfectly messy and his usually bright eyes were bloodshot from drinking and being up so late.

For a brief moment, he pursed his lips and stared at me, as if contemplating whether or not he wanted to grant me my wish. “Fine.” He agreed at last and gave a soft chuckle. I wasn’t sure if he was laughing at how ridiculous the situation was—-or how absolutely pathetic I must have been to him. This was my third time asking him to call his brother for me after all. I was a broken record at this point.

I watched as he pulled his phone off of his mahogany nightstand and called his brother. Courteously, he put the phone on speaker for me to listen in on the conversation without struggle.

The phone rang once, twice, three times——and then….

“Why are you calling me at midnight?” Trent sounded slightly annoyed with his little brother. “There better be some kind of emergency, dude.”

Tyler looked at me and rolled his eyes at the way the phone call was starting off.

“Yeah, bro. Kind of,” he lied. As if there was something urgent he needed his older brother for. “Your girl is looking for you and you’re not here. I don’t know what the hell I'm supposed to tell her.”

I could hear Trent chuckle on the other line. It made me feel sick all over again. He thought this was funny?

“Ty, I’m with he baddest f*****g b***h right now,” my jaw clenched as my lover of three years spoke. What did she have that I didn’t? “I dumped Ava, bro. Trust me. Major f*****g upgrade. Just wait til I bring her home.”

Bring her home? How long did I have until that happened? There was one thing I knew for certain and it was that I did not want to be here at the same time as his little upgrade.

“Can’t wait,” Tyler said but his words lacked enthusiasm. “Anyway. Ava? What do I tell her? She’s kind of losing her s**t worrying about you.” It wasn’t entirely a lie but it also was entirely the truth.

“Baby get off the phone and get back in bed,” a woman’s voice could be heard in the distance on the phone call. My heart sank into the pit of my stomach and suddenly I felt like I couldn’t get in enough air to breathe. The walls were closing in on me.

“Right. Just tell her I left town to clear my head and I’ll be back in a few days.” A few days?! “I have this really nice couples sweet for the next four days. I’ll be back early Monday morning. Good lookin’ out little bro.” And with that, Trent hung up the phone.

Tyler was silent. He set his phone aside and glanced over at me apologetically. “This is exactly why I said ‘no’ the first two times you asked.” A frown tugged at the corners of his mouth.

I was still trying to digest the fact that my boyfriend had gone off on a multiple day rendezvous with the woman he had been cheating on me with. The breakup was clearly having zero impact on him. In fact, he seemed excited, like he was thriving and had never been happier. I decided in that very moment that I hated him. That I would make him hurt just as much as he had hurt me. Fair was fair after all. An eye for an eye.

“It’s fine,” I lied, a bitterness in my tone.

“Ava…” he started, that frown returning to his perfect face.

“It’s whatever.” I insisted.

Getting up from his bed, I stumbled as my feet landed on the solid ground. I was dizzy from the booze but the phone call had effectively sobered me up, even if just a little bit. I didn’t feel giggly and light anymore. I felt down and heavy.

“Ava, where are you going?” Tyler was quick to follow my lead and get up from the bed but I was in no mood to entertain him anymore. I wanted to be alone.

Ignoring him, I headed for his opened bedroom door and walked into the hall.

“Ava—“

“I’m going to bed,” I cut him off quickly and started down the hall for Trent’s room.

I had a lot to figure out. What to do, where to go, how I was going to get my life sorted out in the next four days. But right now, I needed peace and quiet and a night of sleep to wash away the drunkness and get me into the right headspace. I needed clarity and I wouldn’t find that by being drunk in Tyler’s bed.