Chapter 6: Gareth
What just happened? I’d been asking myself that same question since the events of last night. My mind raced through all the things I could have done differently, all the possibilities, and hindsight was beating me up. Feelings of fear and remorse dueled for prominence within me. Things were going so well until Dina showed up. Dina was an old lover of mine, but we’d barely spoken since we parted ways. Dina had always been possessive of me and she probably wanted to claim me in public because she saw me with Becca. Either way, what she did could cost me Becca. I needed to talk to someone, so I decided to call my brother, Scott. He was my best friend and confidant, the only one I could talk to who would tell me the truth.
"What's up, little bro?" he said, immediately he picked up the call.
I sighed. "Nothing much, I just need your advice on something." I wasn't even bothered by the fact that he was calling a thirty-two-year-old man ’little bro’. I had too much on my mind right now.
"Uh-oh," he said. "This sounds serious."
"Well, it isn't. Not really. It kinda is though."
"What happened bro?"
"It's this girl…"
"Oh, a girl," he interrupted.
He teased me for a while before I was able to continue talking. I told him about how we met, how I felt, and about what happened last night.
"Gareth." I was shocked because he never called me by my name. It was always little bro.
"Yes?"
"How do you feel about this girl?"
"It's hard to explain, Scott. I want to be with her all the time, just to listen to her talk. I want to hold her, touch her and keep her safe. I want to make sure she's happy and smiling all the time."
"Woah, slow down there, little bro. Tell me about her."
"She's so beautiful, in and out. You'd love her. The way she talks is so mesmerizing, how she walks, her smile is amazing. It could light up the whole of London. She's smart too. She's brought a couple of ideas these past few days that I know would be very good for the business."
"Oh wow," Scott said. There was a long silence after that. "It's more serious than I thought.
I was confused. "What is?"
"My brother is in love."
"What? That's crazy."
"Is it though?"
"Yes, it is." I kept quiet for a while, contemplating what he’d said.
"Have you told her though?" my brother asked.
"Have I told her what?"
"Have you told her how you feel?"
"N-no."
"Well, you should."
"You're right," I muttered.
"What was that?"
"I said you're right."
"I know I am."
I rolled my eyes a little.
"I'll go tell her how I feel now."
"Woah,” Scott said, stopping me in my tracks. “You can’t just rush in there and tell her how you feel. She won't listen to you. Give her space, some time to cool down then you can tell her after. Give her till tomorrow."
I sighed a long and deep sigh. "I guess you're right."
"I always am, little bro."
"Whatever," I said with a smile. My brother was annoying but that was one of the reasons I loved him. Beyond all the jokes and laughs, we told each other the truth.
"Bye bro, and don't forget to tell her how you feel."
"I won't. Bye."
I tossed the phone on the bed and proceeded to stare at the ceiling. I really hoped Becca would hear me out when I talked to her. I couldn't get myself to sleep as thoughts of how I would approach my talk with her. Things like this were always easier said than done and the butterflies in my belly grew more intense as I lay there looking up at the ceiling.