AB Enterprises
The restof the day went by in a blur. Not much has been taken and all the wedding stuff has already been dropped off at the hotel.
I already had the wedding rings in my safe.
Catherine was surprisingly chill about the whole thing, but there was no way in hell me and Bryan were going to have Catherine and Sara stay at the apartment tonight. Catherine packed a bag pretty quick when I told her I had a suite for her at the hotel.
Bryan goes to my fridge and pulls out two more beers. We decide to have a quiet night in. I know what you’re thinking. That sounds super boring and not at all like the bachelor you were led to believe. But I swear what people see when they see me out, that is all an illusion. That is not me at all. The real me is the guy sitting on his couch with his best friend, enjoying a beer the night before his best friend is getting married.
“Hey erm, Ady. I need to ask you something that’s been bothering me for a few days.”
“Shoot, ” I say, putting my beer on the coffee table.
“Why did you act so surprised with Sara the other day? I showed you her picture last month at the bachelor party.”
I’ve been waiting for Bryan to bring this up since he found out about mine and Sara’s past. It must have killed him to keep this inside and not asked me.
“Ok, so we’re having this conversation now? Is this coming from you or Catherine?”
I’m surprised Catherine hasn’t had my balls for this either. I guess there is a small possibility that she doesn’t know; I mean, it's not like she was there when Bryan showed me the photo.
“Does it matter?”
He looks concerned, and I’m not a hundred percent sure why, but it bothers me.
“I guess not.”
I really don’t know how to answer him. That’s the great thing about friends. You can sit in comfortable silence sometimes, or uncomfortable silence as the case might be for me right now.
“OK.”
He looks up at me a little worried.
“I was a dick five years ago.”
Bryan sits back in his chair, his head resting against the back.
“When I moved, I was so happy about the job, but I still missed her. I also still had some friends who worked at Mason. Guys I guess, in hindsight, were acting and behaving like kids.”
Bryan doesn’t say a word, he doesn’t look like he’s passing any judgment. It’s what encourages me to carry on talking.
“I listened to all the wrong people and not the one person I should have. The one person I was actually missing at the time. I listened to guys at the office who told me that Sara had been sleeping with me, and also the boss. I listened to the guys who told me Sara had a standing appointment with Mason every Friday afternoon. A meeting that nobody else was ever invited to and was always behind closed doors. They were super convincing.”
Bryan winces. I know he’s my best friend, but I also know Catherine is Sara’s, and I know that in just over twelve hours, give or take, every single decision is going to be rooted in how Catherine also feels about something. Hell, they’re as good as married already. He obviously already feels that way.
“So I cut it off, instead of listening to my gut and knowing they were lying, and speaking to the only woman I’ve ever loved.”
I pick up my beer and take a big sip. I’m wishing it was something way stronger.
“Ok, I’m going to tell you something now that I think you’re ready to know. Also, something I feel you should know and if it gets back to the girls, I swear to god Ady, I will deny it all.”
It’s my turn to be surprised now. I put the bottle down. This is obviously going to be something that needs my full attention.
“So it got pretty brutal for Sara after you left. She’ll never tell you that, hell, I don’t even think Catherine knows the worst of it.”
This really makes me sit up and pay attention.
Bryan looks like he wants to throw up, and I’m a little worried how bad this is going to go.