My Ex-Boyfriend’s Brothers (Ex Marks the Spot)

47. Maggie

47

***Maggie***

I woke from a nightmare to the sound of knocking on my door. My heart raced as I stumbled from my bed, tangled in my bedding. My body still thought it had responsibilities and obligations. While my mind didn’t care to open the door, my body did it without any help. My mind was forced to rejoin the living world when I opened the door and found Christina standing on the other side of it, though.

Seeing her red, swollen face staring back at me, I took a slow, deep breath and stepped aside for her to come in. The room was dark so I turned on a lamp and felt around the bed for my phone. It was dead. While she sat, I went to the window and looked outside. The moon was still high in the sky.

“It’s two in the morning...” She had to clear her throat to get the words out. “I should’ve waited until later in the morning probably.”

I shook my head and sat at the opposite end of the bed. “It’s fine. I wasn’t sleeping well anyway.”

We sat in silence for what felt like minutes, neither of us rushing to speak. I didn’t know what to say. As much as I felt for her, I also knew that she was part of the reason the guys had left. The hurt part of me was angry.

“Can you tell me what happened?” The soft words broke the silence and left a chill in the air.

I took a minute to gather my thoughts and hugged a pillow to my chest. “He said he wanted help with his vows. He was being kind to me. Then, he kissed me and wouldn’t let me go. He dragged me on top of him and then shoved me off when you came in. I didn’t kiss him. I would never. I… I love his brothers and now they’re gone.”

She cried quietly for several minutes before wiping her eyes and looking at me. “I believe you.”

I hugged my pillow tighter. “Good.”

“You’re angry.” She pushed her shoulders back and nodded. “You have every right to be.”

“I’m not-” I took a deep breath. “I’m not angry. I’m fucking crushed. The guys… They left. They believed you and Brad and they left me. He told them that we’ve been sleeping together for months.”

“Oh, Maggie… I’m so sorry.”

“No.” I sat up and grabbed her hand. “It’s not your fault. It’s Brad’s fault. I’m not upset with you. I’m just…upset. They just left me. They didn’t even try to talk to me.”

“I shouldn’t have gone to them.”

“What about you? What are you going to do?” I couldn’t keep talking about the guys if I wanted to keep myself together.

“I’ve had a bad feeling for months. I wanted this storybook wedding, though. More than that, my manager wanted it. I convinced myself that marrying Brad was the right thing for me. The more I thought about what I saw when I came into that room, the more I started to feel like everything was crashing down around me. It looked bad, but the look on your face wasn’t of someone who’d just been caught. You were horrified. It was the expression of a woman who’d just been assaulted.” She let out a sob and squeezed my hand. “I’m so sorry, Maggie. He hurt you and I helped him do it. He wanted to tell his brothers and I was confused and hurt. I thought it was the right thing to do in the moment but I was wrong.”

I looked away. “I don’t want to talk about them, Christina. Every time I take a breath, I feel like I’m going to vomit and I just need to talk about anything else.”

“I found more.” She pulled a phone from her pocket and let out a bitter laugh. “He passed out after going to the bachelor party you planned for him. I took his phone and I hacked into it. He’s been talking to dozens of women. Meeting up with dozens of women. He’s disgusting.”

“No.” I gripped her hand tight. “God, Christina, I had no idea. I’m so sorry.”

She laughed. “At least I found out before I spent hundreds of thousands on a wedding, huh?”

I cringed. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to confront him. I was kind of hoping you’d come with me.” She saw my face and rushed on. “He didn’t just hurt me. He hurt you, too. He deserves to have to face both of us.”

It wasn’t something I ever would’ve done before. I’d let him get away with murder during our relationship and I’d never been confrontational. “What he’s done to you is much worse, Christina. You don’t need to share that moment with me.”

“I want to. I want him to see us together. I want him to see us and know that he failed.” She sniffed. “I think you’re my only real friend, Maggie. That’s the most pitiful thing I’ve ever said, considering I’ve only know you for two weeks, but it’s true. I’m surrounded by people who want something from me and it’s exhausting. They feel what they think I want them to feel. You’re different, though. I just want to have someone by my side who’s angry for their own reasons and not just because I told them to be.”

“Okay.” I nodded. “I’ll be there.”

She moved closer and hugged me. “Let me call your guys and explain. I messed up and I’d like to make it right.”

A sob wracked my body and without any additional warning, Christina and I both broke down into ugly tears. It was only after we’d cried ourselves out and ended up lying side by side in my bed that I answered her.

“I don’t want you to call them.” I turned my face towards hers and gave a small smile when I felt her grab my hand. “It’s over. I think it’s best to just leave it alone.”