| �Take me home.� Brielle�s sentence was not a question or even a statement, it was a direct order. Eric looked up at Brielle with a confused look on his face. �What�s wrong?� He asked, studying her expression as he stood up. �Just take me home,� she said, grabbing his forearm and leading him to the door. As he was being steered toward the door, he caught a glimpse of Colby sitting at the end of the bar with Shane. �Elle, why aren�t you with-� Brielle let go of Eric�s arm as the door slammed behind them. She looked at Eric, biting her lip, trying not to cry. �Eric, please, just take me home.� Eric sighed and held out his hand. Brielle looked at it for no more than a second, and didn�t hesitate to take it. Eric lead Brielle to the passenger side of his SUV, and opened the door for her. He watched her climb in and shut the door behind her. Within ten minutes, Eric and Brielle sat outside of her apartment, both staring at the light on above her door. �So� You�re home,� Eric muttered, tearing his eyes away from the door, and making himself stare at the tree branches that swayed in the wind a few feet from his windshield. �Yeah,� Brielle said softly, glancing back and forth between Eric and her door. She put her hand on the door handle, and paused. �Eric�� �Yeah?� he asked, giving her his full attention. She took a deep breath before saying what she had been wanting to say for the past month that she had been in Wilkes-Barre. �Stay with me.� Eric blinked. �Elle, Colby is-� Suddenly Brielle�s cell phone rang. She pulled it from her purse and looked down at the caller ID, frowning at what she saw. �It�s Colby,� she muttered, wondering if she should answer the ringing phone or not. Eric suddenly had a burst of inspiration. �Elle, do you want me to stay?� he asked, ignoring the ringing for the time being. �I�� �Do you?� he asked again, wanting a straight answer. �Yes,� she replied. �Then give me the phone,� Eric said, holding his hand out, waiting for Brielle to hand him the phone. She didn�t hesitate to comply with Eric�s request. Eric hit the Talk button, and before Colby could say a word, Eric said, �Colby, we have to talk.� �Damn straight we have to talk,� was Colby�s reply. �Can I explain something to you?� Eric asked. �I am giving you one minute to tell me exactly why you�re answering my girlfriend�s cell phone,� Colby said evenly; the fact that he was gritting his teeth was evident from the sound of his voice. �Go.� Eric wasted no time. �I�m in love with her.� There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds. Shane was heard in the background asking Colby what was wrong, but Eric was barely paying attention. Brielle�s mouth had dropped open, and she asked softly, �You�re in love with me?� Eric shook his head yes. Brielle shut her mouth and looked straight ahead, not giving Eric the benefit of a full response. Suddenly Colby began shouting over the phone. �How could you not tell me that you knew her? How could you act like you hated her for the past month, and now you�re in love with her? Eric, what the fuck is wrong with you? You stole my fucking girlfriend!� Brielle heard Colby�s last sentence because he was shouting it at the top of his lungs. She suddenly frowned, and grabbed the phone from Eric�s hand. She shouted back, just as loud as Colby had been, �He didn�t fucking steal me Colby, you�re the one who stole me from him!� Colby was silent for a few seconds. �Ellie, why couldn�t you just tell me from the beginning?� Brielle sighed, and brushed away the beginnings of a tear with the back of her hand. �Because I never wanted to hurt you. You don�t deserve this, you�ve been nothing but perfect to me in the past few weeks.� She paused. �But Eric and I� There�s something there, and we both owe it to ourselves to see what it is. It�s always been there, since we were eleven. Fourteen years is a long time to harbor any kind of feeling, let alone this. Colby� I do love you, but�� She paused again and looked at Eric as she said her last sentence. �Not the same way I love him.� |
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