Brady Remington Landed Me in Jail

"Come on. Don't be dramatic," Brady tried to soothe, but I stopped him again when I stepped backwards. That's when something snapped in him. I saw it in his eyes. He looked even more determined, almost fierce, as he grabbed my arm. "I was going to tell you last night that I was worried about how people might handle us. I was worried about how you'd handle it if we were together. Last night I was just rethinking things, worrying about you not me. Do I want to be with you? Haven't I already proven that? Then last night you go crazy. You start yelling. Your grandma is almost pushing me out the door. What are you doing to me? I know that I should be calmer, but I can't take this anymore. I feel like I'm going crazy, Rayna."

I couldn't hear what else he had to say. I'd already almost convinced myself that he didn't care and now he was saying he did. I felt tears on my face. "Stop. Please. Stop."

"What? What? Why do you want me to stop? Decide what you want! Do you want me or not?"

Clarissa dropped her book and I jumped. Brady cursed. "Rayna!"

He ran an irate hand through his hair and I saw the anger in him. The problem was that I couldn't figure out what he was angry about. There was a time not many days ago where I would've spent hours agonizing and thinking about why Brady was angry. But this time I could barely handle my own emotions, much less figure out his.

I looked away. "I don't want you."

I clasped my bag to my chest and my lip trembled. Every nerve was stretched thin.

"If you don't want me, then I'm gone. Screw this." His voice was quiet, but rage came off him in waves.

I gasped for breath and looked now.

As Brady marched away, he brushed past Clarissa and I wondered if he even knew she was there. He shoved open the doors a second later and they slammed shut a second later.

My heart was ripped out. He'd dragged it behind him in the hallway.

"Hey….Rayna…hey."

It took another prodding before I realized Clarissa was in front of me. "Huh?"

"What was that about?"

I couldn't focus. I couldn't…Brady just left me.

"Are you okay?"

"I…I don't know."

Brady wasn't going to change his mind now.

Slowly, I turned and pushed open the library doors. They closed behind me with a soft swoosh, but I didn't hear them. I didn't hear anyone or notice anything. I slid numbly into a seat and sat there for the next hour, staring straight ahead.

When I heard the bell ring, I got up and went somewhere else. I sat there until the next bell rang. Sometime later I found myself in the hallway with books clutched against my chest. I stared blankly into an empty hallway. Some part of my brain knew the bell had rung again, but I wasn't sure how long ago it was. I didn't know what time it was.

"Rayna?"

Kid stood there in a black polo shirt over trendy sport shorts. He raked a hand through his brown locks. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Why?" I tried for normal. Maybe he'd buy it.

He frowned and scratched at his jaw. "Because you're standing in the middle of the hallway and school's done."

"Oh."

"Everyone's gone." He tilted his head to the side and studied me further. "And I mean everyone, like…I even think the janitor is gone. What's up with you?"

What was up with me? Wasn't that the question of my life? I lied with forced cheerfulness, "It's the last day of school. Can you believe it, Kid? I'm done here. I'm done…" with so much more.

Kid cursed and jerked me towards the parking lot. "What is wrong with you? You look like a zombie, like you're in a coma or something. What happened?"

I mumbled, "I don't remember you being so bossy."

After he pushed me into his car, Kid grumbled when he got in on his own side, "You're right. Brady's the a-hole of us. I'm the nice guy, but you're driving me crazy. You're both driving me crazy. I can't take this anymore!"

That's when I started crying.

"Oh god…," Kid groaned. "I don't know what to say now. Come on, Ray. Stop. Don't cry."

I cried harder and folded my head into my hands.

"Seriously." Kid cursed. "I'm screwing this up right now. I don't know what to say to you anymore. Is this about Brady? The school?"

"Not helping," I hiccupped between sobs.

Kid swore again as he fell back against his seat. "You're too much Brady's. I just…you were still Rayna from before. I knew you, but now there's too much Brady over you. I don't know what to say to you anymore. I used to know. What would he say?"

What would Brady say? He'd say screw whoever was the problem.

"Hell," Kid sighed as he held onto the steering wheel. "Brady would say something like 'forget them' or worse. I can't do that, Rayna. I don't know what the problem is. Should I call Brady?"

I started sobbing again.

"Stop crying! Please!"

I hiccupped and wiped the snot from my nose. Then I looked at Kid probably for the first real time since he brought me to his car. I saw some sort of struggle within him. And I was tired of the lies. I'd just started lying, but I was already done with it. So I asked, "If you knew you had a brother, what would you do?"

I listened with every part of my soul.

He drew a breath in. "I would…I don't know. Maybe that's my problem."

From the fear in his voice, I saw a Kid that I'd never seen before. He'd always been so larger than life before. Confident. Charming. Good looking. Smart. He'd been smooth when Brady had been rough. Kid had known what to say when Brady chose to fight, but then things changed. Brady became smart. He started to know what to say while Kid had started to flounder. Still, Kid always had his composure, but not now. This time I saw a little boy sitting beside me, uncertain.

Then I risked it. "I know that Brady is your brother."