The air was thick with tension when I walked into the empty bar. Gavin was sitting alone, lost in his thoughts while he took a drink from his beer. The stool screeched against the floor as I sat down next to him, and when he turned to face me, I could tell from the expression on his face that he was dreading this conversation almost as much as I was. We were both trying to face the demons from our past; things we wished we hadn’t done, and it wasn’t going to be easy for either of us. But then again, I wasn’t the one who had been lying to my own flesh and blood for all these months, keeping secrets that no brother should’ve kept. Hell, I wanted him to dread it, to feel like the sorry bastard that he was. He’s my fucking brother! He should have said something, and I doubted that I would ever be able to forgive him for keeping this from me. Things between us will never be the same, and he was going to have to live with that regret for the rest of his life.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled with his eyes full of remorse. “I don’t know what else to say. I’m just so fucking sorry.”
“How about you tell me how John Warren ended up being your son, Gavin? Why don’t you tell me when you started fucking Hailey?” I growled. The anger inside of me was burning in my gut, and I wanted to beat the living hell out of him… tell him how he fucked it all up. I wanted to walk out of that bar and never speak to him again, but I needed to know the truth. I had to know what happened between him and Hailey.
“It was only that one night, Logan. I swear it. Hailey loved you. Loved you more than you ever really knew, but that night… she was just,” he said, as he dropped his head into the palms of his hands.
“What night, Gavin?” I asked. When he didn’t answer, I slammed my fist against the counter and shouted, “Tell me. What fucking night?”
He turned to look at me, and anguish rippled across his face as he said, “The night you caught her buying more drugs and walked out on her. I’m not saying it was the wrong thing for you to do, but it broke her. She was just so damn broken.”
“So you fucked her? That was your answer to all her troubles? I was trying to make her see that she needed to get help, that she was going to kill herself if she kept that shit up, and you decide to go and fuck her. You thought that was going to make it all better?” I shouted. “That’s just great, Gavin. You’re the fucking hero.” The sarcasm dripped from my mouth as I glared at him with all the rage that was building inside of me.
“It wasn’t like that, Logan! You know I wouldn’t … The guys and I had been watching the game, and I was already plastered when she got to the house. After they left, Hailey and I had a few drinks – more than a few. She was upset, and we spent the entire night talking about everything that had happened. There was so much pain in her voice. I hated to see her like that, and I wanted to help her.”
He looked up to the ceiling, trying to reign in his emotions. Finally, he cleared his throat and continued, “She wanted to be the Hailey that you loved, but a part of her knew she’d never be that girl again. I’d never seen her so upset. She was just so heartbroken. You know I’ve always had a soft spot for Hailey, and I just wanted to help her, to be there for her.” He took a long tug of his beer and let out a deep breath.
“Why didn’t you just tell me? You knew the hell I was going through, and you never said a goddamn thing! That’s bullshit, Gavin. I should’ve been able to trust you more than anyone, but you lied to me to protect your own sorry ass. There’s no excuse. You should’ve said something!” I told him.
“Maverick, I don’t even remember what happened that night. It was all just a blur. The more we talked, the angrier she got. The angrier she got, the more she drank. We were both completely wasted, and when I woke up the next morning, she was gone. I couldn’t remember a damn thing. I wasn’t even sure that we had actually slept together. I prayed that we didn’t. I hated myself for putting myself in that situation, but you have to know that I would never intentionally hurt you or her.” He looked up to me, glaring at me with hurt in his eyes and said, “I should’ve told you, Maverick. I’m sorry. I really am. It was only one night, and I really thought he was your kid.”
My anger slowly started to subside as I listened to him talk, knowing that he really was struggling with his guilt. I could see the grief written all over his face, and I knew he would never intentionally set out to hurt either of us. Gavin was just a kid, and Hailey should’ve never gone over there that night.