Where Life Takes You

by Claudia Burgoa

  “Becca, please tell me you don’t think I left because of what Ian did to you.”

  “I do. You said—”

  “No, you fixed everything in that imaginative head of yours.” He ran both hands through his hair and paced back and forth a few times before stopping in front of me. “You’re infuriating.” He rubbed the nape of his neck. “Becca, I arranged my schedule to be with you after you broke your leg. I barely left your side, unless you count the times I went to the office.”

  He lightly poked my shoulder with his index finger. “You asked for space. You told me I was suffocating you. A bit insensitive on your part, by the way. The separation was because I—you—our friendship was hurting and we needed a break to continue being Becca and Dan.” He paused briefly and gave me one of his soul-searching stares, and then took my right hand and put it on my favorite place, the left side of his chest. It calmed me to feel his heartbeat.

  “Princess, you’re extremely important to me. I did what I thought was best for our relationship. It had nothing to do with other people, circumstances, or the way I feel about you.”

  I gasped because those last four words went straight to my chest and let out all my air.

  His brotherly feelings for me would never match what had started stirring inside me when he kissed me. Yes, I understood I was his only family, the sister he’d never had, and he would never see me any other way. But, personally, I’d liked the electricity that went through my body, and how he’d made me feel when he brushed his lips to mine. I had never felt something like that with Ian and he was my first kiss. Pre-Lisa.

  “No, I’m lying, baby. It had everything to do with the way I feel about you.” What? I gawked, I was at a loss, not knowing what would come next. Sorry, Rebecca, but I hate you, get out of my sight? Becca, you need to work on that self-esteem—harder.

  “The night I left, you told me I was pushing too hard, asphyxiating you. I fled, afraid you’d bolt first—abandoning me.” Sweetly he caressed my jawline with his index finger and then cupped my chin. Connecting our gazes. “I love you, Becca. And I don’t mean the brotherly love you swear I have for you. No, I have romantic feelings for you.” I stood there, unable to move any body part. My breathing stopped too, and I couldn’t move my eyes, which were trapped by his. “There’s only one thing I’ve ever been a hundred percent sure about, Becca. I’m in love with you.”

  Panic struck me, my gut told me to bolt as he had indicated. Though my wobbly legs were barely able to hold me at that point, let alone, take me far away from where I stood. “Don’t.” I arched an eyebrow and snorted. The man couldn’t stop giving orders, what was his next move? “Overanalyzed what I just said, love. I’m not expecting you to say the words back. You’re not in the same place I am, with all that’s going on.” He gave me a half smile, and kissed the tip of my nose.

  Hey, Dan, news flash. I’m broken, you might want to get a CAT-Scan, or seek medical attention. This sounds insane.

  “Why?” I bit my bottom lip. “You can have anyone, beautiful women with—” Delicately, he placed his index finger on my lips.

  “I love who and what you are, Bex.” He took away his finger and placed both hands on each side of my waist. “Your strength, your compassion, and those cute weaknesses that make me want to cuddle you forever. I know you inside out, baby, all of you. The only thing that scares me shitless out of this, us…” He used his chin to point at me and himself, not letting me go, “would be panicking you and seeing you leave me.”

  We stared at each other, the air around us changed, and I felt the switch of energy between us. Cowardly I closed my eyes and leaned my head over his chest, next to my hand. Dan dumped a totally unexpected—I didn’t know how to call his confession. He loved me, l-o-v-e. He released one side of my waist, and used his hand to brush my hair and put his lips on my neck. I wanted to stay there for an eternity. He had been scared I’d leave him, and I was afraid he’d realize who I was.

  “Now?” I looked at him because I had no idea what to do next. “How do we function, Danny?”

  “Becca and Dan, we’ll play it by ear; follow your lead and see how we get to point B.” He gave me a playful grin. “Which I won’t discuss further, my princess.”

  Chapter 19

  Saturday morning, the doorbell rang while we were getting ready to have breakfast. Dan flipped the pancakes, Ty prepared coffee, and I set up the kitchen island to enjoy our meal there. Since I wasn’t doing much, I went to get the door. Connor stood on the other side. How could he waltz back into the house after what he’d done to me? Damn Nate, or Nick, or whoever had given him access into the building.

  “You’re not welcome here.” Dan’s bark came from behind me, while Ty yelled, “What the hell are you doing back?”

  “Connor.” His eyes dared me, or them, to kick him out.

  “I want to talk with you, Becca—alone.”

  In no time, Dan was next to me. He crossed his arms giving Connor a murderous look. “You got what you wanted, full disclosure of the events. Now leave.”

  Ty came to flank me on the other side, like Dan he crossed his arms and glared at Connor. “You’ll talk to me, or I’ll make sure the media knows what kind of woman Daniel Brightmore is dating.”

  Before I had time to react, Dan and Ty snorted simultaneously.

  “Want to give him the speech while I call Henry, Mr. Sanders?” Ty nodded while Dan left the room.

  “The way I see this situation, Connor we have only one solution.” The elevator doors opened. Nick and Nate walked towards the apartment and stood behind Connor. “You leave this house after signing the NDA Henry will be sending in a few days and forget you ever met Dan and, most importantly, my sister, Becca. Who, by the way is an amazing woman. If you prefer to leave now and seek the press, then, well, that’ll be your loss.”

  Connor stood straighter and tilted up his chin, challenging Tyler. Nick gave me a smirk, and both Nate and he began to search him from head to toe. Nate pulled Connor’s cell phone which had been set to recording mode. Nick accidentally stepped on it.

  “This is illegal.” Connor raised his voice. “I’ll call the police and—”

  “Call whoever you want.” Ty leaned against the doorframe. I had no idea how to act, or react, but the other three acted as if it was an every day ordeal. “Connor, let me tell you, you’re not the first, or last person, who’s barged into Dan’s life and threatened him. They all want a piece of my friend: money, power, you name it, they try to get it. We can’t let that happen, we deal with it at the root.”

  Ty ran a hand through his hair before continuing. “You sign and walk away, we forget you exist, too.” Then he took a step toward Connor, and with a vicious glare and a firm voice continued, “If you go to the media though, then we’ll make sure you won’t get a job anywhere in the country. You’ll lose custody of your son. Overall, we’ll destroy you; within a matter of minutes, we’ll kill the story you might be cooking in that stupid head of yours.” Ty extended his hand towards me and pulled me inside the apartment.

  Then he came to a stop, turning to give Connor his last words. “Stay with Nate and Nick, Dan will that see you make the right decision.”

  With that, he pulled me to the terrace, but not before asking Mary, who appeared out of nowhere in the kitchen, to bring breakfast outside.

  We sat on the patio table, and Tyler began to speak. I froze, fearing what was coming. “I’m sorry, Becca.” Because I’m going to kill you? Or because I’m about to yell at you?

  Not many reasons came to mind, but either way I had to stop him. “Ty, I can’t handle an—”

  “Apology?” hmm. I mumbled, and he got my attention because I couldn’t see why he had to apologize.

  “You called me after the first time Lisa threatened you—”

  “With a gun.”

  I made it clear, because she’d threatened me other times just for the heck of it. Between I’ll set you on fire, I’ll choke you with my bare hands, and whe
n the time comes, you’re going to die, her threats had become like a greeting for Lisa. But gun in hand? That went to the must-report-to-an-adult-immediately column of my to-do list.

  Lisa was paranoid and swore everyone was out to take her boyfriend away. The fact that her hallucinating mind had call for a weapon worried me—self-preservation and all. After I called her brother and explained the situation, she came back pointing the same weapon at me. Generously, she gave me one last chance to live, but to stay away from her brother, and stop being a snitch.

  “I failed you both,” Ty said, staring at his plate. His body was stiff, and his back seemed to carry an entire building by itself. “Lisa needed an adult to put her in rehab. She was so young, and I didn’t do anything to help when I was old enough to take charge. Then there’s you, bravely asking for help, and in exchange you received… nothing.”

  “You called Dan after they gave you the news, which helped.”

  I never asked why he’d contacted his best friend, but Dan’s support had meant everything. He’d believed me, no matter how everything looked. He’d put his name and money at risk to get me out of jail so fast. Plus, he’d taken charge of me until the police released the scene of the crime, and then he had my room cleaned, painted, and redecorated.

  “He was closer to you.” Ty finally lifted his head and met my gaze. “When Dad called me with the news, Donna was screaming in the background. ‘Tyler, Becca killed your sister. She killed my baby.’ It worried me.” He angled his head, checking his phone—which hadn’t rung or buzzed. A distraction, perhaps? “I could see Dad throwing you in jail, blaming you for his lack of parenting skills. I called Dan, hoping he was in Boston. If you recall, back then he was already taking over the world and traveling.”

  “I don’t see the point of revisiting the past.” Ready to bolt, and puke, I tried to find a way out of the conversation. “From time to time, you call me sister, which I appreciate. I can’t see what else is there to say.”

  “Let me in, Becca.” As there wasn’t much sense in losing yesterday’s food to that request, I calmed my stomach. “I don’t want to have a relationship where we can only have superficial conversations....”

  Didn’t we discussed something similar around Christmas?

  “Right or wrong, years ago our parents got married and we became family. Brother and sister. I should’ve been trying since then, but getting close to you meant dealing with our parents and my sister. Back then I didn’t see the point—or care for family.”

  I agreed. He’d avoided me like the plague. Like his—

  No. Hold on, Becca. He’s trying to become your brother, not giving you an in to bash your self-esteem.

  Amazing. My logical side worked better than I’d thought.

  “You get a sister out of this exchange, right?” I asked.

  He nodded, narrowing his gaze as he obviously tried to figure out where I was going with this.

  “Would I be getting the same?”

  “No.” I knew it. “You get a brother, Becca. I’m not sister material, sorry. Though, if you decide to accept, I’ll include one niece, a nephew, and a sister in-law.” He smirked. “Close enough?”

  “Yeah, I guess.” I responded, not knowing how this relationship would develop in the future.

  Ty narrowed his eyes. “I want a sincere promise, Becca.” He put his hand over mine. “Do it, as a demonstration that you forgive me for failing you.”

  “You didn’t fail,” I insisted, and gave him my own smile.

  “We failed you, Becca. Our parents, Ian’s parents, and I failed you.” His firm voice didn’t give me room for interruptions. “Their substance abuse was apparent to everyone. As adults, they should’ve helped them, not ignored them, hoping the stage would pass.” He looked towards the sky, and then turned towards me before he continued talking. “And don’t get me started on Donna. I have children, and for God’s sake, they come first. You don’t—”

  “Donna’s dying, Ty. Let her rest. Whatever she did in the past—”

  “Still affects you,” he snapped. I wasn’t liking the brotherly speech. This had to stop—at least Mackenzie only went on for an hour. “I’m no therapist, but her bad choices, her behavior toward you, and the lack of maternal instinct has nothing to do with you. Everyone loves you, appreciates you, and can see how amazing you are. Please don’t let the past dictate your future. We don’t want to lose you.”

  “Second speech in less than twenty four hours,” I said. There wasn’t much more I could tell him.

  “Can you blame us?”

  “I promised him yesterday that I’d abstain from doing any personal damage, don’t worry.”

  “Good.” He stood up, extended his hand to grab mine, and pulled me into a hug. “I’m assuming I’m part of your family. Right?”

  I nodded, not adding that there was a fifty percent chance we wouldn’t work out in the long run, though I’d try my best. I didn’t have the best track record when it came to family—not because I didn’t want one, but because they didn’t seem to want me. Like my parents.

  * * * * *

  Eased by the comfort and warmth of the bed, I had a hard time opening my eyes. Adding to the mix, a set of strong, steal-like arms secured tightly around me. I didn’t remember how or when I made it to bed. I opened my eyes and enjoyed my surroundings—Dan’s well-toned torso. My fogged mind struggled through the prior hours. I didn’t stay long with Mom; Dan persuade me at one in the morning to go back home—with him.

  Taking it slow meant something different for both. For the past few days he had been kissing me and touching me at every opportunity he had. Stay away from my personal space, No-Public-Demonstrations, and other similar phrases were hard for him to understand. I enjoyed them, and he was an excellent kisser. Though things were going faster than I wanted or expected.

  Trying to distance myself, moving from the comfortable space seemed like a good idea to wake from the haze. And, while he slept, I thought about my future. I wiggled to loosen the strong arms around me, Dan mumbled some nonsense. Stupidly, my first thought was my dental hygiene. The thought of a stinky morning kiss made me blush, since we began our let’s see how this relationship develops… situation. And I wondered if my boyfriend would break up with me. Boyfriend? Mentally slapped, I continued my attempt to escape.

  You’re being stupid this morning, Becca. There are way more messed up reasons to break up with you than the stinky morning breath. There it was, the simple truth.

  This relationship seemed too easy, and my insecurities kicked in every other hour.

  “Any reason you’re deserting me?” I looked up and a set of blue greyish eyes stared at me with a smile. He gave me a peck on top of my head, another on my nose, and finally his playful mouth took over mine. “How are you this morning, love?” He asked, breaking the kiss, before things got out of hand. Though I shivered while his hand coasted up and down my arms, neck, and collar bones. “You appear rested, baby. But those pretty browns tell me you’re over-thinking. What is it?”

  “Us,” I didn’t need more than one word. And a lie wouldn’t fly by him; he read me perfectly. “When this—” I pointed from him to me and back. “When we end, what’ll happen to our friendship? Could we go back to….? You don’t do steady. And me, well I’ve got no dating history as an adult. Not having you in my life will kill me.”

  His eyes blazed with anger, hurt, or annoyance. The guy dated supermodels, up until…. “When did you decide to be with me?”

  A timeline might help me understand, I thought.

  Did it matter? I wasn’t sure. My sweet monologue continued. “You dated, went out, slept around, or whatever you want to phrase it, with these beautiful, slim, famous women. I’m not that. How can you go from those perfect body and face women to simple me?”

  Christmas my senior year of college came to mind. Betsy emailed my itinerary and ticket for South-America. The prior year we spent Christmas skiing in Vermont. The blizzard spoiled half of our
outdoor plans. After that big fail, we planned to vacation south of the equator. We’d meet in Brazil. But he didn’t make his flight. I called him twice on his cell and the call went straight to voicemail. I tried Betsy. Who found him, but like me, couldn’t speak to him. He was in Miami with Gwen—a hot French model. Meanwhile on the other side of the world, he left me stranded without any money or transportation.

  I decided to arrange my flight home, and then left him a voicemail. “Hey Dan, it’s Becca, and I’m obviously embarrassed to call. You switched plans, and silly me forgot to check with you before leaving home. On top of that, I left the emergency credit card you gave me.” Because it felt ridiculous to have someone else’s card—even when it had my name on it. Freeloader wasn’t my middle name. “As you can imagine, I can’t pay for a hotel or transportation… or you know.” The voiceover announcements kept going with different things that I didn’t understand with all the surrounding noise. “Anyway, I was able to switch my ticket for tomorrow. Hooray for first class tickets. I should arrive at the dorm by midnight.” My voice deflated a bit, but I composed myself. Who could blame me, it was the first time we would spent Christmas in separate places. “Merry Christmas, and have fun, heard you’re in good company. I’m glad, because you deserve to be with someone who makes you happy. Well, I hope to see you at graduation in a few months, miss you, Danny.”

  “It was a stupid mistake, Becca,” I pulled up my eyes and connected them with Dan’s. He understood what I remembered. “An hour after your call, a driver picked you up and took you to our suite, where they treated you like the princess that you are. Nine hours later, I groveled at your feet, pink tulips in hand.” I smiled at the memory of him arriving, not only with the tulips, but also a turkey sandwich—a tradition we ended that year. “The image of you stranded killed me. Your sweet voice wishing me to be with someone who makes me happy, snapped me out of my trance. I left my best friend for an airhead, what kind of idiot does that?”