Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother Chapter 151

Rebecca is still smiling, that sharp, snake-like grin that twists my stomach. Like she knew. Like she’s known all along.

Before I can process the betrayal painted so clearly on her face, someone pulls the plug on the TV. The screen cuts to black. The room is buzzing, voices sharp and angry. Some guy grabs Rebecca’s phone, and she shrieks, swatting at his hand, but he holds it out of her reach.

I can’t move. My whole body is trembling. My head feels like it’s underwater, the world muted and blurry around me. Zoe. It was Zoe?

My mind is screaming.

Zoe.

The reason I’m out of the studio for two weeks. The reason I nearly broke my neck. The reason I’m terrified to dance again.

Zoe, who’s been laughing and whispering and making snide comments from across the room this entire trip.

Why?

Why was she even at the studio in the first place?

A sharp sob breaks free from my throat, and Max’s arm comes around my shoulders, his voice in my ear, trying to comfort me. But I can’t hear him. I can’t hear anyone. My pulse is roaring, blood rushing so loudly I feel like I might pass out.

I turn in a panic, my eyes scanning the room. Zoe. Where is Zoe?

She’s not here.

My eyes dart to the stairs. Tyler. I need Tyler. I need my boyfriend. I need him to hold me, to tell me this is a mistake, that there’s a reasonable explanation for this. That it’s all just some horrible, twisted misunderstanding.

I push past Max, stumbling over someone’s foot, ignoring the hands trying to grab at me, the voices shouting my name.

“Penny! Penny, wait!” Max’s voice is behind me, closer. He’s following me, but I don’t care. I reach the stairs and take them two at a time, my chest tight, my vision blurring.

I reach Tyler’s door and shove it open.

“Tyler—”

The air is sucked out of my lungs.

No.

No, no, no.

I feel the blood drain from my face, my knees weaken. Zoe is sitting on his lap, her skinny, manicured fingers tangled in his hair, her legs wrapped around his waist. His hands are on her hips, holding her tight. And their mouths... their mouths are—

He tears his lips from hers, head whipping towards me, eyes wide. He stands up so fast, Zoe tumbles off his lap and hits the floor with a yelp. I stumble back, my shoulder hitting the doorframe as my vision tunnels.

“Oh my God,” I whisper, my voice breaking. I cover my mouth with my hand, bile rising in my throat.

Tyler takes a step toward me, hands out. “Penny, I—”

“How long?”

His mouth opens, then closes.

“How long, Tyler?” I manage to choke out, my voice shaking, tears blurring my vision.

“Penny, please, just let me—”

“How. Long.”

He hesitates, glances down at Zoe, whose face is twisted in a mix of fear and annoyance. Then back at me.

He swallows. Doesn’t answer.

A sob tears through me, my entire body trembling. “Did you know?” I whisper, my voice breaking. “Did you know she’s the reason I fell?”

His eyes flicker, jaw tightening. His silence is my answer.

Oh God.

My legs nearly give out.

Max reaches me then, his arms coming around me, pulling me back. I want to collapse into him, let him carry me out of this nightmare.

Tyler lunges, grabs my other arm, and jerks me toward him. “Max, back the fuck off!” he growls, his face twisted in rage.

“Stay out of this,” he snaps, pulling me harder.

“Let her go,” Max snarls, yanking me back, his fingers digging into my waist. “You have no more business with her. You fucked it all up the second you cheated.”

I hear my own gasp, a small, broken sound that escapes without my permission.

Cheated.

The word echoes in my mind, splintering into a thousand shards that cut deep into my heart.

Tyler’s eyes flash, and his grip on my arm tightens, his other hand balling into a fist. “Shut the fuck up, Max. You don’t know shit.”

“I know you’re a piece of shit,” Max spits back, his chest heaving, his jaw clenched. “I know you don’t deserve her.”

“Fuck you,” Tyler snarls, and before I can even blink, he cocks his arm back and punches Max in the jaw.

I scream.

Max stumbles back, his grip on me loosening for a split second before he rights himself and swings back, his fist connecting with Tyler’s cheek. The sound is sickening, a dull, wet thud.

“Stop it!” I cry, trying to wedge myself between them, but Max shoves Tyler back with his shoulder, his arm coming protectively around me.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” Max mutters, his voice tight, his breaths coming in harsh, angry bursts.

Tyler is shouting behind us, his voice cracking, desperate. I catch snippets of it.

“Penny, wait! Penny, please! I can explain! I was just— I didn’t mean to— Please, just—”

But Max pulls me down the stairs, his grip firm but not painful, his body blocking Tyler’s attempts to reach me.

We burst through the front door, the cold air hitting my face like a slap. I’m crying so hard I can barely breathe, my legs shaking so badly I nearly collapse.

Max pulls me into his arms, holding me tightly, his hand cradling the back of my head.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispers, his voice rough, his breath warm against my ear. “I’m so, so fucking sorry.”

I sob into his chest, clutching his jacket, my nails digging into the fabric, my entire world spinning and shattering around me.

“Did you know?” I whisper, my voice broken and small.

Max swallows hard. “Yes and no. I knew he was hiding something, and I thought it might be Zoe, but I didn’t know for sure. I didn’t know about... this.”

I let out another broken sob, my knees buckling.

Max holds me tighter, his strong arms a lifeline as my heart crumbles to pieces in my chest.