Unspeakable Truths by Alice Montalvo-Tribue Page A

as I’m walking in.
    “Yo,” he says tipping his chin up in acknowledgement.
    “You headed out?” I question, noticing he looks to be in a rush, and these days when Ty’s in a rush, he’s up to shit that I don’t like.
    “Got some shit to do.” He picks up his cell, slides it in his pocket never looking up at me.
    I nod, as I go into the kitchen and grab a water bottle. “I think everyone’s getting together at Cal’s tonight. You going?”
    “No, not tonight. I have plans.”
    “You have plans that don’t include going out and getting shit-faced or placing bets?”
    He flinches but recovers quickly. He shrugs on a jacket and finally looks at me. “I have a date.”
    This gets my attention. “Wait what?” I say on a chuckle. Tyler hasn’t been on a date in forever. He has his priorities straight (or his father does) and dating is not high on that list.
    “I said I have a date, man. You heard me.”
    “Yeah I heard you, I just thought I heard wrong.”
    “Nope. Gotta learn how to make time for a little of everything right?”
    “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” I say, unable to hide the humor in my voice.
    “Well I finally listened.”
    “Who’s the girl? Is it the chick you were talking to at student union the other day?”
    “No. It’s uh… It’s Everly.”
    I place my water bottle down in front of me and place my hands on the countertop, gripping it as hard as I can. “Excuse me?”
    “I said it’s Everly, she’s in my Western civ class, sat next to me on the first day, and we got paired up for a project.” His words hit me like a physical blow, he must be shitting me.
    “Everly as in my Everly? The girl I met at the bookstore, the girl I pointed out to you? The girl I told you I was into? That Everly?” I try to control the fury in my voice, but I know I’m failing.
    “Dude come on, you let her walk away from you, you never even made an effort to get her number. You talked to her one time, it’s not like you wanted to marry her. You don’t even know her.”
    “That’s not the fucking point.”
    “Yes it is. It’s exactly the point man, if she was yours I’d never go near her but she’s not.”
    I have to get the hell away from him right now. I need to get my head on right, and I don’t want to do something I might regret later.
    “You know what, fuck it man, go out with her. It won’t take long for her to realize what a dick you are,” I spit out before grabbing my water bottle, walking away grabbing clean clothes out of my room and jumping in the shower. I hear the door slam shut a few minutes later, and I know he’s gone.
    I know I shouldn’t be pissed, but I’m infuriated. If ever there was a time I wanted to punch the shit out of him this was it. Do I have a claim on Everly? I’m not delusional, and I’m not stupid, so no, technically I don’t have a claim on her and that’s my own fault, but he knew. He knew that she was on my radar, and he didn’t give a shit. That didn’t stop him from making his move. All of the fucking women on this campus, and he chose to go after her. I close my eyes and let out a breath letting the hot water release some of the tension in my muscles. I have to be the bigger man here, I need to let this shit go. I’m not going to let a girl I’ve only spoken to once come between me and Ty. He’s like a brother to me, and I’m man enough to let this shit slide. It’s just a date, they’re not getting married. Tyler’s priorities are set, he knows what he needs to do, what’s expected of him, and he takes that very seriously. I just can’t see him putting all of that in jeopardy for a girl. Even a girl as beautiful as Everly.
    I thought that they’d go out on a date or two and be done with each other. I thought that Tyler’s drive to impress his father and fulfill his legacy would be more important than having Everly. I was wrong. He fell for her fast, and she did the same with him. It was the most painful thing