The Twenty Year Triangle

Chapter Twenty

"Hey, Darlin," Hunter answers the phone as I approach the window. It's raining so hard it looks like it's coming down in sheets.

"Hey, I was hoping to catch you before you stopped for food, it's bad and getting worse; head straight here, okay?"

"Too late. I already got pizza."

"You didn't happen to get enough for four, did you?" I ask.

"They're both still there? You're kidding me, right?"

"Julian's gone. Oliver's still here, and Brandi came by too."

"Alright," he says quietly. "Well, I got two pizzas, you know, for the bonus dinner, so we should have enough."

I snicker at that; during our summer road trip, we'd often eat again at two AM to absorb all the alcohol we drank and avoid the hangover the next day. We started calling it our bonus dinner and planning for it after one too many nights of ramen noodles or Easy Mac.

"Think Fancy-Pants still eats pizza, or should I make an extra stop for steak and lobster?"

"Hunter, be nice," I scold, just like Brandi did to Oliver.

"I offered lobster. Is that not nice?"

I hear a loud clap of thunder and realize it's coming from the phone, not the window.

"Wait a second," I say as my eyes narrow. "Are you talking to me while you're driving in this storm?"

"Oh shit, am I in trouble?"

"Yes!" I say and then hang up with a huff.

How many times have I told him? Just because it's a big truck does not make it or him indestructible. The sky lights up with lighting, and thunder rumbles through the sky, making me shudder. The sooner he's home so I can scowl at him in person, the better.

I walk back into the kitchen, where Brandi is showing Oliver her phone, and he's looking on with a stunned expression.

"He's Billy's twin!" Oliver muses.

"Right? And this Sara with her mom Stephanie," she says as she scrolls.

"Is this the same Stephanie from the homecoming dance? The one that-"

I try to catch his eye to tell him not to say it or the other name attached to that story, but Brandi cuts in first.

"Yeah, same one," Brandi says quickly as she puts her phone down.

"She married Billy? How did that happen?"

"Oliver -" I cut in, and when he finally looks at me, I give a slight head shake, and his eyes fill with a concerned look of understanding.

"Sorry, Brandi. I was being nosy; of course, you don't want to talk about all that," Oliver says quickly.

"It's okay, Olly- Uh, Oliver," Brandi says as she lets out a breath of air. "So, we don't talk about that shit, but I'll give you the short version. Billy and Stephanie stayed close after everything went down. He was and still is the only guy she trusts, and he's always been in love with her. Even the dealing started because he needed to find a hookup for her. The way she copes with her bad days is numbing herself with weed, and I know I call her a stoner and get annoyed with her. But I also understand her, and I'll always take care of her too."

"Billy came a long way from the kid he was sorry he ended up where he is," Oliver offers. I can see the questions still burning his eyes, and I know he wants to know more, but he knows better than to push it. Even I don't know the whole story, as it was something Brandi was only willing to share once, and it was to help Stephanie. I do hope someday though she does open that box because I think she needs to.