Three Brothers (Completed)

The Answers

Lily looked me right in the eye, blinking as she held her breath. I could tell she was thinking of a way to answer, choosing the words she wanted to use out of her vast vocabulary. Her eyes peeled away from mine and turned to James who was beside me looking like he was trying to remind himself to breathe.

A single tear fell from her eyes. "You don't get it do you?" she cried. "I never liked any of you! I wanted Connor and he's a complete asshole!" She stubbornly wiped her tears away. "I need friendship, people who would be there for me. Royce you were horrible! I mean COME ON you were eighteen! It was never going to happen and no amount of temper tantrums was ever going to change that! And Sean, you were so selfish everything had to be about you, and what I'd be doing for you. I was nothing but a game to you the whole time and even when that became more than just a game to you it was still about you and your feelings! The sex wasn't even that good, to be honest it was kind of like you didn't want to have sex with me at all!" She paused to take a few breaths before turning to James. "AND YOU! As soon as we broke up I was meaningless to you and yet you have the nerve to tell me you cared the most! We both know that's not true! You said so yourself!"

James looked her dead in the eye, all seriousness on his face, and very clearly said, "Yes. I did care for you, more than anyone else in my life."

I exchanged looks with Sean, neither of us had known that. That wasn't something he had ever admitted to before. I mean we joked about it all the time, about how much James must have liked Lily, I mean she was one of his longest relationships, but he had always brushed off our jokes.

Lily looked away from us. "I should have known nothing would have changed. You're all just like Connor. I never mattered to you. It was all about settling the score. The jokes on you boys because all of you lost! Congratulations, not only did you ruin our friendships but you ruined New Years Eve for us too!" she shouted and then she stormed out.

I let James chase after her and Sean walk away to the bar. The crowd that had formed around us had dissipated, breaking out into loud whispers, as my mother tried to smooth out what had happened and get the music started again so people could waltz out on the dance floor. I stood there listening to her words in my head. All that time and effort loving someone, dreaming of the perfect Mrs. Royce Soran and she had loved someone else, a complete jerk no less. Really, what sounds better? Mrs. Lily Soran or Mrs. Lily Wolsten?

I joined Sean at the bar, he was hunched over almost like he was trying to hide. He shot a side glance to me. "Well...mother's going to kill us," he said as he sipped on his manly drink. It was probably a scotch.

As soon as Sean finished the drink Mother had found us and dragged us to the coat check where a more then sullen James stood, his hands dejectedly in his pockets. "Did you find her?" I asked.

"No, she drove off in her fancy new car. It's snowing pretty heavy and she won't pick up her phone," he replied. I could tell that he had been crying, but chose not to say anything about it.

"What were you thinking?" mother hissed. "I said NO ARGUMENTS! You heard what happened on the news, and you start ripping up old wounds. I did not raise HEATHENS!"

"We're sorry," we chimed in together. It wasn't a phrase we weren't used to saying. We got a similar lecture after ruining each family gathering.

"You're not sorry. You ruined my party, you ruined Lily's night and tomorrow the three of you are going to march over to her office and apologize to her...do you understand?" she ordered.

All three of us nodded, knowing that there was no way out of it. I personally didn't want to see Lily again, not after that speech she had given us. She had basically called me a spoiled brat, why would I want to see her again? Mother stormed off leaving us in the coat room and Sean turned to James. "I think you should go, instead of me and Royce." I completely agreed with this idea, but I was suspicious as to why Sean thought it was a good idea. "I didn't know you liked Lily that much, and I've made the executive decision to let you have her."

I scoffed "Typical, she was right, everything is about you. Playing the martyr now are we?" I asked.

"No, but if he likes her that much we should let him have her, Connor or not those two had something amazing and I'm not going to stand in the way of it anymore," Sean said fixing his suit. "Besides, there are plenty of fish in the sea boys, and I'm going to go catch me a whopper!"

As Sean left I turned to James. "He's right. I never should have gotten in the way, besides after that scene I don't want to see her."

It was the happiest I had seen James in years. He was so excited to see her the next day, to tell her that he had the blessing of the other brothers and that they could finally be together, but James never got to see Lily. The next morning we were all blinded by the glaring headlines.

Popular Author Dies in Tragic Car Accident

In a blink of an eyeit was all over. Lily was dead.