Saving Laurel

44. Shared Secrets

Laurel Gilroy

"So what's his dad like?" Ellie asks, her head poking up between the front seat of Brett's wagon.

Instantly I'm intrigued for a number of reasons.

1. It's Wes we're talking about
2. I'm more than intrigued about his dad and even though Wes said he wasn't bad, I've built this monster in my head
3. Ellie apparently has never met his dad which makes me extra curious about their relationship because Ellie and Wes seem close
And 4. I'm still trying to figure out Brett

And I realize all of these things mean that I'm now more than apart of their group.

Brett clears his throat, pushing his glasses up his nose as he looks both directions before pulling out of Ellie's driveway.

"He's fine." Brett says.

"But we've never movie nighted there before. Why now?" She pushes.

But he just shrugs his shoulders, his green eyes meeting mine for just a second as he straightens his car back out on the road.

"Ugh." Ellie complains. "Give me more than that!"

"I don't know what to tell you Ellie, his dad's fine. I don't know why he's already back for another weekend. Wes didn't give me details." He rattles off.

She lets out a sigh, her head so close to my shoulder I'm surprised she hasn't just asked to sit in my lap.

"When did James and Savannah say they'd be there?" She asks.

Brett clears his throat. "James texted me before we picked you up and said they were leaving their house."

Everyone falls silent, Ellie with her chin in her hand, her elbow resting on the center console between Brett and I. Keeping my eyes focused out the window, my mind plays out potential scenarios for the night, all of which I remain mostly involved.

"Do you think there's something going on with James and Darren?" Ellie asks.

I turn to look at her, catching the tightening of Brett's knuckles on the steering wheel but he stays silent.

But curiosity gets the best of me and I shift in the beige seat to get a better look at her as I ask "James is gay?"

"Beats me." Ellie says. "He's never dated anyone."

She purses her lips together, tilting her head slightly as her eyebrows arch higher into her forehead.

"What do you think Brett?" My gaze shifts past Ellie to Brett, the two of us waiting for an answer.

It's subtle, the small things that have shifted, but there's a tensing of his posture, his fingers gripping the steering wheel tighter. My mind flashes me a moment from the park, of the look that I watched get passed between Brett and James. And suddenly I realize that I've found a secret. It may not be that James is gay, though I'm starting to think that maybe he is, but regardless Brett and James definitely share a secret.

He pulls down a quiet street with manicured lawns and nice cars in the driveway. The homes slightly larger but still modest, all similar to each other but uniquely their own.

"I think it's none of our business." Brett says, his tone clipped and full of finality.

Ellie lets out a groan and flops back, mumbling "grandpa" under her breath.

But I can't seem to tear my eyes away from Brett. The Brain. The protector. The secret keeper.

                            ————————

Brett was right and I guess so was Wes. His dad isn't bad. He's fine. He seems like a dad. A very normal dad.

Wes even looks like him, I mean you have to look past the fact that they don't have the same hair color, or eye color, or the fact that his dad is a few inches taller than him too. It's more of in his bone structure and the way he stands and how they both walk the same. A confident strut that I'm not sure Wes realizes he has.

But the thing that captures my attention most is the fact that he's not tic-ing. Or if he does it's subtle and quick like he's not letting it all out. Which of course is making me study his dad as he comes in every so often to see if we're all alright.

"This pizza is missing onions." Ellie announces. "Who doesn't put onions on a pizza? Let alone "the works"? Grace never gets our order wrong."

Savannah shoots Ellie a look that she completely misses because she's inspecting her pizza.

"It's fine." James says, Brett adding "you'll live".

And of course Wes apologizes and when he does his eyes meet mine. 

"All I'm saying is...ow." Ellie shouts, her pizza sliding from her plate to the beige carpet below. "What was that for?" She snaps at Savannah.

Chaos follows with everyone bickering at each other as they scoop the pizza off the floor.  I catch Wes cycling through his normal set of tics. James and Brett standing at the same time from separate couches. They almost bump into each other, but just before contact they both retract. The encounter is stiff and guarded as they increase the distance hastily, avoiding eye contact before Brett hurries off.

Call me nosey, but I follow Brett through the house, past the kitchen to the mud room. As I hear the door I watch him stop in the center of the room, tilting his head back so that all of his dark curls fall from his head. His hands resting on his hips, his shoulders deflating as he lets out a loud breath.

It feels weird intruding on this moment and now that I'm here I'm not sure what I thought I was going to discover. So I clear my throat causing Brett to whirl around and look at me.

"I didn't know you were there." He sputters out.

"Didn't mean time startle you." I tell him, pointing at a basket with towels tossed in it. "Thought I'd help look for something to clean the carpet with."

His green eyes search my face from behind his glasses and for just a second I think he might say something. That he wants to unload whatever secret that he and James are harboring. But he doesn't, instead he clears his throat and fixes his glasses.

"I don't really know where everything is here but I figured this would be a good start. Want to check those cubbies and I'll look in these cabinets?" He gestures at both places rightly so.

"Sure."

I won't force Brett to share his secret.  But now I'm even more sure of its existence and equally curious.

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