Page 113 of Fireworks

There had been plenty of times I had seen Paul break up fights during parties and attempt to get Brandon to calm down. I was no stranger to his authoritative voice. Yet hearing it used in my defense made it sound so much worse. There was a gentle knock on the door behind me. I wanted to pretend I wasn’t in here.

“I’ll be out in a minute.”

I did my best to clear my throat to hide the fact that I was crying.

“I’m sorry Katie. My brother is, well. He's an idiot.”

Paul’s voice was filled with regret. Opening the door, I didn’t bother to hide my face since they already knew I was a mess.

“It’s not his fault, Paul. Don’t blame him. He meant nothing by it.”

Paul pulled me into his arms, hugging me.

“I told him to keep his hands to himself, but he’s like a damn eager puppy. He doesn’t listen. You didn’t need this tonight. I'm so sorry.”

Ryder stood behind him, unsure if she should approach me or not. Paul seemed to take the lead on making sure I wasn’t going down my rabbit hole of despair again.

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow. Without my brother, I promise.”

He walked over to Ryder, giving her a kiss before storming out the door.

Staggering into my bedroom, I laid down on my bed, pulling my pillow between my arms to hug. I could feel Ryder's presence before she spoke.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Ryder, I'm so sorry I ruined your night. If you want me to move out, I won’t be mad. You didn’t sign up for this. I thought I was ready to just talk to someone other than you and Paul, but I was wrong. Especially since he must have thought I was flirting.”

She sat down next to me, taking a deep breath in.

“Katie, you listen to me right now. I am not kicking you out because you are going through a hard time right now. I am so lucky that I got paired with you last year as a roommate and I couldn’t imagine sharing this place with anyone else. Just from now on, don’t push yourself so hard. Everything will come in time. It hasn’t been that long. I love you. Just remember that, and I’m always here for you.”

She leaned over, hugging me. I don’t know what I did to get such an amazing person placed in my life, but I couldn’t be more grateful for her than I was right now.