Chapter 81: Nolan

Sawyer drives us to a place about five minutes from campus by car and pulls into a spot a few feet from a small house. Well, it looked more like a town house, but it wasn’t attached to anything. Maybe it was a new style of houses that I wasn’t aware of. Not that any of that mattered right now.

“This is your place?” I ask when Sawyer turns off the car.

“Our place. I bought it for Bryn and her roommate, but then her roommate went off to stay with her boyfriend, so I ended up staying here. Bryn was surprised to see me and fucking pissed too, but she let me stay.” Sawyer smiles at the memory, and I wonder what he feels when he thinks of her.

I’ll be honest, I’ve never felt anything for another person that could be called love. There is a comfort or familiarity but not love. Except with my mother and sister, I’ve never really felt it before. The kind of love that makes you feel like you can never be apart from someone. When all you want to do is be near them.

Maybe I’m just not normal, but I don’t connect with people that easily. There’s always something holding me back from letting myself be comfortable around people.

“Come on. Let’s get you bandaged up.” Sawyer slaps me on the shoulder and tilts his head toward the house.

I don’t need to be here. I’m not so badly hurt that I couldn’t patch myself up, but I also don’t want to go yet. It could be curiosity making me want to stay, but I unbuckle myself and climb out of Sawyers' truck.

“Sweetheart, we’re home.” I hear Maddox whisper to a sleeping Bryn as I move to close the door.

Sawyer comes over and opens the door where Bryn is waiting. He smiles at her and lifts his arms up to help her down. She wraps her arms around his neck and makes a surprised sound when Sawyer lifts her out and doesn’t let go. She’s forced to wrap her legs around his waist and they both laugh. Sawyer leans in and kisses her like no one else is watching.

“They’re intense. Let’s go inside before you get a look at more than you want to see,” Maddox says from the front of the car.

I see Sawyer lift his hand a flip Maddox off before I turn and follow Maddox to the front door.

“They aren’t going to…in the parking lot, are they?” I ask him.

He chuckles and unlocks the front door. “I wouldn’t put it past them. They’re crazy together.”

We walk in and he flips on a light next to the door, but the further we walk in other lights turn on by themselves. Neat.

“You don’t care that they could be out there giving the world a free show?” I ask, trying to sound cool about it, but I’m not comfortable with some stranger seeing them do that.

Seeing Bryn in that position…

Maddox shrugs. “They do their thing and I do mine. Bryn and I are different together, so what happens between them has nothing to do with me.”

I shake my head. “I just don’t get it. Why share one girl? I mean, athletes are never short on women to be with, but you want the one girl that should be off limits to you. Why?”

He opens the fridge and pulls out a couple of beers. When he looks at me, I expect to see annoyance or anger, but he’s just as calm as before.

“How do you not get it by now? We told you, it’s Bryn. She brings everything into place. Her heart is big enough to care about more than just me or Sawyer. She’s such an amazing person inside and out. So much so that one person loving her isn’t enough. The world should lie at her feet, but they don’t get to. She chose us.”

He talks about her like she’s an angel or a gift from god.

“I don’t know her well, but I can’t argue that she’s intriguing. The first time we met she was cursing god for something and looked almost mad that I showed up.” I tell him.

Maddox sets one beer down and opens the other, handing it to me before opening his own.

He smiles before taking a long drink out of the bottle. “Sounds like her. She talks out loud a lot. It’s one of her B-quirks.”

“B-quirks?” I ask before I look down at my beer and ponder if getting drunk is wise right now.

Because if I drink this, I won’t be able to stop. That’s the kind of day I’m having.

Maddox nods and takes another swig of beer. “She has these little personality quirks that are very much her. Sometimes she’ll wake up humming a song and end up listening to that same song on repeat for the whole day. Or she’ll randomly start talking out loud to herself. Among other things.”

I’m not sure how I feel about someone singing and replaying a song all day. That could get annoying fast.

“I can see you thinking over there. Bryn is bright and fun and happy almost all the time. That’s her and other days she’s too calm and too sad. It’s who she is.” He says this a little firmer and with a pointed look likes he’s warning me not to say the wrong thing.

“It sounds like she is- “

“Bipolar. Yeah, I am, but I also display signs of ADHD.” I whirl around and find Bryn standing behind me a few feet away.

There’s a second where guilt hits me and I want to scramble for an explanation, but she looks calm. She doesn’t look mad or upset at all. Instead, she smiles.

“Don’t worry about it. No need to freak out or anything.” She laughs. “You should see your face.”

She walks further into the kitchen and opens one of the cabinets. “Uh! Why do you guys keep putting my rice cakes so high? I can’t reach them, you know!”

Sawyer chuckles and walks over to stand behind her. He reaches past her and grabs the snacks before handing them to her.

“How else would I get to do anything for you? You’re too independent, and I like to feel needed. It’s my love language.” He smiles down at her and she scoffs.

“Yeah yeah. You want me to be a damsel in distress so you can run in and save the day. I know your tricks.” She brushes past him and takes out a piece of rice cake and takes a generous bite.

“So what movie are we watching?” She asks with a skip in her step when she passes me.

My eyes follow her as she walks over to a large couch and drops on it with a sigh. Sawyer grabs a drink from the fridge and follows her.

“Do you have somewhere you need to be?” Maddox asks.

I shake my head. “Nope.”

I could go home and try to forget about the shit that happened today, but right now, I don’t think I want to be alone. It’s a strange and new feeling, but sitting in my quiet apartment doesn’t sound appealing in the slightest.

“Come on, then.” Maddox drops a hand on my shoulder and gives me an encouraging nudge toward the living room.

Sawyer is sitting on one end with Bryn’s feet on his lap, but she’s sitting up with a huge space behind her like she’s waiting for someone to sit there. My guess is that it’s usually Maddox’s spot, and that this is a routine of theirs. I move to sit on the smaller couch, but Maddox nudges my arm and points at the spot with his chin, silently telling me to take his usual spot. Bryn isn’t paying attention to any of this. That has to be the only reason she relaxes against me as soon as I sit down. A warmth runs over my skin when I feel her against me, but I don’t know what to do now. I can’t say when was the last time I sat with a woman like this.

“What are you feeling like, baby?” Sawyer asked her.

She made a sound of consideration and took the remote from him. I turned my attention to the TV and watched her scroll through a large library of movies. She picks a movie called ‘Speed’ and the guys chuckle.

“Surprise surprise.” Sawyer teases her. “I guess your stint at the big house had you hoping a sexy cop was the one who interviewed you.”

I can’t see Bryn’s face, but her voice says it all. “You bet your butt. Especially if he looked like Keanu Reeves. That man is scrumptious.” She sighs dreamily, making Sawyer laugh.

“You’re a fan of cops?” I ask.

She turns her head to look at me and smirks. “I’m open to all kinds of sexy men, but if a cop came in here, a swept me off my feet, I wouldn’t fight him.”

“You already got two handsome men to sweep you off your feet,” Maddox says.

Bryn laughs. “I do. But you guys still don’t compare to Keanu. Sorry.”

The guys laugh and we all go quiet as the movie starts.