Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice, Chapter 21 (Broken Bonds)

Brandon sat in his car in the office parking lot, his hands resting on the steering wheel as he took a few deep breaths. His thumb hovered over Adalynn’s number on his phone, but each time he gathered the nerve to call, he felt a pang of doubt. He stared at the screen, then set the phone down, rubbing his temples. Before he could muster up the courage again, his phone buzzed, and Damarae’s name lit up on the screen.

Brandon’s chest tightened. Part of him wanted to answer, to confront Damarae directly and get the truth, but the other part, the part still grappling with betrayal, couldn’t face him yet. After a few rings, he let the call go to voicemail. Seconds later, a voicemail notification popped up, but Brandon ignored it, taking another steadying breath. He picked up his phone and instead texted Adalynn.

Brandon: Can we meet in person instead of talking over the phone?

The response came almost immediately.

Adalynn: Sure. I can come by your place in an hour.

Brandon replied with a simple “Okay,” then set his phone down, anxiety gnawing at him as he mentally prepared for the conversation to come.

---

Elsewhere in town, Laura had just walked through the door when she heard frantic footsteps. Garth appeared in the hallway, looking more frazzled than she’d ever seen him.

“Garth?” she asked, her brow furrowing in concern. “What’s wrong?”

He ran a hand through his hair, pacing the hallway. “I think Roberto killed a member of someone’s family.”

Laura froze, eyes widening. “What? Garth, are you serious?”

“Yes,” he replied, his voice a hurried whisper. “I think he killed someone.”

Laura’s jaw dropped, horror and disbelief warring on her face. “Okay, you need to tell me exactly what happened. Slowly.”

Garth took a deep breath, letting out a long exhale as he tried to calm himself. “Alright. You know how there’s been this whole turkey shortage, right? Well, the stores didn’t have any turkeys, so Roberto and I went out to this farm. And at the farm, we saw this… majestic turkey, just roaming around. Roberto kept saying he’d find a way to get it.”

“Okay…” Laura said, urging him to continue.

“So, we leave, go to the radio contest, win a turkey, and everything’s fine. But now Roberto’s got this second turkey, right? He says he got it for me as a ‘surprise,’ and then I turn on the news and see that Monty Sparks’s pet turkey, Bermuda, has gone missing from his farm!”

Laura’s mouth dropped open, and she clapped a hand over it, fighting back laughter. “Wait… you think Roberto stole a pet turkey?”

“Yes!” Garth replied, his face a mix of horror and exasperation. “I think Bermuda is sitting in our freezer right now.”

Laura bit her lip, trying not to laugh, then put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Okay, let’s not jump to conclusions. But… I think I’d better call Jazlyn.”

---

Back at Brandon’s house, Adalynn was waiting outside when he arrived. She gave him a tentative smile as he got out of the car, but Brandon barely returned it, his expression distant. He gestured for her to come inside, holding the door for her without a word.

Once inside, they stood in his living room, an awkward silence settling between them. Adalynn crossed her arms, breaking the silence first. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry about last night. I didn’t mean to ignore you, I just—”

“Yeah,” Brandon interrupted, his voice tense. “You were with a ‘friend.’”

Adalynn’s brows knit together, a flicker of frustration crossing her face. “Yeah, I was. And Damarae told me you were acting weird earlier. What’s going on, Brandon?”

Brandon scoffed, his tone growing sharper. “That’s funny. You and Damarae seem to talk a lot these days.”

Adalynn’s jaw tightened. “Are you seriously going to keep being passive-aggressive, or are you going to tell me what’s really going on?”

Brandon took a deep breath, trying to keep his voice steady, but his frustration spilled over. “I’d like to know that too. I talked to Damarae earlier, and he rushed me off the phone. So I tried to talk to you, but you said you were with a friend. So I drove over to Damarae’s place, and there’s your car. No sign of his. And then, if that wasn’t enough, I walk in on my two moms kissing, and then I went to a wrestling show where I had to watch a guy get betrayed by two of his friends—” he paused, realizing he’d gone off track, but the tension hung in the air, his words hanging unfinished.

Adalynn blinked, trying to process the avalanche of words. “Wait… you caught your moms kissing?”

Brandon’s shoulders sagged, exasperated. “Is that all you got from that?”

Adalynn’s expression softened, a mixture of confusion and hurt in her eyes. “I don’t get why you’re acting like this, Brandon. What’s really bothering you?”

Brandon clenched his fists, taking a shaky breath. “This month has been one mess after another, and I feel like I can’t trust anyone anymore. Not even my friends.”

Adalynn looked at him for a long moment, her eyes narrowing slightly. “You know, Brandon, who I spend my time with isn’t really any of your business.”

Brandon shook his head, his voice barely a whisper. “It was Damarae, wasn’t it?”

Adalynn crossed her arms, her expression unreadable. “Like I said, that’s none of your business.”

Just then, the door swung open, and Damarae walked in, his voice cheerful as he called out. “Brandon, man, we need to talk—” He froze as he took in the scene, his gaze flicking from Brandon to Adalynn, tension thick in the room. “Okay… I can see that now might not be the best time.”

Brandon’s gaze turned cold, and he folded his arms, glaring at Damarae. “Funny how you just keep showing up. I don’t know who my friends are anymore.”

Damarae’s face fell, and he shook his head in disbelief. “Brandon, what are you talking about?”

“You know what I’m talking about,” Brandon replied, his tone cutting. “Out of everyone I know, I thought you had my back. But I guess I was wrong.”

Adalynn glanced at Brandon, her eyes narrowing as her confusion shifted to hurt. “You know what, Brandon? I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but this isn’t okay. Whatever you’re going through… I hope you figure it out.”

With that, she turned on her heel and left, not sparing either of them another glance as she closed the door behind her.

Damarae stared at him, trying to piece together the accusations in Brandon’s tone. He took a step forward, his voice pleading. “Brandon, if you’d just tell me what’s going on—”

“Don’t,” Brandon snapped, stepping back. “Don’t act like you don’t know.”

Damarae looked stunned. “What do you think I did?”

Brandon’s face contorted with hurt and anger. “You knew how I felt about Adalynn. And you went behind my back anyway.”

Damarae’s eyes widened, a flicker of understanding crossing his face. “Wait… you think… Brandon, nothing’s going on. I would never do that to you, man. Adalynn’s my friend, just like you are.”

Brandon let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. “Right. Just a friend.”

“Yeah,” Damarae said, his voice firm. “And if you don’t believe me, then maybe you don’t know me at all.”

Brandon felt his frustration boiling over, and before he could stop himself, he shoved Damarae. Damarae barely moved, a mixture of hurt and disbelief in his eyes as he stared at Brandon. He took a step back, holding his hands up.

“Brandon, stop. You’re not thinking straight,” Damarae said, his voice calm but strained. “You’re angry, I get it. But this isn’t you.”

Brandon’s hands shook, his mind clouded by jealousy and frustration. “You… you don’t know what it’s like to feel like everyone you trust is just using you.”

Damarae’s expression softened, and he took a deep breath, stepping closer. “Brandon, I would never hurt you like that. And I’m telling you right now, whatever you think is going on, it’s not. I respect you too much for that.”

Brandon’s face twisted with emotion, his voice breaking. “Then why couldn’t you just tell me the truth?”

“What truth?” Damarae said, his voice rising in frustration. “There’s nothing to tell!”

Brandon clenched his fist and swung, his punch barely connecting with Damarae’s shoulder. Damarae’s face fell, the hurt clear in his eyes as he took a step back, finally seeing that Brandon was beyond reason.

With a calm, resigned sigh, Damarae said, “If you’re going to hit someone, Brandon… this is how you do it.” He pulled back and punched Brandon square in the jaw, knocking him to the ground.

Brandon lay there, staring up at the ceiling as the pain sank in. Damarae stood over him, his face a mixture of sadness and disappointment.

“I would never make a move on Adalynn because of you,” Damarae said softly. “Whatever you think you saw, it’s not the truth. And you know that deep down. But if you don’t trust me enough to believe that, then… maybe we’re not friends after all.”

Brandon watched in silence as Damarae turned and walked out, closing the door quietly behind him. A silence settled over the room, heavy and suffocating.

He laid there, staring up at the ceiling as a single tear traced its way down his cheek. He felt hollow, the weight of his anger and jealousy finally catching up to him. The silence pressed down on him, cold and unyielding, as he grappled with the realization that, in his desperation to hold onto his friends, he may have pushed them all away.