The Brother of My Boyfriend: A Love for Two

As dawn breaks, Mandy begins to get ready for college. Carefully choosing her outfit, she puts her things in her bag. Her parents wait for her in the kitchen for breakfast. As she descends the stairs, she watches her father kiss her mother on the

forehead.

"How lovely!" she smiles at the affection between her parents.

"Good morning, dear. Did you sleep well?" her father asks, giving her a forehead kiss.

"Yes, Dad, good morning," Mandy replies.

"Good morning, dear. Before I forget, Dylan called early, wondering if you were home. Any issues with your phone?" her curious mother asks.

"No, my phone's fine. No calls from him. Strange," Mandy says, looking at her phone.

"Did you two argue? Any disagreement about dinner?" her concerned father inquires.

"No, not at all. We were fine until he called me in the middle of the night to check on me. He said he'd talk to his mom, and after that, we haven't spoken. I didn't want to pressure him," Mandy explains.

"Maybe that's why he called he didn't want to burden you," Judith suggests.

"I should get going so I'm not late. There's an important test today. I'll call Dylan on the way. Love you, kisses!" Mandy says.

She bids farewell to her parents and heads to college. Choosing to walk takes about half an hour. On the way, she reflects on Jason's audio with Megan and the mix of emotions she's feeling, determined to fix her mistakes.

Arriving at college, Mandy goes to her locker for chemistry books. She sends several messages to Megan, but none are answered. As she closes the locker door, Megan startles her, leaning against the locker. "Wow, Megan, you scared me!" Mandy exclaims.

"I didn't mean to. Are you okay? I sent you several messages, but you didn't reply. You sent me an audio with you and Jason; it sounded like you were having sex. Maybe one of you accidentally touched the phone?" Mandy asks. Megan remains silent, glaring at Mandy in anger. Not understanding, Mandy asks again if she's okay.

"Let's go to the courtyard; we need to talk seriously," Megan responds.

"But we have a test now," Mandy protests.

"We'll go now; the test can wait. This is urgent," Megan insists.

"Okay, let's go then," Mandy agrees.

In the courtyard, Megan begins, "How could you do this to me?"

"What did I do to you?" Mandy asks, puzzled.

"You're going to pretend you don't know? Let me tell you. I asked if you had a crush on Jason, and you said no. When we started getting together, you claimed you felt nothing for him. I poured my heart out to you, saying I liked him. Now I find out that my best friend, whom I love like a sister, is sleeping with my boyfriend. How can you be such a backstabbing slut, Mandy?" Megan angrily cries.

"It's not what you think, Megan. I can explain," Mandy attempts to justify.

"Don't call me a friend. How can anyone be friends with someone like this? And Dylan, did you ever think about him? You were sleeping with his brother-his only brother. He died for Jason, and you're betraying him. I don't even want to think about what Dylan will do when he finds out," Megan says, venting her anger.

"Let me explain, please," Mandy insists.

"Speak; I'm listening. What justification do you have for all this?" Megan listens.

"After I confused Jason with Nate, I avoided him in every way imaginable. I was embarrassed, and one day he offered to take me out to get along, since we're in-laws. We got stuck on a beach, and that's where it all happened. I didn't plan any of this, and I believe neither did he," Mandy confesses.

"Since it wasn't planned, tell me how many times it happened. If it wasn't planned, I assume just once," Megan presses Mandy.

Mandy remains silent, unable to answer Megan's questions.

"You can't answer, right? That's what I thought. It happened more than once, so you have nothing to argue about. You enchanted Jason and made him betray his own brother. The constant fights with our mother-in-law-she was always right about you, but I was blind, thinking you were the good Mandy. How stupid I've been!" Megan exclaims.

"Wait, I was never fake with you. We've been friends since childhood. What happened between me and Jason was before you two started dating. When you told me you were seeing him, it had already happened a few times. I didn't want to tell you and hurt you. I never wanted to hurt anyone, Megan," Mandy cries.

"Okay, Mandy, I have one thing to ask. Promise me you'll stay away from Jason. You won't get involved with him again. Treat him as your brother-in-law. If I suspect you're deceiving me again, I'll tell Dylan everything without hesitation. You just got engaged; act like it. Don't throw away what you and Dylan have because Jason begged for my forgiveness and said there's no woman who affects him like me. In this story, you have more to lose," Megan says.

"I'll never be with him again. I don't even want to talk to him. I don't know how I got into all this. Furthermore, I just ask one thing: don't turn your back on me, Megan. You're my best friend," Mandy pleads. "I don't know if I can forgive this, but just keeping your distance from my boyfriend is progress. Now I have to go to class; we have a test," Megan says.

"I'm so sorry, Megan, for everything," Mandy apologizes.

Megan turns away, leaving Mandy alone. She walks towards the classroom to take the test. Mandy starts crying desperately and can't bring herself to go to class. She gathers her things and decides to leave. With heavy steps and tears overflowing, she walks aimlessly. Her phone starts vibrating; it's Dylan.

"Hello!" Mandy answers the call.

"Hi, love, are you at college?" Dylan asks.

"I just left. I didn't feel well," Mandy replies.

"What's wrong? You sound sad," Dylan continues questioning.

"Just not feeling well, it'll pass," Mandy assures.

"I want to see you; we need to talk. I'll send a taxi to pick you up and take you somewhere. The apartment is always crowded," Dylan suggests.

"Okay, I'll send you my location," Mandy agrees.

"See you in a bit. Love you, dear," Dylan says.

"Love you too," Mandy responds.

Mandy waits for the taxi Dylan is sending to pick her up, feeling anxious and fearing that Megan might have told him something.