"I still can't believe we won," Trevor explains with a laugh as he tops up my glass of wine again with a second bottle.

I take a drink of the cool liquid, relishing in the feeling of its smooth descent down my throat. Oh, wine, how I've missed you. Which is a good reminder that I should slow down with my consumption. It's already affecting me, making the edges of my brain feel a little fuzzy in a warm welcome. It may already be too late to start worrying about slowing down.

"And it's a good thing we won," I reply to Trevor. "I have a feeling you would have been a bit of a sore loser if we didn't."

"Who, me?" Trevor places a hand over his chest, hamming it up in his dorky way after placing the now-empty bottle back on the counter. He crosses the room again to join me on the couch.

"Yes, you," I laugh while I shift my body closer to the armrest, creating some more distance between us. I don't know why I do it. It's just a trigger reaction that I make without meaning to. I'm not afraid of Trevor. In fact, I told myself when I agreed to come here that he would be a good rebound.

Is it still considered a rebound if you weren't sleeping with the guy that you're trying to rebound from?

"Hey, at least I wouldn't fall to the ground if we lost." He smirks and gives his head an amused shake before he sips his wine.

I laugh at the memory of Cal's dramatics. "You saw Cal do that too, huh?"

"Yeah." He rolls his eyes. "He's always been such a child."

My laughter subsides, and a frown forms on my face. "What do you mean?"

"Cal." He says his name like it should be obvious, but when I keep staring at him he continues. "He has the emotional reactivity of a small child. Except, I've seen children with a much better hold on their emotions than that guy." He grins at me and then laughs again, but I don't understand where the humour in his statement is, so I ask him.

"Why is that funny to you?"

Trevor's laughter peters off when he realizes that I haven't joined him. He shrugs. "I don't know. He's supposed to be a grown man. He has all these tough guy tattoos and this I'm-king-shit persona but if anything doesn't go his way he becomes a petulant child."

He's not exactly wrong but his words still rub me the wrong way. I take a long drink of my wine while I avoid eye contact with him, trying to keep my temper in check. "Maybe," I begin and flick my gaze back to him, "he has a reason for being like that."

Trevor gives me a skeptical grin. "He has a reason for acting like a child?"

I can't keep the glare off of my face, and Trevor finally seems to notice that I'm pissed.

"I'm not trying to offend you or your friends, Emilia." He chuckles and shrugs again. "I'm just saying it how it is."

"You're being an asshole."

"Woah, woah." He laughs again, although this time it sounds a little awkward. "Let's backtrack, okay? I was just joking around."

I lean forward to place my glass of wine on the coffee table. "I don't know if I can just backtrack. Cal is my best friend. I can't even begin to explain how important he is to me."

Trevor sighs and sinks into the couch, muttering under his breath, "Figures..."

I much preferred rambling, dorky Trevor. I narrow my eyes at him while I cross my arms over my chest. "What is that supposed to mean?"

He sighs and takes a drink from his glass before he answers bitterly, "Whenever I find a woman that I'm really into, they're already in love with Cal Jones."

I blink in confusion. I was not expecting that answer.

"Hold up." I put my hands out in front of me. My intoxicated mind attempts to piece together what he's getting at. "First of all, I am not in love with Cal." ... Anymore. "And secondly, what do you even mean? I thought you dated Megan, not April."

"Well, I wasn't really dating Megan. Not exclusively." He continues to explain when I quirk an eyebrow. "We were kind of seeing each other but then I was also talking to April, and it turned out that Megan didn't like that. I think she thought we were more serious than we were."

Ah, so that's why Theo doesn't like you.

Not only did Trevor date Megan but he did it while trying to two-time with his sister.

"You dated April too," I mumble the words to myself while I try to make sense of this news.

He shakes his head. "Not really. We just went out for coffee the one time. She ended up back together with Cal shortly after."

Woah. What?

"You tried to get together with April after she was already with Cal?"

That sounds like a recipe for disaster. No wonder Cal doesn't like him.

"It's not like I knew how serious they were," he replies defensively. "I thought they were just friends until Cal looked like he was going to kill me. I think he was actually thinking of trying it before Theo stopped him. Like I said before, his emotional reactivity is off the charts."

Oh, fuck, what a mess. It all adds up now why Cal was unimpressed with me hanging out with Trevor. And for some reason, knowing that neither Cal nor Theo like the guy makes me feel guilty for being here with him.

"I'm sorry, Emilia. I feel like I've really messed up our time together. Can we just pretend this conversation didn't happen?" He leans forward to pick up my glass of wine and tries to hand it back to me.

I take the glass from him only to set it back down on the table. "Maybe you can, but I can't. I think we should call it a night, Trevor."

He grimaces and sets down his own glass next to mine. "I'm afraid I've had too much to drink to drive you home..." He drops his eyes with embarrassment. "I'll call you a cab."

I imagine myself showing up at Cal's at this late hour, reeking of wine, and frown at the image. Even though I think he and April would be understanding, I don't want to put myself through the embarrassment. "Would it... Would it be okay if I just slept on your couch? Unless that would be too awkward now."

Trevor shakes his head while he stands. "No, that would be completely okay. I'd feel better about that than sending you home by yourself when you're not sober." He picks up our glasses and carries them toward the counter. "I'm sorry our night ended like this, Emilia. I'll get you a pillow and a blanket."

Surprisingly enough, I'm not sorry. If Trevor hadn't started talking shit about Cal there's no telling what foolish mistake I would have made. Though I had intended on using him as a rebound, I'm glad to have ended up on his couch instead of in his bed.

Although, I'm not really certain why.

----------

Trevor drives me home early the next morning before he has to go to work. We don't talk much during the drive. I'm nursing a hangover, and I think Trevor is still embarrassed about how the night ended.

As we pull up to Cal's, I notice Theo's truck is parked in front of his house at the side of the road instead of in the driveway. Attached to the back end of the truck is a dusty, black work trailer with O'Malley Construction printed on its side. I hadn't known before that the business used to belong to Ben. Theo must have kept the work trailer elsewhere before this, which makes me wonder why he has it parked out front now.

Trevor clears his throat after parking in the Jones' driveway, drawing my attention to him and his uneasy smile. "Thanks for coming out, Emilia. It was fun. Well, until..." He drifts off.

"Until it wasn't," I finish for him.

We share an awkward laugh, and then Trevor leans over to hug me. I stiffly return the gesture along with two pats against his back.

"Ooh," Trevor winces as we break apart. "A back pat, huh? I mean, I already had a feeling that I completely blew my shot but that just confirmed it for me."

"To be honest with you, Trevor..." This time I'm the one that drifts off before I tact on, "You never really had one."

"Wow." He laughs but it sounds hollow. "Your honesty is refreshing, Emilia."

Fuck. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything. "Trevor—"

"No, it's okay. I get it. It was my offer to cook you salmon, wasn't it?" His question is followed by a little grin.

I laugh, appreciating the joke amongst the strain between us, and then lean toward him to give him a hug. "Thanks for not making it personal."

As he returns the hug he lets out a quiet, "Ah, there it is."

I give him a quizzical look as we once again pull apart.

"You told me you weren't in love with Cal. At the time, I wasn't sure if I believed you, but I see now that I was wrong when the real answer should have been blatantly obvious."

When I continue to look at him with confusion, he gestures behind me with his chin. "He's waiting for you."

I resist the urge to turn around and see for myself. My heart begins to race.

"And I think he's been hanging around his brother-in-law too much," Trevor continues, followed by an awkward chuckle. "I've never seen Theo Morrison so ready to throw a punch."

I feel paralyzed in my seat. I continue to look at Trevor although I don't have anything else to say to him. My thoughts are solely on Theo now.

"You should, uh, maybe get out of my car... If I thought I still had a chance with you, I'd maybe be willing to take a hit from the guy, but as things stand, I'd rather not have him come over here to drag me out of my seat."

I can't see Theo starting a fight, not over me, but Trevor sounds convincingly scared when he adds, "I mean it, Emilia. The guy probably has a hundred pounds on me. Get out of my car."

I tell myself not to look in Theo's direction as I watch Trevor's car back out of the driveway but my resolve only lasts until Trevor's car turns the nearest corner and disappears from my view.

When I look at the brick home next door, I find him sitting on the top step, staring right at me. He brings a cigarette to his lips and takes a long drag, then looks away while flicking the butt of the cigarette into his pristine lawn. He uses his hands to push himself to his feet and painfully makes his way down the porch steps to begin walking to his truck.

I take a step in his direction. I don't have a plan in place, but by the time I realize that I have no idea what I want to say to him it's already too late. He's turned away from walking toward his truck and is now heading in my direction too. I stop walking and let him approach, gauging his face the entire way to look for any signs of emotion. All I'm met with is tired eyes and a blank expression.

"Are you sleeping at all, Theo?"

My question catches him off guard. I don't think he expected me to be the first to speak.

He stops in front of me, barely leaving two feet between us so that I have to tilt my head back to see his face. He blinks slowly before answering in a gravelly voice, "Not really, no."

I don't know what to say next. I drop my eyes to the ground and wish I had kept walking to Cal's house instead of turning in Theo's direction. It's so hard to be this close to him and unable to fall into his arms.

He looks so lost. He sounds so torn up. But I know that he'll get over it. He'll catch on eventually that he's better off without me. In some small ways, I'm sure he already has.

"You cleared out my stuff fast enough."

I'm unsure if my words are a reminder to him or myself.

"Really?" There's an irritated tone of disbelief in the word. "That's how you're spinning that?" He sounds cold and distant, reminding me of our first interactions, but then a quiet sigh escapes him. He momentarily shifts the weight in his feet before shifting back to his good leg, collecting himself before he explains in a gentler tone, "I just didn't want to force you to have to come and get it yourself, Milia."

"Oh."

There is a quiet moment between us. Neither of us know what to say. Neither of us is capable of walking away. I stare at his work boots, trying to come up with something, anything, to end the silence. Theo beats me to it.

"You slept with him?" 

"No," I snap the word angrily at his accusing question. My eyes flash up to meet his with my quick answer, just in time to see the way his rigid stance loosens with relief, and his hand comes up to wipe his eye.

Did he just brush away a tear?

"Not that it's any of your business, but no. I just slept at his house," I explain more in-depth and then add, "But you know what, maybe I will."

He takes a quick step closer, crowding into my space as he breathes out the word, "Don't."

My chin tilts down with the slightest nod of agreement, even as I mutter, "What does it matter to you anyway?"

"How are you even asking me that? I'm in love with you, Emilia. Of course it matters to me!"

I can't handle the sincerity in his eyes. I turn away as I scoff. "Oh, please."

His hand lightly touches my cheek, and he applies gentle pressure, attempting to turn my face back to him. When I don't budge, he doesn't force it. Instead, he carefully traces his fingers along my jaw and speaks in a soft voice.

"I'm not the one that put this distance between us, sweetheart. When I told you I loved you, I meant it. I meant it every time. You can push me away all you want, but I'm still going to mean it. I'm so in love with you, Emilia. I'm trying so hard to handle this... to give you the time you need to decide what you want. And I know you're scared, but you need to know that I want you. I'm always going to want you. I love you."

My chin begins to quiver with my threatening tears, and Theo lets out a shaking breath. His fingers slip from my jawline behind my ear and to the back of my head to draw me against his chest.

"It's okay," he speaks soothingly into my hair while his other arm wraps around my back. "Ahh," he breathes out while slightly tightening his hold on me. "It feels so good to hold you, baby."

I don't trust myself to speak but I completely agree with the sentiment. How can I want nothing more than to cling to him when I know that I need to push him away?

"I was waiting here to tell you that I'm leaving on a work trip," he says after a few minutes of silence. "I'm going up north to work on those cottages. I mentioned the offer briefly to you before, but I wasn't sure if I'd accept the offer then... but anyway, if you need me or want to talk or anything, just call. Any time. Day or night. I'll come home if you want me here." His hold tightens on me again. "Please... Just call me, Milia."

What started as an open invitation now sounds like a desperate request—a request that I'm not sure I can fulfill.

When I don't answer, Theo lets out a sigh of resignation. "Well, I'd better hit the road. It's a long drive." Still, he continues holding onto me until I take a step back from him. His arms fall away from me to hang stiffly at his sides.

"Right, well, take care of yourself, okay? April should have something for your hangover."

I blush at the realization that he knows I was drinking last night and manage to reply softly, "You too, Theo."

He remains standing in front of me, and his hand twitches at his side as if he's going to reach for me again. But when I take another step back, he slowly nods and does the same.

"I love you, Milia. I'm not going anywhere. Well, I guess I kind of am right now, physically speaking, but you know what I mean... You're not going to be able to push me away. Call me, okay?"

I want to agree. I want to tell him that I love him too.

I don't say anything.

I turn to Cal's house and escape inside, and then I watch out the window as Theo's truck and trailer eventually pull away from the curb to drive down the road.

"Oh, you're so sure
that I'll be leaving in the end,
You're treating me like I'm already gone.
But I'm not;
I will stay where you are, always.
I will stay. I will stay. I will stay.
I will stay."