I think I heard wrong.

No, correction. I want to believe that I heard wrong. For Brooks' sake. For my own.

But I ask to be sure. "I'm sorry. I thought you said Jimmy Daniels."

Brooks gulps, and that's all the answer that I need to know that I, in fact, didn't.

"I did," he hoarsely speaks.

I gape at him because I can't believe what I'm hearing.

I asked Brooks for one thing. I asked him not to start anything with Jimmy Daniels. Not because I think that the asswipe doesn't deserve it, but because it's not helping anyone.

Am I being a little selfish asking Brooks to not fight Jimmy because it'll jeopardize me working for him? Maybe a little. But I need this job to support my family. Is that selfish? Not at all.

Here I was convincing myself over the past month that Brooks Caldwell isn't the egotistical, self-absorbed golden boy that I thought he was. Man, was I wrong.

"Babe," Nico mutters to Bella. "Why don't we go inside? Leave these two alone?"

Bella follows Nico's movement when he goes to stand up, but she lets him walk to the sliding doors alone.

"Brooks, I swear to God, if you did something to mess this relationship up, I'll hurt you," Bella threatens with a finger in the air.

"BC," Nico shouts from a few feet away, giving her a wave. "C'mon, babe. Give them their privacy. They'll figure this out."

Will we, though? What's there to figure out? The facts are the facts. Brooks fought Jimmy Daniels. What more do I need to know?

I watch Bella make her way to the door, and she smirks at me when she passes. I force myself to smirk back just to show her that I'm okay, even though I'm really not.

Brooks inches his body forward and looks anxiously at me.

"Babe," he shakes his head, "it's not what you think."

"It's exactly what I think," I shout. "You fought Jimmy." I let out a breath full of disbelief. "For whatever reason, you fought Jimmy after I told you not to."

"'For whatever reason'?" Brooks repeats after me. "Rem, it wasn't for 'whatever reason'. The asshole was talking shit about you. To my fucking face. What did you expect me to do? Just let it slide?"

"Yes," I shout again.

"What?" Brooks asks, but he's more stunned than confused by my answer. "I was protecting you."

"No, that's the thing, you weren't."

"I wasn't? Really?" he asks almost mockingly.

"No," I respond. "If you were trying to protect me, you would've done the opposite."

"What? Sit back and let him run his fucking mouth?" Brooks shakes his head at me. "You and I have two different meanings of the word 'protect', Remi."

"Brooks," I inch my body forward to get closer to him, "I specifically asked you not to fight Jimmy. And you promised me that you wouldn't. You broke that promise."

"No, I promised you that I wouldn't fight him when you told me about him kissing you on the golf course. Which, want to know what? I should've knocked his face in for, but I didn't. Because I told you that I wouldn't. The shit that he pulled last night was a whole different scenario."

I can tell that Brooks is getting more and more frustrated. It's not that I don't appreciate him sticking up for me. I do, more than I can explain. But my situation with Jimmy is complicated. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't even be working for him in the first place. But I need this job. My family needs me to have this job.

Obviously, Brooks doesn't know about my family's situation, and I'm fully aware that that's my fault, but I can't turn back time. The damage has been done.

I start chewing on my upper lip, toying with the thought of just confessing everything to Brooks.

I have to.

I should've a long time ago.

"You know how I told you I'm going to Tulane in the fall?" I say.

Brooks squints his eyes at me, clearly confused as to why I'm bringing this up now. "Yeah?"

"Well, I'm not anymore."

"What? What do you mean?" Brooks shakes his head, stunned.

"I mean, I withdrew my admission."

"What?" he asks again. "Why? I thought Tulane was your first choice."

"It was," I say, a feeling of deep sadness consuming my body. "But things change."

"What kind of things?" Brooks asks concerningly, and I know that this is my opportunity to tell him what I need to tell him.

"Family things," I say, and he immediately reaches for my hands, covering them with his.

"Rem, is everything okay?" he asks alarmingly. "What's going on. Talk to me, baby."

I let out a deep exhale before continuing. "My dad lost his job a couple months ago. I wanted to tell you, but I was hoping that things would work themselves out. That hasn't been the case, though. 8 months later, and my family's still in the same boat. Dad can't find a job, mom's working double shifts. We can't pay things on time, and I can't afford my college tuition. I had no choice but to change my plans."

Brook gulps loudly and sits back in his chair. I see it in his eyes. His pity for me. Pity that I expected but don't want.

"This is why you needed the job with Jimmy," he mumbles under his breath, but I hear him loud and clear. I think he meant to say it for his own understanding, rather than state it out loud for me to confirm, but I do it anyways.

"Yeah," I say.

He shakes his head and comes back closer to me. "Rem, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry that your family is going through this right now. I wish you told me. I could've been there for you. But I'm here now, and I'll always be here."

"It's okay," I assure him. "I can handle this on my own."

"I'm sure you can," he says, "but you shouldn't have to. Why won't you let me in?"

"For what? Let you in for what? For help? For money?"

"For whatever you need from me," he says, dipping his head down to look at me. "Remi, I'm falling in love with you. I won't let you drown when I can s-"

"What?" I cut him off. "When you can save me. Is that what you were going to say, Brooks? Because if you were, don't worry. I don't need to be saved by anyone."

"I didn't mean it like that."

"How did you mean it then? You think I'm not aware of the fact that my family isn't as fortunate as yours? Isn't as privileged? I get it Brooks. I know. And you want to know what? I've fully accepted the fact that we're from two different worlds."

"We're not that different, Rem," he tells me otherwise.

"We're not? Really? Brooks your family practically owns this town. Mine can't even afford our house."

"You think that's what makes us different? The difference in money that our families have?"

"It's not just the money. It's everything that comes with it."

"What about character, huh? Does that come with money, too? Because I'd like to think that my character is dependent on who I am as a person. I care about others, Rem. I want to make my loved ones proud."

"You do care and you do make them proud," I tell him softly.

"So do you, Rem. We're the same in that sense. Don't push me away because of something that we both can't control. And don't let something that hasn't even tarnished our relationship destroy us."

"We can't live in a fantasy world, Brooks."

"I'm not living in a fantasy world, Rem. My love for you is very real."

How do I tell him that I feel the same way? That my love for him is so real that it keeps me moving?

I want to, I want to more than anything in this world, yet I'm struggling with it.

"I think we should take a break," I confess, despite my wishes. Despite what I really want.

"What?" Brooks asks incredulously. "What do you mean 'a break'?"

"I mean, I think we should cool it for a little. A lot's happened over the last 24 hours, and I just need to clear my head."

"Remi, if this is about Jimmy, then I'm sorry. Truly. In my defense, you just told me about your dad 5 minutes ago. I would've never jeopardized your job with him like that had I known."

"I know you wouldn't have, and I appreciate that, really, I do. But..."

"But what?" his eyes move side-to-side, scanning my features. I keep silent because I don't even know what to say. I don't want this break, but something's telling me that we need one. "Do you love me?" Brooks asks when I don't say anything. His eyes are teary and I'm seeing a sensitive side to him that I haven't really seen yet.

Do I love Brooks? Yeah, I do. I think I have for quite some time now. But does me saying that out loud help this situation?

"Because I love you," Brooks continues. "I'm in love with you. And I promise you that I'll be there for you through all this."

"I can't ask you to do that. You have your own life to worry about."

"Yeah, and you're a big part of my life now."

"Brooks," I close my eyes, "please."

"I don't get why you're pushing me away," he says, shaking his head as he looks down.

I don't mean to, I want to say.

But instead, I don't.

I don't say anything.