The Truths That We Hide

𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞

Bree didn't handle well the fact that her brother was kept alive just by the machines in the hospital. Quentin, on the other hand, was only four and even though he didn't fully understand what was happening, he was aware that his uncle was hurt.

He was still hugging Chris' tall legs when he started to speak. She heard as he cried and told him that his uncle was in a hospital for two days and hadn't woken up. Then he told how much he missed him and that he wished to have more movie nights with him. It broke Bree's heart.

"I missed you too, little man. And I'm sure that your uncle will wake up soon, he just needs to rest so he can be with you again," Chris answered with a smile. Bree couldn't help but adore the kind, patient way he was with her child.

She started to walk towards her car with them following behind, carrying the shopping bags full of food for the next few days. Before she could realize what was happening, Chris took the bags from her hands and started to walk.

"I can carry my bags just fine, thank you very much," Bree said and tried to get them back from his hands but after a small fight, she gave up and let him do it. Usually, Quentin wanted to be as close to his mother as possible but now Chris got his whole attention.

Suddenly he turned to look up at her and there was something in the way he did it that left her confused and nervous. Why did he look like that when he looked at her? His gaze was so intense and full of emotions that she again wasn't able to recognize.

"Brett's been in the hospital since Thursday?" he asked with a frown as if there was something else that he didn't understand. When she confirmed his question to be true, his facial expression changed to nothing but pure happiness and relieved and all the tension left his body.

"Why do you look like that? What it matters to you if Brett got shot?" she asked, not managing to hide the annoyance in her voice.

"Not really - oh, wait, fuck! Of course, I'm sad that it happened and all but it's you who got hurt because of it!" Chris talked so fast that Bree had trouble understanding him but he continued talking about before she could ask any questions.

"And because you got hurt and worried and everything, you haven't been able to... think about my request."

He seemed to be done talking and yet, Bree had no idea what he was talking about. No matter how she tried, all she could think about was the last two days wasted in the school, home, and hospital, waiting for Brett to wake up or at least any news about him.

And the worst part was that this must be important to him whatever his request was based on the look on his face. Chris must have seen the look on her face when he suddenly stopped walking and his smile vanished and a frown took replaced it on his forehead.

"You don't remember?" he asked, looking so disappointed and sad that it made her feel even worse. He opened his mouth to say something else but decided against it. She saw his cheeks turning red. He was blushing! Why was he suddenly so embarrassed?

"Then you don't probably remember my - uhh, confession. Feelings. Request to help you be happy again. Ring any bells?" Now she remembered what their last conversation was about. Hell, she had cried on him while speaking about Xavier and how much she still loved him.

That's also when Chris confessed his feelings and wanted a chance to make her happy and move on because apparently, she still let Xavier effect on her life too much even after two years. That's the exact words that Chris said. Bree felt absolutely horrible for forgetting what he had said.

"I'm sorry, I - I was just..." she started to mumble both embarrassed and ashamed of her actions but didn't find the right words to say. Luckily she didn't have to worry about that too much because that's when Chris cut her off.

"I know, Bree. You worried about your brother and I understand that. I would be even worse if I was in your shoes."

"You have siblings too?" Bree asked. She remembered hearing about his family in high school but five years was a long time to remember things that she didn't really care about.

"Yes, Alexandra and Evelyn," he smiled while talking about them and that was enough for her to understand that he really loved his sisters.

"Though they are only teenagers and I'm the big brother like Brett is to you. But I know about feeling protective and worried about someone close to you so don't feel bad for forgetting what I said to you."

"You're not uncle yet", she said it half-joking but she knew that if he was, Alex or Evelyn wouldn't be the first teenage parents in the world. Hell, she was one herself so she wasn't judging. If either one got pregnant, she would love to help them because she knew that it wasn't easy.

Chris looked murderous while thinking about his little sisters getting pregnant at so young that he started to curse out loud without remembering that she had experienced it too. "Hell no, they wouldn't do that mistake! They will be grown up adults and I will have gray hair before they have babies!"

Mistake. That was the only thing that she heard from his small speech. She realized that no matter what had happened during the last few weeks, he would always think of her pregnancy as a mistake because it wasn't planned or she was too young and wasn't even out of high school.

"Well, aren't you lucky to have sisters who wouldn't do such a mistake," she said while trying to hold back her true feelings and how much he really hurt her. That was the waking call Chris needed since he seemed to understand the true meaning to his words but it was too late now.

"Shit, no, wait! I didn't mean that, you know that," he was begging for her to understand but Bree knew that there was nothing to understand about. "Bree, please, just don't leave."

"When I got pregnant, I knew that our school was full of people like you, judging people and saying shit without knowing the truth. Maybe I slept with someone I didn't know but you know what, it wasn't a mistake. It was a gift, a blessing. Because of it, I got my family so don't you ever say that again!"

Bree had already put Quentin in the car so luckily the boy hadn't heard their argument. That was the last thing she needed at the moment. She was going in the car too, not bothering to wait for his answer because she was too angry and exhausted.

Chris, on the other hand, didn't let that happen since he ran next to her and hugged her tight from behind as if he was scared to let her go. He kept whispering apologies but Bree wasn't listening to them. Instead, she tried to get out of his hands which only made him tighten his hold on her.

"Bree, please. Quentin isn't a mistake. Your pregnancy wasn't a mistake. Nothing about you is a mistake so don't misunderstand my words. I didn't mean it, I swear!"

She would probably regret this later but she whispered a quiet ok, forgiving him for what he accidentally said because she was tired of him repeating the same words over and over again.

And maybe she even understood him and didn't want to risk that if she left now without forgiving him, she wouldn't meet him again. Whether or not she liked it, he was becoming a good, trustworthy friend to her and she didn't have many of those.

"Thank God," he whispered but still didn't let her go. She awkwardly hugged him back and then let go, deciding to start driving back home. When Chris asked if he would come with them, she was surprised but she agreed. She knew Quentin would be more than happy to spend time with him again.

After all three of them were in the car, she started to drive with Chris beside her and Quentin sitting behind him in the backseat.

"I told you that I wanted to help you to be happy. I wasn't joking, you know. This time you have me and I'm not gonna let you cry quietly in your bed every night as you have probably done for two years," Chris whispered which made her turn to look at him confused but stayed quiet. What could she possibly answer to that?

He was right. Bree had wasted many nights crying because she couldn't handle the memories and nightmares about her dead fiancé which was the reason for her fake smiles that not many recognized. She wanted to be happy again, truly happy because she hadn't experienced it for two years and both she and Quentin deserved that.

But she didn't know if Chris was the right person to help her. She wasn't sure what was his real motivation doing this because sad truth was that no one was that selfless without wanting something from it.