Almost Easy

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!" Brian yelled, walking into Zacky's bedroom. Zacky and Hollis sprung away from each other and looked with scared eyes at Brian, who was standing in the doorway holding a pillow.

"Does someone want to explain what is going on?" He seethed through closed teeth, so that his words came out almost as a growl.

"I needed someone to sleep with" Zacky said meekly, "You wouldn't"

Brian's eyes were wide with rage as he looked from Zacky to Hollis, who was standing beside the bed, trying to look unafraid but Brian could see that she shook with every word he said.

He held up his pillow, "I was just pissed off Zacky. I was coming in here to sleep and THIS is what I find?! You in bed with HER?! And after what you did to me" He spat, staring at Hollis.

"What?" Zacky asked, looking from Brian to Hollis with confused eyes. "What is he talking about?" He asked Hollis, whose blue eyes were welling up with tears. She shook her head, knowing she couldn't bear to tell him.

"We were dating" Brian said simply. I asked her out the day of your first session. She broke it off with me because she felt sorry for you. She didn't want to hurt you because I told her you liked her. But guess what? I liked her too. And WE were together, because it wouldn't be wrong if we were together because she's not my doctor. Don't you get it Zacky? You ruined the best thing I had going."

Zacky looked as if someone had just shot him, his eyes immediately welled up with tears and he began to cry. "I didn't mean to" He choked out as he cried. "Brian you're my best friend, you know I wouldn't do that on purpose."

"But you did."

"If...if you had told me I would have been okay with it. I would have."

"No, no you wouldn't have. Zacky I know you. And now you have to find out this way, but sobeit." He said, eyes still enraged, "And you" he spat, turning his focus to Hollis, "How could you even do this to him?! How could you?." He turned and left the room, slamming the door behind him. Hollis sprung from her spot on the floor and ran to the door and after Brian, leaving Zacky a crying heap on the bed.

"Brian!" She shouted, running down the hall to where she thought Brian's room would be. She flung the door open to discover Brian sitting on the edge of his bed, wringing the pillow in his hands. "How could you just do that? How can you do that to your best friend and then leave him crying?"

"You should be in there with him." He mumbled.

"No. You need to talk to me. Why. Would. You. Do. That?" She ground out. "Brian I still care for you, you should know that and it should be obvious. I only wanted us to not be together until Zacky had reached a more stable point in his treatment where we could tell him."

"And I'm sure coming here and sleeping with him helped loads. You're his fucking doctor Hollis."

"He called my crying Brian. He called me fucking crying because you told him you didn't want to babysit him anymore!"

"And I was only acting that way because of what YOU did! Everything that has happened to us is all because of YOU."

"Then maybe Zacky should get a new doctor. If I cause this much trouble, I shouldn't be in either of you's lives." She said and Brian could sense the sadness in her voice.

"You don't want that."

"But it's what you both need. There's not two of me Brian, I can't please both of you. There's nothing I can do to be with one of you and have the other be all right with it. And if we had met under different circumstances maybe you could have been the one. But now we'll never know." She turned to leave and stopped in the doorway, "I'll find Zacky another doctor, one that can help him repair the damage I caused him."

"Hollis."

She turned back, wiping the rogue tears from her eyes.

"Do you mean that?" He asked softly, "I could have been the one?"

She shrugged, "I thought so..." She trailed off and as she turned to leave again when both Hollis and Brian heard a loud "THUMP" sound coming from down the hall. Panic struck both of them as they locked eyes.

"Zacky!" They exclaimed at the same time and ran down the hall.