Honestly

Tom Sykes entered the room cautiously. He closed the door behind him and looked around, seeing nothing but the mere calmness of Oliver's living room. He wondered if Lily was even home. The room held absolutely no light, and with Tom's overgrown bangs hanging in his face, it became a blind search for the light switch. His shoes made loud noises against the bare hardwood floor as he made his way over to the window. Pushing the blinds apart, he peered down at the street. He turned around after a few minutes, to see if anyone had creeped into the room while he was preoccupied with the pedestrians outside of the flat, but only Oliver's couch sat across the wall, somehow making him even more uneasy than he already was. His heart beat fast as the light in the kitchen came on and he heard small feet in the kitchen. They stopped in front of the fridge, as he could see Lily's shadow illuminated on the floor. He took a step closer to the kitchen, and his voice became caught in his throat as he realized this was it. He was going to tell her. Oliver was gone, she was alone with him. Nothing could stop him now.

"'Ey Lily." I grinned, stepping into full view.

She shrieked loudly and found herself against the wall, clutching a box of cereal, "Jesus Christ Tom!" She laughed, "Yeh nearly made meh piss myself!"

"Sorry. Just assumed yeh might want some company. I always 'ated bein' alone when Olleh left fer tours."

"Yeah, we 'aven't 'ung out in a while." She paused, reaching into the cupboard, her face only looking sorry for a mere moment, "Would yeh like some tea?"

"Sounds nice."

I sat down at her's and Oliver's table, watching as she placed the kettle on the stove and played with the knobs. My eyes trailed to her stomach, which was peeking between the hem of her tank top and the waistband of her sweats. The mane of messy red hair that fell down her back was undoubtedly in knots, as it'd always been. I watched as she dragged a hand through it, her fingers becoming stuck in between strands. I chuckled slightly as she continued tugging on it.

"Yeh shut yer gob Tommeh," She smiled, "I'll poison yer tea."

"Go ahead. At least I'll die knowing I brushed my 'air at least once in meh life."

"I brush it!"

I rolled my eyes and smirked at her, "I don't even think yeh own a brush."

"I do too!"

"Then why don't you use it?"

"Fine!" She said, "I'll go get it right now. And I'll brush meh 'air, just teh prove teh yeh."

With that, she left me in the kitchen with two mugs, a box of tea bags, and a boiling kettle. I stood up and removed the kettle from the stove, pouring water in each mug and dumping a spoonful of sugar into the cups. I carried them to the kitchen table and sat down, taking a small sip of my tea as I waited for Lily. She came out moments later, gripping the handle of a light blue brush, the other side of it stuck in her hair.

She sat down at the table and continued tugging on it, pulling so hard, her head was yanked towards the surface of the table. I watched as tears glistened in her eyes, obvious pain dragged across her face. Finally, I held my hand out towards her.

"Lily, give meh that brush and come 'ere."

"No!" She protested, grinning, "I can do it!"

"Yeh're hurtin' yerself."

A look of agreement flitted across her face before she handed the brush to me and took a seat on the floor in front of me.

"Yeh don't 'ave teh sit on the floor."

"'S alright. I trust yeh won't kick meh, Tommeh boy."

I smiled, even though she couldn't see me and placed my hand on her head, attempting to run the brush through her hair. After about ten minutes, I'd started to notice progress. The silence between Lily and I was comfortable, much like it'd always been. Every time the brush got stuck in her hair, I'd carefully pull on it, while being as gentle as I possibly could with the brush. Once I was able to move the brush freely through her hair, I started to get sick to my stomach. I knew I had to tell her, but I just didn't now how to come up with the right words.

Just coming out and saying it seemed cruel, but I didn't want to beat around the bush. I knew once I'd said it, there was absolutely no going back. Even if she didn't take me seriously right now, she'd have questions about it later. Doubts would surface, and she'd end up questioning Oliver about it. And whether or not it was intentional, she'd make changes concerning the relationship between her and Oli. Anything I said about the whole thing would hit a sore spot in the relationship all three of us had, as well as the separate relationships between all of us.

It was just a matter of how much I told Lily, or the way I said it that would determine which relationships would be affected, and how dramatically they were affected. At this point, I wasn't sure I was concerned more with mine and Oli's relationship, or mine and Lily's relationship, versus Oli and Lily's relationship.

As I ran the brush completely to the end of Lily's hair, without catching a single knot, I built up my courage to say something, "Lily. 'Ve gotta tell yeh somethin'."

"What?" She asked, attempting to face me and running a hand through her hair, "Yeh did a nice job on this, I don't think it's been this soft since-"

Now I really had to tell her. I just couldn’t deal with seeing the look on her face when I said it. So, before she could completely turn around, I blurted out, "Olleh's cheatin' on yeh Lily."

"What?" She asked, hesitation in her voice. I knew she was trying to decide between being upset or angry over it, but my question was quickly answered as her voice rose, "What the fuck are yeh talkin' 'bout?"

"On tour Lils," I cringed, "He's been cheatin' on yeh."

"With who?"

"Everyone," I paused, "'M really sorry. I'd have told yeh sooner, but-"

"But what Tom?!" She snapped.

"Olleh's meh brother an'-"

"Whatever 'appened teh us bein' best friends Tom?" She asked, now on her feet, staring down at me.

"I dunno Lil. Why don't yeh tell meh? Yeh're the one that stopped talkin' teh meh once yeh and Olleh started shackin' up!"

"Shackin' up?" She practically screamed, "'M sorry he's a bit quicker than yeh!"

I stood up, ready to walk across the living room towards the door to the flat, "So is that what yeh wanted meh teh do? Fuck yeh as soon as I got the chance? 'Cause that's exactly what Olleh did!" I yelled, now getting in her face, "An' yeh ain't the only bird he's doin' it teh!"

"Piss off!"

"Yeh'd like that, huh? Fer meh teh just leave so yeh can act like yeh never 'eard this! 'Ts not like yeh ever listen to what I tell yeh anyways!"

"Bullshit Tom!"

"Bullshit?" I asked, stopping in the living room, as I had made it halfway to the door, "Yeh didn't listen teh meh when I told yeh Olleh was a bad idea, yeh didn't listen teh meh when I told yeh all 'e does is drink and sleep, yeh're not listenin' teh meh now!" I stopped, "An' yeh sure as fuck didn't listen teh meh when I asked yeh teh just wait fer meh, give meh a chance."

"'Ow long did yeh expect meh teh wait Tom, years?" She yelled back, now angrier, "'Ow was I supposed teh know yeh weren't leadin' meh on 'er somethin'?"

"I dunno!" I said sarcastically, "Maybe yeh could've trusted meh! I asked yeh teh wait, why couldn't yeh just fuckin' do it?"

"What the 'ell was I waitin' for?"

"Two days," I said quietly, "It would've taken meh two more days teh get that last picture developed. 'Cause when yeh actually care 'bout someone, yeh take time teh make sure everything is perfect."

"What are yeh talkin' 'bout?"

"Nothin'. Nevermind." I said, heading for the door again, realizing I should've just stuck with Olleh's cheatin' on yeh., "Olleh called meh, 'e says hi and he'll get a 'old of yeh tomorrow."

"Tom!" She protested.

"What?"

"Yeh're just gonna drop all this on meh and then leave? Why're yeh so mad at meh? Yeh should be mad at Ols too!"

"Are yeh kiddin'? Olleh is too fuckin' daft teh know I liked yeh, Lily. Yeh fuckin' knew and yeh still did it!"

"Did what?"

"Broke meh goddamn 'eart!" I cried, "Yeh knew! An' yeh were just too preoccupied with datin' someone teh keep yeh busy, yeh just 'ad teh jump at yer chance with Oliver!"

""M sorry!"

"No, yeh're not." I sighed, "If yeh were sorry, yeh'd have fixed things a long time ago."

Ignoring Lily's protests, I stepped out the front door and into the cold air. I felt even more lost and empty than I had before, but for once in a long time, I felt like I wasn't lying to everyone.

I knew Oliver would be furious with me and I knew I would be lucky if Lily ever got over herself and talked to me again, but I didn't care anymore. It was time the two of them got what they'd been begging for.

If Oliver wanted to go around hurting someone who did nothing but care about him, someone who loved him, then I was going to make sure he knew how it felt to get it back, because I knew Lily wouldn't be able to find anything wrong with Oliver. He was just so fucking perfect.

And if Lily was going to go around, letting everyone down, then I was going to shove it right back in her face.

Some might see me as an immature, selfish prat. But, I saw myself as finally coming to terms with the fact that it was impossible for my brother to keep a fair relationship, and my so called 'best friend' was just an opportunist.

They just needed help realizing it for themselves.