My Bro’s Insecure Girlfriend Chapter 2

"Wyatt, man, cool it," Leo cut in, nudging him lightly. "You know what Willow is like. Why are you losing your temper?" He shot me a reassuring look.

Seeing Ellie’s tear-stained face, a knot formed in my stomach. She was my friend’s girlfriend, after all, and I didn't want our first meeting to be a complete disaster. I decided to just keep my mouth shut. We probably wouldn't see much of each other anyway.

But after a tense silence, Ellie suddenly sprang to her feet, pointing a trembling finger at me as the tears flowed freely.

"Why are you all comforting her? I'm the one who was left out! I'm the one who's hurt! But you're all gathered around her like I'm the villain, the outsider who doesn't belong!"

Her sudden outburst stunned me into silence. Mason and Leo froze.

"I know how close you all are with Wyatt, so I swallowed my pride to come here and try to fit in. But I don't understand, Willow! This is the first time we've ever met, and you're already making things so difficult for me! What did I ever do to you?"

"My roommate even warned me before I came," she sobbed. "She said the 'girl' in these kinds of tight-knit groups always causes trouble. I trusted you, but you and your friends just treated me like a fool for your own amusement!"

As her tirade reached its climax, her eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed backward. Wyatt lunged, catching her just in time.

"Ellie! Ellie, look at you! You're so fragile, and you've been crying so hard. You're going to break my heart!" he cried, cradling her.

"Wyatt... I'm scared," she whispered weakly. "I'm scared of Willow..."

With that, she went limp in his arms, a perfect damsel in distress.

The next second, Wyatt exploded.

"Are you happy now, Willow?!" he roared. "What the hell did you learn overseas? How to be a vicious bully? You're a pampered princess, you have everything! We let you boss us around, and that's fine!"

"I told you to leave Ellie alone! She loves me! Do you think she'd even be at your stupid party if it wasn't to see me?"

"You just had to push her until she passed out! I'm warning you, she is the woman I love, and if anything happens to her, I swear to God I'll make you pay!"

Without another word, he scooped Ellie into his arms, shoved past Mason and Leo, and slammed into me on his way out the door. If Mason hadn't caught me, I would have crashed into the corner of the table.

I steadied myself, my head spinning. It took me a moment to process what had just happened.

Is that really how he saw me all these years? A bossy princess? He was the one throwing his weight around.

Once the shock subsided, a cold anger settled in. I’d never had someone scream at me like that in my entire life, let alone one of my oldest friends.

"Willow, you okay?" Mason asked, his voice laced with concern. He ruffled my hair, just like he used to when we were kids. "Don't worry, I'll have a serious talk with him. He's clearly been blinded by a pretty face, saying things he shouldn't."

"Seriously!" Leo chimed in, his own anger flaring. "His girlfriend is a textbook manipulator, straight out of one of those online novels. For all we know, she faked that faint! And Wyatt... 'the woman I love'? Puh-lease. I'm pretty sure he said the same thing about the last one. Hmph. They both owe you a huge apology."

Leo had always been the most fiercely protective of us all. Listening to his rant against Wyatt actually made me feel a little better.

I've always been decisive. Once I calmed down, I figured I’d just avoid Ellie from now on. Problem solved. As for Wyatt… we had history. And besides, he had saved my life once, a long time ago. I could let this one slide.

The semester was starting anyway. We were all busy with classes and our family businesses, and the incident quickly faded into the background.

I hadn't spoken to Wyatt since that night, though I still hung out with Mason and Leo whenever we had time. After a while, Wyatt must have noticed the distance between us. He actually reached out, for the first time in weeks, trying to get the group together and sending me apologetic memes to smooth things over.

But I had a business meeting that day and couldn't make it. Wyatt posted a picture with Mason and Leo on his social media feed.

"Amazing steak dinner, courtesy of the big man @MasonThorne! You missed out, @WillowHayes! You owe us next time!"

Leo tagged me in a comment too, and I just replied with a laughing emoji.

I never expected that, later that night, I’d get a phone call from Ellie.