My palms started sweating and I suddenly felt very hot. It felt like all the oxygen in the air was taken away from me.

Eric and Nick were brothers. Fucking brothers.

Eric couldn't hide his shocked expression.

A few seconds passed but to me it felt like I was paralyzed for a whole eternity.

"Do you know eachother?" - Nick's question woke me up.

"No." Eric was quick to deny.

"No, I just-" I jumped in:"He reminds me of my... teacher" my words were quicker than my thoughts.

"Oh" Nick's face softened and he smiled. "Interesting. Well no, that's my big brother and his wife, Alice. Guys, this is Emily. "

I didn't even notice her. And it was very hard to miss her - the one word to describe her is lady. An elegant, well put together, woman. She was beautiful.

I nodded: "Nice to meet you." I felt weird. I felt a mix of guilt, sadness and anger. I felt bad for her, sad for me and mad on that bastard.

I knew I fucked up. The thing is, I didn't really know the truth between them. Still, whatever kind of relationship they might have had, he shouldn't have done this to her.

I shouldn't either. This moment was my karma.

She smiled at me and I smiled back. I'm not evil, It felt horrible.

Eric was still pale, expressionless. I believe he was scared. And that, my friends, felt so good to see.

"Excuse us, we have to say hi to some of our friends." Eric finally spoke up: "But It was very nice to meet you, Emily." he smiled, forcefully. What an actor.

I just nodded and, quickly, they dissapeared in the crowd.

I noticed a small chair close to me and sat down. My legs were shaking.

"We really skipped some steps with this family members' meeting, huh?" Nick joked and put his hands in his pockets. He was the cutest.

"Yeah, I guess we did." I smiled to hide the battles going off in my head. What the fuck am I going to do now? I really like Nick but what about Eric? Should I tell Nick everything? Should I leave and cut him off? Should I stay and keep my mouth shut?

I couldn't stay quiet, no. I was sure about that. It would eat me up.

Nick caressed my cheek:"Emily, are you good? Do you not like it here? Do you want us to leave?"

"No, no." I took his hand and got up. We were inches apart and him being so close woke up butterflies in my stomach. For a second, I forgot what I was about to say. This was the first time we actually had some kind of romantic physical interaction.

I smiled:" I like you. I mean, we've known eachother for a short period of time but I really do enjoy your company." with the corner of my eye, I noticed Eric's wife, Alice, was heading to the bathroom, alone. And suddenly, I got the craziest idea ever.

"I love it here but I'm currently going through something and I really want to fix this before we make any step further. You get me?" I've never seen anyone's eyes shine as much as his did. Goddamn.

"Sure, yeah. I do like you too but, no pressure. Can I help you with anything?"

"No. But thank you." I hugged him and he wrapped his arms around my waist. His touch melted me. It felt so fucking right.

"Let me just go to the bathroom real quick and I'll be back in a second." I unwrapped from his embrace.

"Of course, I'll be here." he assured me and winked. I love it when he does that.

I walked towards the bathroom, hoping there was no crowd.

As I entered, I felt relief. There was no one there. I pretended to fix my makeup and decided to wait on Alice. Some other girl came out of the doors and as she walked out of the bathroom, Alice stepped out.

" Hey" she remembered me and stepped next to me to wash her hands.

"Emily, right? Are you Nick's girlfriend? You two looked quite cozy!" she smiled as she was drying off her hands.

"Uh, no, we're friends. But I do like him in that...way."

She chuckled: "Right. Well, I totally ship you. You'd make a great couple." she said and brushed my shoulder affectionately. She was about to walk out but I grabbed her elbow:"Alice, wait."

She turned around, surprised. "What is it? Are you okay?" she stepped back inside with a worried look on her face.

"No." I sighed: "Look, Alice. I have to tell you something."