He closes the door behind me, and the anxiety forces me not to wait, to get everything out before he has the chance to change his mind.

“I found out about our parents the day we left for the beach house. Remember when Aiden and I turned back? I forgot something at my house, and I walked in on our parents . . . you know . . .” His face scrunches up in disgust as he pictures what I’m hinting at. I continue, “Yeah. They didn’t know I was there, and I battled with whether I should tell you or not. I didn’t want to ruin the trip for you, and I didn’t want you to hate me for knowing or for my mom’s role in it, but I felt so guilty I could barely look at you, and it strained our friendship. I’m really sorry for that too.”

Realization flashes across his face. “So that’s why you were avoiding me.” It’s not a question.

“I didn’t know how to break the news to you. And then when we got back, I caught our parents again, and I told Brian to make it right with you, to tell you because you deserved to know, or I would. He obviously never told you, and I didn’t want Aiden to have to do it for me. Anna put the pieces together herself, and I asked her not to say anything either so that Brian had time to do it himself. I was going to tell you at mini-golf the other night since it’s been weeks and your dad never told you, but then our friends showed up and I couldn’t do it in front of them. I’m really sorry you had to find out this way, Mason, really.” As the words escape my lips, the pressure sitting on my chest decreases, and the more I talk, the lighter I feel, even if Mason isn’t saying anything, even if he is still mad at me. “And I’m sorry for hurting you.”

He takes a breath. “I’m not mad at you.”

“You’re not?”

“No, it’s not your fault. You’re not the one cheating on your wife, you’re just the one caught in the middle. If the roles were reversed, I don’t know if I’d be able to tell you either.”

His words are a breath of fresh air, and I step closer to him, filling the space between us that, until this conversation, has felt like miles, even if he was only a few feet away. “Mason, you’re my best friend and I hate that this is happening. At the beginning I really hated your dad and my mom, but I think I’m starting to realize not everything is black and white. I thought our parents were terrible people, but Brian’s still always been there for us. He stepped up and got Aiden out of jail when he was arrested, he took custody of the twins, and he was there for us when everything went down with Andrew and Harvey. You should’ve seen him barking orders at the officers that night.” I lose my train of thought. “I don’t know where I was going with this, I guess, just so you know your dad isn’t the worst?”