Chapter 4: My Confession

Once home, she walked in on Josh coming out of the bathroom and had a moment of clarity. Shit! She couldn't bring Trent to a place she shared with another man. Let alone another man who they both knew she had had a thing for at one time. Now what was she going to do?

Josh had noticed Rebecca's absence for a while, but it didn't bother him. Darryl had taught him how to clean up after himself, and Marty at the grocery store had shown him where the pre-cooked meals were that he just had to put in the microwave for a few minutes, so the place was clean and he was decently fed. He didn't clock the look on her face when he came out of the bathroom, only greeted her with a casual, "Oh, hey Becks."

Rebecca was as if frozen, only barely greeting Josh as he walked past her. Oh, this was NOT good. If she brought Trent here, and he saw Josh living as a roomie with her... who knew how far that would set them back as she had literally forgotten about it herself. 4 months, and not a word about it at all! How could she be so STUPID!

"Josh! Umm... ya got a minute?" she asked after her brain kicked back on and turned to follow him.

"Sure," Josh said amiably, "what's on your mind?"

"Look...ummm...we gotta talk about something." She bit her lip as she looked over at him and sighed. "I'ma need to talk to you about... well... moving out... or something." Why did this have to be so hard as well?

Moving out? That had come so far out of left field, Josh's head was spinning.

"Or...that didn't come out right...I need you to come to the hospital with me and we both have a discussion with someone I have grown to care about, very much."

Ohhh, I get it, he thought, grinning as she suggested he come to the hospital. She's moving in with a new guy! So that's why she hasn't been around. Yeah, no problem, I'll just...

She began again; honesty was hard, but she had promised. She just didn't know how Josh would take it...that it was… well… Trent. She told him everything though. How she had gone to apologize that night, the talks they had had, the way he was healing, how she had promised to care for him as he healed, and then her impulsive but true feelings for him in the form that she had invited him to come live with her for a while. All of it poured out in a rushed, frenzied way... she couldn't believe she had forgotten about Josh. Would that make her look like she had purposely lied to Trent? By not mentioning it? It was 4 months and she hadn't said a word. Yet it didn't even occur to her as she had spent most of her time at the hospital and when she had gotten home, Josh was already asleep in his room. So she never saw him.

"So... what do you say? Will you come help explain things with me? Just... I am making a mess of things again, and I really need your help. I didn't mean to forget... I was just busy."

What she had to say made his head spin even more. He looked at her with clear and blatant confusion.

"Wait... Hold on," he said. "You're kicking me out...so you can live with Trent?" That was surprising. He had gotten the impression things hadn't ended too well between them either time that they had dated. "Are you okay?" he asked his friend. "He's not blackmailing you, is he?" Josh remembered at a meeting she had called with him, Paula, and Nathaniel, Paula had said something about Trent and blackmail.

"What? Josh.. No!" She was exasperated as she shook her head at him. "Didn't you hear what I just said? We are finally being honest with each other and no tricks, lies or blackmail this time...so please...?" Was she begging? Gods, she hated that fact if she was, but she didn't want to come out looking like the bad guy again when she was trying so hard to do things right this time.

"So will you? Come to the hospital with me and explain things? It might go over better if he heard it from you that we just friends. Just roomies. Strictly platonic." She waved her hand slowly in front of her to give that word meaning, because that's all they were. "We can leave right now and get there before visiting hours end. Get it all out in the open."

She was going to be very tired in the morning for work, but far as she was concerned, this was more important. Not having Trent look at her the way he had when she had hurt him all those months ago. She didn't think she could bear that again...not when things were going so well.

The cogs in Josh's head were still turning. "Wait hold on, so he blackmailed you before? Becks, are you sure this is such a good idea? I mean, okay I'll go with you, but Hector and White Josh think that guy's kinda strange. Wait, you want to go right now? It's almost 10 PM." But even as he said this, he was pulling on his jacket and finding his flip-flops.

"Yes. He has...in the past, but that doesn't matter anymore. Fact is, we agreed to be 100% honest with each other and I was spending so much time with him and at the hospital that I forgot to mention you lived with me."

She watched as he grabbed his jacket and helped him find his flip-flops. Men really were helpless... well, some men were.

"Yes now! This can't wait till tomorrow. He'll know that you sleep here, and it might get all weird between us again, and I really don't want to have to go through that again." She grabbed her keys and her purse and headed towards the door.

"And? Hector and White Josh are kinda weird too but you don't see me saying that." She rolled her eyes as they walked out the door and down to her car. Ohhhhh this was going to go over so well! Joy!

xoxo

When they got there, Trent was surprised to see them, to say the least. "Hey Rebecca, I thought you went h... Josh." Trent's voice cooled immediately as he saw the other man. He looked between the two of them, his heart suddenly racing and his throat dry. What was this?

Seeing the way his face fell, and hearing the coolness of his voice, Rebecca felt instantly sick. But she was the one who walked over to Trent and taking a seat beside him, looked him in the eyes as she began to try to explain.

"I probably should have mentioned it earlier, Trent, but...Josh is my roommate." She forced out of lips that didn't want to cooperate. In fact, she felt like she was about to literally throw up. "That's all it is though, a roommate. He has his own place and keeps to it. I just...never thought to mention it in this time cause, honestly, I forgot." She shrugged and looked at Josh before back to Trent.

"Yea, I know, how could I forget that? Well, I spent all my time here or at work, and by the time I got home on the nights I did go home, Josh was already in his room asleep so I never saw him...so it kind of slipped out of my mind... till tonight, when he happened out of the bathroom as I was coming into the front door."

She paused in her rambling and sighed. She had REALLY messed things up this time. "Trent...I am sorry." She reached out for his hand, seeking to give comfort as well as get it. "I honestly forgot. I wasn't trying to hide that fact from you. Honest."

Trent didn't hesitate to hold her hand when she reached for him.

He took in what she said. She was being honest, just like she had promised she would, so he couldn't be mad. And even when Josh had walked into the room, he hadn't been mad so much as confused. He didn't like nor approve of Josh; he felt Josh had taken advantage of Rebecca's feelings for him and not appreciated her nearly enough, but it made a certain kind of sense that two people with that much history might choose to be roommates. Besides, since Josh had been such a big part of Rebecca's life, Trent had looked into him, too, in the past, and found him to be a hopeless, overgrown teenager.

"Thank you for upholding your promise," he told her, warmth creeping back into his voice. "That must have been hard for you. But honey, how are we..." He trailed off, noticing the look on Josh's face when he called Rebecca 'honey'.

Josh liked her, now. Unbelievable.

Rebecca let out a breath she didn't even know she had been holding at Trent's words and her smile returned as she gave his hand a light squeeze as he had taken hers in turn. Was being honest always this hard? Always make one feel like they were going to puke? But then made one feel a thousand times better when things worked out? She could get used to this if this was how it would be. She didn't notice the look Trent sent Josh, nor did she notice Josh's look at Trent's word usage for her.

Trent's mind worked quickly as he ran through possible solutions. (Josh's mind worked slowly as he tried to comprehend the situation.)

Finally, he settled on this: "Josh, why don't you stay at my house for now? My assistant has been house-sitting while I've been in the hospital, and she can help you get settled in." If the two of them took an interest in each other, that would really be for the best.

Thankfully, it seemed Josh hardly had a suspicious bone in his body. Ignorance really was bliss. He agreed readily. "That sounds great. Thanks, man," he said easily.

Rebecca felt instantly better then she had on the drive here. "Yeah, that's a great idea. That way, I can get the room ready for when you come home." She smiled brightly at Trent. Not even realizing the word usage she used herself. Home. With her. HOME.

"Well, glad that's over." She chuckled and nodded at Josh and smirked. "Let us know when we can get him moved in, babe, and I will help him pack and move him out. Since I know where your house is now." She was trying for funny, to ease the slight tension she still felt between the two men. Funny, how Trent could be so gentle and caring all the time, and then suddenly, it was like a switch was flipped and he was suddenly giving off Alpha Male vibes. Subtle, but they were there, and she had to admit, that she LIKED it! But later... now they had to figure out when this move would happen so she could have time to clean up the room for Trent.

Trent definitely liked being called 'babe,' and he liked the idea of going 'home' with Rebecca. Actually making a home together- it's what he had wanted to do for years, and now he could. They could.

"Actually, my assistant can take care of everything," he said. "She can hire movers on our expense account and even pick Josh up and drive him there." Things like this were no problem for Trent. He checked in with his assistant once a day and she gave him a rundown of everything that was going on. They were still thriving, since he had had the good sense to hire staff who didn't require a lot of hand-holding when he'd first established the company.

"Even better." Rebecca blinked at how fast Trent's mind worked, and hearing what he said, it solved half the problem for her, and Josh as well. "So just let me know when, like...tomorrow maybe, when I come back...and we can get this started."

She looked back at Josh and tilted her head at him. "Sounds good? We can start getting things ready when I get off work..." Though, knowing Trent, she wouldn't be at all surprised if movers showed up to help Josh move the moment she woke up the next day. That thought alone, made her nearly snicker out loud. That was, kind of cute.

"Yeah, sounds good," said Josh, a little dazed. He was reminded of the time his mom had quite literally told him to get his ass out of her house. He was really thrown for a loop by all of this, but he was super invested in maintaining his chill bro image, so he just nodded along. The fact that Rebecca had truly moved on from him made him feel kind of bad, like he was missing something he didn't know he would miss, like when he was a kid and his mom made him donate toys he hadn't played with in years.

Josh was surprised to find he didn't really like any of this at all, but he shoved it to the back of his mind like he did with everything he didn't want to think about, and just let the two of them plan this out. As long as he wasn't going to be homeless or have to face the humiliation of going back to Hector's mom and begging for his old room back, he would be fine. Right?

Rebecca could tell Josh didn't really like the idea, but she had told him that it was only temporary till he found a new place, and when it became obvious he wasn't even looking, she was so busy to remind him of it anyway and had just let it go. He didn't dirty up the place and kept to himself...who was she to complain?

Looking up at the clock again, she groaned at seeing the time. Nearly midnight. It would be interesting getting out of the hospital now, with the guards roaming the halls and if she didn't have Josh with her, she would have just stayed. Falling asleep in Trent's arms...would have been nice... she thought to herself, as the thought pulled a soft smile to her face.

"I really should go...I will never make it to work if I don't." She turned to look back at Trent and lifted a hand to lightly caress his cheek again, her smile for him and him alone. "Thank you, Babe...so much. You are too good for me, you know that, right? I will see you in the morning..." For the moment, she forgot Josh was even there as she leaned close to kiss Trent goodnight. She would see him after work tomorrow, but parting was getting harder and harder.

"I'm not too good for you at all," Trent uttered, bewildered. "You're my Princess. I just want you to be comfortable, safe, and happy." He kissed her back, a little more forcefully than usual, clearly staking his claim. "Sleep well, my Princess," he said sweetly as she and Josh turned to leave.

"Come on, you...time to go back and for me to get some sleep." She spoke to Josh without even looking at him, as her eyes were locked on Trent's as she made her way to the door.

Josh narrowed his eyes. He saw it now—Trent was really strange. He had a weird vibe and Josh could see what his friends had been talking about that day on game night. He also felt a sense of helplessness. Clearly Trent wanted Josh nowhere near Rebecca, and Josh had the feeling Trent could do him some serious unpleasantness if he dug his heels in. So as he followed Rebecca out of the room, he took out his phone and texted someone he knew might be able to help him: Paula.

Hey Paula, it's Josh Chan. "Lil Pumpkin," remember? There's something really weird going on with Rebecca. Call me when you have a chance, I could use your help.

xoxo

It was a little after midnight when Paula's phone went off and she groaned as she struggled out of the bed to grab it and read the text. Josh was writing her? Why? Something wrong with Rebecca! She fumbled to find the call button and hit send as soon as his number came up. Pacing a bit along her floor as she waited for him to pick up.

"Josh? Paula...what's going on? Something weird with Rebecca. What's weird? Is she ok?" she rambled out, worry evident in her voice.

"I don't know. Paula, do you remember that guy Trent?" Josh was nearly whispering because he didn't want Rebecca to overhear him, but he could not keep panic out of his voice.

Paula had to take a moment and ground herself when she heard that... man's name again. "Yes, Josh... what about him." She had to bite the inside of her lip. She remembered her promise to Rebecca not to interfere.

"Rebecca is kicking me out, so Trent can live with her instead." He was still reeling. "They're making me switch places with him. It's not right, Paula, there's something really off about that guy." He realized it sounded like Trent was going to put him in the hospital and quickly clarified, "I mean, he's asking me to move into his house in Los Angeles, with his personal assistant from work. You know how far LA is from West Covina. How far away I'd be from all my friends."

Paula listened and she bit her lip harder to keep the words that wanted to come from spilling out of her mouth. But... it was late, and she was cranky from lack of sleep, and they came out anyway.

"I'm sorry, Josh, but I can't help you. Rebecca is a big girl and she decides who she loves or cares for or whatever... it's her house and I seem to remember her telling you it was only temporary." She paused, trying to rein in her temper at the boys antics. Though she understood. She thought Trent was weird too.

"Oh boo hoo... living in a house for free, fully furnished, with an assistant who is probably brilliant too, knowing that man! Josh..." Her voice cracked as she tried not to laugh. "Grow up, man! Rebecca doesn't want you. You wasted your time and she moved on and stop acting like a spoiled child whose favorite toy gets taken by someone else. Rebecca isn't an object and I would say the same to Trent too... so... grow up, take the house, make nice and travel and work like a normal grown up. I can't help you!" She promptly hung up and went back to bed.

Josh stood there, staring at the phone after the line went dead. That...had not been the reaction he was expecting.

I'm serious, he texted. It's not about where I'm living. There's something weird about how she's acting.

He didn't know how to convey what he was feeling but this reminded him of that time Rebecca had spread nasty rumors about him to discredit him after their breakup, that same sinking, helpless feeling.

He tried to contact Greg, who also told him it wasn't his problem and to grow up, and Nathaniel, who left him on Seen.

Come on, man! he typed to Nathaniel in a rare fit of anger and desperation. She pushed the guy off a roof and said he tried to kill you! You were her defense lawyer!

But the response he got back was also somewhat less than sympathetic: Fuck off.

Well, that was that. It looked like Josh was going to have to move away from all his friends, his family, and everything he'd ever known to live in a strange house with someone who Trent would literally be paying to keep an eye on him. He sighed and flopped hopelessly onto his bed.