by S. P. West
“I’m so…sorry.” She sniffs.
“Sorry won’t fucking cut it, Joely. Jail might.”
“No…no. You can’t do that.”
“Fraud, blackmail. These are felonies, Joely. I bet if I did some digging, it wouldn’t stop at those.”
“I’ll drop the charges against Brooke and Hope. I’ll tell the cops that I made it all up. I’ll do anything, Brody. Just don’t let them send me to jail,” she pleads.
“You’ve put my family through hell and you expect me to be merciful?”
“Please,” she whispers.
“Get out of here. In fact, get out of Emmerton and never come back. If you do, I will destroy you,” I growl, and slam the door in her face.
I practically sprint back to my office, stopping in the doorway to watch Brooke. Tears fall silently down her cheeks as she wraps her arms around herself. Her heart is breaking all over again, unaware of all of Joely’s lies.
My future, my chance of a happy ending, lay in pieces along with my shattered heart on that office floor. I don’t know how long I stayed there and I don’t care. I remember chasing after her on foot. I ran and ran, never able to catch the car as it drove off into the distance. After half a mile, I had to finally admit defeat. I headed back to my truck, which I should have fucking done in the first place, and broke all known speeding laws to get to Brooke before she could leave for good.
As I turn into my driveway, I see Brooke silhouetted in my headlights, and relief rushes through me that she hasn’t left yet.
There’s still a chance.
Brooke looks up as the truck comes to a stop. Her arms are wrapped around her middle, her eyes are puffed up from crying. Next to her stands Hope with her arms folded across her chest, annoyance spread across her elfin like features, from the look that she is giving Brooke right now, I figure that for once her ire isn’t aimed at me.
Without regard for anything except Brooke, I jump out of the cab door, charging straight for her.
“You’re not leaving.” Brooke stares at me with openmouthed disbelief, her posture changes from dejection to defensive in the blink of an eye.
“Excuse me?”
“I said you’re not leaving.”
“Like hell I’m not.”
“I’ll um…I’ll just go sit in the car.” Hope gives me a small smile and a thumbs up behind Brooke’s back as she heads off toward the other car parked in the driveway.
“You’re not going,” I say, folding my arms across my chest. “I won’t allow you to make the biggest mistake of your life.”
“You don’t get a say in anything I do,” she hisses. “Did you miss the memo? We are over.”
“Says who?”
“Says me.”
“You’re gonna give up. Just like that?”
“Yup,” she says, popping the P. “And I think that no one on this earth would blame me.”
“That’s it? You’re leaving because of something that you thought you saw?”
“I saw you kiss that slut, Brody. I’m not fucking blind.”
“That’s not what happened.” I keep the tone of my voice low in an effort to disguise the irritation that I’m starting to feel at her unwavering stance. “If I have to go get that bitch and drag her here by her hair just so that she’ll tell you the truth…”
“I don’t care about the truth!” she exclaims.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean? You don’t care about the truth? I’m innocent, Brooke…one hundred percent innocent of the crime that you are charging me with and I think that you know that as well.”
“I know what I saw.”
“You really don’t,” I scoff. “So what’s this about, Brooke? Why are you running away? Come to think of it, where are you going to go? Last time I checked, you’re under investigation for battery. Don’t think the cops will take too kindly to you disappearing, do you?”
“I’m not running away, asshat.”
“Really? Looks that way to me.”
“I’m going home.”
“Home? You are home.”
“Scottsdale,” she answers, rolling her eyes.
“Your home is here with me.”
“I’ve made a new life for myself, one that doesn’t include you, and I want to get back to it.”
Ouch.
“What about the assault charge?”
“It’s been dropped. I’m free to go, and I’m going back to Arizona.”
It feels like I’ve been punched, hard, in the gut. All this time I thought that Brooke and I were making a go of it, that we were having our second chance. I was so blind. She never really wanted me back, did she?
As we stare at each other, her features soften as she realizes that I know.
Shit. This hurts.
I let out a long shuddering breath as I consider what I’m going to say next. “That’s it then. The charge gets dropped, so you’re leaving. Were you ever going to stay or were you using me?”
“Bro…”
“Don’t. Please. I thought we had a chance. Obviously, I was wrong.”
“I don’t want to be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life with you,” she whispers.
“You wouldn’t have been.” I take a minute to burn into my memory how she looks as she breaks my heart. She looks so beautiful, but none of that matters now. “Go back to Arizona. Live your life like you want. I won’t come after you. I’m done.”
Brooke gasps loudly, shock and confusion in her expression.
“I tried so hard with you. Nothing I’ve done would’ve changed this though, would it?” I say sadly. “I’m giving you what you want…I’m letting you go, Brooke. Have a nice life.” I brush past her, striding toward the house, not looking back as I hear her start to sob, even though my heart is breaking.
As far as I’m concerned, the story of Brooke and Brody has come to an end.
Brooke
Ever get the feeling that you’ve made a huge mistake? An error of judgement so big that you’ve probably ruined your life and your chance at true happiness forever? Because that’s how I feel right about now. That’s also what Hope and Jake have been so kind to remind me of during the duration of the flight back to Arizona.
I haven’t been able to enjoy the fact that I’m flying in a private jet for the first time in my life. Nor have I been really listening as Jake told Hope about the evidence he uncovered regarding Joely and my old boss at the bank, Todd. I took absolutely no joy when he announced that Joely and Todd were being arrested as we spoke for extortion and money laundering.
All I can think about is Brody.
My mind keeps replaying our last conversation over and over again, and with each time I gain more clarity. The way he reacted, what he said, his face…
The sinking feeling I have in my belly kind of makes me think that I’ve just lost the best thing that has ever happened to me because I couldn’t see past my anger.
From the little conversation between Jake and Hope that I actually paid attention to, I gathered that Joely is a manipulative bitch who has been merrily ruining the lives of people in Emmerton for a very long time. Not that I didn’t know she was an evil witch in the first place, that’s pretty obvious, but I didn’t realize how much destruction she’d left in her wake, or the families that she’d destroyed.
From what Jake was saying, Joely was leading up to being a true black widow. I don’t know if she and Todd would have gone so far as to kill someone, but after finding out what they’d been up to, I wouldn’t have been surprised. Apparently, they’d cooked up this scheme to get money out of people, a scheme which had involved Joely seducing most of the male population in town, and then threatening them with exposure to their loving wives and children unless they paid her money to keep quiet. I knew Todd was an asshole but I would never have put him down as having the brains to pull off the shit he’s pulled with his partner in crime. He used the bank to launder the money that Joely earned from blackmailing people, making it clean
, and giving them a tidy profit.
He covered his tracks well, but in the end, Jake’s team was too good for even him. To be honest, I was surprised that Todd could be behind some masterplan to defraud Emmerton. I thought the man was a scumbag, you don’t work with someone as long as I worked with him and not figure out that he’d been cheating on his lovely wife. At least the mystery over who the father of Joely’s kid has been solved.
I tuned out after that and went back to thinking about Brody.
I’ve really screwed up my life.
“We’re about an hour away from landing. You wanna drink?” Jake’s face looms over me, interrupting my pity party. I shake my head no, then return to staring out the window, alone with my thoughts. “You can feel sorry for yourself all you like, but you and I both know that you fucked up.”
“Screw you.” Yeah, I did but I don’t need Jake reminding me of that. I should have listened to Brody. I should have trusted him. But I let my pride get in the way. Now I’ve lost him for good.
“I would but you could do it better.” He smirks. “Plus you’re madly in love with jerkoff.”
“Leave me alone,” I say, drawing the blanket that the stewardess had given me earlier tightly around my body.
“You just gonna feel sorry for yourself, instead of thinking of a way to make it right, huh?”
“You heard him. He wants nothing to do with me.”
“I bet if you called him and apologized that he would come running.”
“Jake, you don’t know Brody like I do. Once he’s done, that’s it. Nothing I do or say will change that.”
“I hate to say it, but it’s kind of your own fault this happened.”
“Excuse me?”
“You could have just talked it over with the guy, you shouldn’t have been such a bitch about it.”
The warning growl that passes my lips doesn’t make the jerk back off. If the smirk on his face is anything to go by, it’s only served to prove to him that he’s right.
“If you had walked in on your girlfriend kissing another guy that she’d previously dumped you for, by the way”—I give him a tight smile before continuing—“then you would be hurt and upset. Don’t tell me that you wouldn’t, asshole.”
Jake’s stare is penetrating, making me shift in my seat, uncomfortable at his intense scrutiny. “I wouldn’t be butthurt about it and I would fucking talk to her before running away.”
“I’m not—”
“Stop lying to yourself. You’re running away from the situation because you don’t know how to handle it. Instead of doing the mature thing and talking to the poor guy, you ran at the first sign of trouble. No wonder he gave up.” He rubs his hand over his chin, continuing to glare at me. “Hell, I would have given up ages ago. Guess Brody’s a glutton for punishment.”
“Some friend you are.” I turn away to look out of the window, hoping that he’ll take that as a sign to get lost. Unfortunately, this is Jake we’re talking about, it would take something as subtle as a sledgehammer to the face for him to get the hint.
“I wouldn’t be your friend if I didn’t tell you what you don’t want to hear, B. You want to know what I think?”
“No.”
“I think that you’ve made the biggest mistake of your life.”
“Your opinion is duly noted.” My voice drips with sarcasm.
“I didn’t like Brody when I first met him,” he says, ignoring me. “I thought he was an asshole for what he did to you, but you know what?” I shrug my shoulders, not really wanting to hear whatever he has to say. “These last few weeks…he’s owned that shit. He’s held his hand up to all his mistakes and he’s treated you like you are the most precious thing to walk across this earth, and what have you done? You’ve pushed him away,” Jake says, getting up from his seat opposite me. “You want to keep living in the past? You want the whole world to feel sorry for you? Go ahead, play the victim card.”
“I’m not a victim,” I whisper.
“Then stop acting like one. The way you’re heading…you’re going to end up a very lonely person, Brooke. Get your head out of your fucking ass.” He storms off to join Hope, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
“This is the pilot speaking. We are now on our final approach and will be landing shortly. Please ensure that your seatbelt is on. Thank you.”
I’d given up looking out of the window after Jake had left me, and instead stared straight ahead at nothing in particular, trying to sort through my thoughts and feelings. When we land, I’m going to ask Jake to take me straight from the private airstrip to the Phoenix airport so that I can get a flight back to Pennsylvania.
Hopefully it’s not too late.
Jake’s right, I did push Brody away. I ignored everything that he’s done to try to make amends, focusing instead on the pain that he caused me. I owe it to him, and to me, to see if we can get past this, if what we have can be fixed. I don’t want to live in a future full of regrets and recriminations. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life wondering if I made the right choice or what if. Knowing my luck, I’d end up like Miss Havisham in Great Expectations—everything rotting around me while everyone else moves on with their lives.
As the plane descends to the runway, I notice the rain lashing at the windows, which is…odd. In fact, something is off with the scenery outside the plane window. Where I’d expect to see the dust whipping around us from the desert landscape, I’m actually seeing green fields. Muddy green fields, and lots of rain.
We’re not in Arizona.
When the plane comes to a halt, I look to Jake and my sister, hoping that either one of them will tell me why we’re here. Wherever here is.
Jake doesn’t look at me as he unbuckles his belt and disappears off into the cockpit. Hope is studiously looking at her nails, avoiding eye contact.
“Where are we?”
She does that thing she always does when she doesn’t want to talk to me about something—she completely blanks me out.
“I’m not playing games, Hope,” I say as I unbuckle my belt, and stalk across the cabin to reach her. “Why aren’t we in Arizona? Where the hell are we?”
“Home.”
“Home?”
“You’re where you belong.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Look out the window.”
I squint into the darkness, just barely making out the silhouette of a tall man standing in the doorway of the office of the tiny landing strip that we’re stopped on. He looks kind of familiar.
“Right, we’re going to refuel then you’re off again.” Jake grins, rubbing his hands together as he walks back into the cabin. “We just need to get our things off the plane,” he says directly to Hope.
“Where are you going?”
“We’re getting off.”
“And going where?”
“Back to Scottsdale. Commercial.” Hope sighs, rolling her eyes at the same time.
“You’re abandoning me here?” I can feel the panic rise. “I don’t even know where here is.”
“No. I’m leaving you on my private jet. You will shortly be joined by another passenger before being whisked away to a mystery destination, where you will sort the shit show that your life is out.”
I open my mouth to speak but no sound comes out.
“I care about you, Brooke. You remind me of my sister. You’re stubborn, annoying, and a bitch sometimes, but I still love you. And because I…” Hope gives a little cough, raising an eyebrow at Jake. “We,” he corrects, “love you and want what’s best for you, we’ve decided that the only way to deal with this is to pack you off to an island in the middle of fucking nowhere, so you can’t escape.”
“I… I…”
“Before you say anything, it’s like a five-star resort with girly shit to do. I didn’t find it, Hope did. Plus you’re owed a vacation,” he says, shrugging his shoulders. He reaches over head for his duffel. “Oh, and they do weddings.” He grins over his shoulder at
me as he disembarks, followed rapidly by my smirking sister.
“Enjoy,” she yells. “Remember there’s a bedroom at the back of the jet. Make use of it.”
Brooke
The cabin feels very empty now that Jake and Hope have gone. I’m not alone, though, the stewardess is hovering near the plane door, ready to greet the other passenger. I’m not silly. I know that any moment Brody will walk through the entrance way.
Hope and Jake are about as subtle as a brick through a glass window. Apart from the big hints they gave me, it was the loud shout of, “YO, BRODY! Glad you could make it man!” from Jake that really gave the game away.
I’ve used my last few moments of alone time to try to think of what I’m going to say to him. How to play it. It’s like going on your first date, you don’t quite know what to expect but this Brody. The man I’ve loved my whole life. The man I’ve hurt. The panic over his imminent arrival set in about thirty seconds ago.
What if he rejects me?
What if he decides that coming here is a mistake and he leaves?
What if he’s just coming to tell me that we’re over for good?
What if we can’t fix this?
What if…
What if…
What if…
“Hi.” Brody stands directly in front of me, a ball cap low on his head so that it almost covers his eyes.
“Hi,” I squeak, giving him a little wave.
Real smooth, Brooke.
“You okay?” His voice is gruff as he takes a seat opposite me, strapping himself in.
“Yeah.” Is the only answer I give. What is it with my mouth and not being able to speak right now? I had a whole speech planned out in my head and yet, I can’t remember it. Nothing that I want to say seems good enough.
“Good,” he answers, scrubbing his hand over the day’s growth on his chin. “Look, Brooke.”
“Brody.” We say at the same time. A small smile forms on his lips as he gestures for me to go first.
