She crossed her legs under her and struggled to find something to say.
Where did she start?
“I—I miss you, too,” she finally said.
It was the truth. Even after so long, there was still a hole in her heart where her grandparents had been.
“I’m putting you on speaker. It’s just Grandpa and I. He can’t talk anymore, but he’d love to hear from you.”
“Just knowing that he’s there makes me happy.” On more than one occasion Brandi had searched obituaries to see if her grandparents were still alive. She’d just wanted to know they were still out there.
“Where are you? Is this a Washington number?” Grandma asked.
“Yes. Yes, Nicole and I live on the very outskirts of Seattle.” Brandi’s brain latched onto the detail. This might be her only chance to tell them about how she’d succeeded. Thrived, even. “We’ve been in this area for almost ten years now. We both finished college. I got my business degree and I’ve recently begun thinking about going back and studying engineering.”
Grandma chuckled. “Engineering? What brought that on? Isn’t that hard?”
“I suppose it is. I got an internship during college and worked for a construction company. They hired me, and that’s where I’ve worked since I graduated. I actually just got a kind of promotion working for one of the company’s engineers. And we’re discussing the potential for me to go to school and work my way through.”
“And you like it?” Grandma sounded truly stumped.
Then again, Brandi couldn’t blame her. It wasn’t as though Brandi had actual plans for after college. Things had just happened.
“It turns out it’s kind of in my blood.” She picked at the comforter and braced herself for the next bit of knowledge. “It turns out my biological father is also an engineer.”
Brandi heard two gasps on the other end of the line.
“You did?” Grandma’s voice practically vibrated.
“Yeah. I actually met him virtually this week.”
“Met him virtually? What does that mean, dear?”
Brandi couldn’t help but smile. It was a small thing to explain the workings of the internet, and yet even this she cherished. “Well, he lives in India with his family, so the only way we can really see each other and talk is through the internet.”
“Wow. And he’s where?”
“India. It turns out I’m half-Indian.”
“Like from the country India?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll be,” Grandma muttered. “It sounds like you’ve figured life out.”
“Only part of it.”
“I wish we could have been there.”
Brandi squeezed her eyes shut against the bittersweet emotions. Yes, her grandparents had raised her and shown her how to be the very best version of herself. But what Brandi would have given for just a little more time with them.
“Who are you talking to?” a girls’ voice asked.
“Your sister,” Grandma said.
There was a slight pause before the same girl said, “She’s upstairs,” with all of the sass only a teenager could manage.
“I’m guessing that’s Sara?” Brandi asked.
“That’s not my sister,” Sara said.
“No, it’s me, Brandi.”
“Oh.”
“Do you want to talk to her?” Grandma asked.
Brandi bit her lip. She’d never been particularly close with her little sisters. At first they’d been too small, then Mom kept a tight leash on who they played with. Keeping them upstairs had done a lot for that. It hadn’t been until the last few years that she’d lived there that Brandi had developed any kind of relationship with her younger sisters. They’d play whenever Mom and their father wasn’t around. Brandi thought it might actually be nice to have sisters, especially after she’d met her family in India.
The phone rustled a bit.
What was going on?
“So, what’s up?” Sara asked with a note of feigned disinterest.
“Not a lot. I just sent an anniversary card to Grandma and Grandpa. They called me.”
“You sent one to Mom and Dad, too.”
“Yeah. It seemed like the right thing to do.”
“I don’t know about that. Mom got all weird.”
Brandi wanted to ask so many questions, but she hesitated. Her sisters were still young. They didn’t need to get drawn into this.
“What happened?” Sara asked. “Why did Mom kick you out the way she did?”
“Oh, well, um...”
Sara’s voice lowered and for a moment she was completely serious. “I didn’t realize until recently how messed up our family is.”
Brandi’s heart ached for this girl and she wished she could be a better sister. Too little, way too late. “I did something I shouldn’t.”
“Do you think she’ll kick me out, too?” Sara asked.
“What? Honey, no,” Grandma said in the background.
Brandi’s knee jerk reaction was to deny that their mother would ever do that. Only, she’d already done it once and never showed any remorse. Not in all these years.
“Of course you’d say that, Grandma.” Sara’s tone implied an eye roll.
God, how old was she now? Fifteen? Sixteen?
“Sara, how old are you now?” Brandi asked.
“Seventeen.”
“I was nineteen when Mom kicked me out for breaking the rules. I was technically an adult. You’re still a minor.”
“That’s not very reassuring,” Sara said dryly. “I’ll be eighteen in less than a year. This is something I need to think about.”
“I...don’t know what to tell you. This is a tricky question to answer. I don’t think Mom would kick you out if you did the same thing I did because...she’s still married to your dad. I don’t even know if she knows who my dad is.” Brandi decided then and there she wasn’t sharing any news about her own father beyond her grandparents.
“If Mom kicked us out, could we crash with you until we figured things out?” Sara asked.
“Where is this coming from?” Grandma fussed in the background.
“Always,” Brandi said without missing a beat.
If her mother was reckless enough to cut ties with all of her children, that was on her. Brandi couldn’t do that.
“What’s going on that’s got you thinking about this?” she asked. “Has Mom said or done something?”
“No. This girl—guy? This person in my class got kicked out by their parents because they’re gay or something. I mean, she’s a girl, but she dresses like a guy? I don’t really get it, but they’re really nice and it just made me start thinking... Is that like what happened to you?”
Brandi’s heart ached for that child. “They sound like they really just need a friend. What happened to me was different.”
“Yeah, I told my friends they were eating with us at lunch and it’s been pretty cool.” Something banged in the background. “Shit. Shoot.”
The phone line rustled and Brandi heard muffled voices. She pressed the phone to her ear harder, as though that would help her. But she still couldn’t make out what was being said. One rose higher than the other, practically yelling now.
She put the phone on speaker then tapped her texts and sent the same message to both Nicole and Jayden.
So my grandmother called me. I’m on the phone with my sister Sara. And now I think we just got caught by mom, who seems to be yelling at everyone.
Brandi hit send on the message, then went back to trying to listen.
Her phone vibrated and the message preview from Jayden said it all.
On my way.
The swirling, twisted cocktail of emotions in Brandi’s chest almost boiled over right then and there. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to hold in the tears. It was all so overwhelming. And heartbreaking.
After all this time, her mother was still the same person she’d been before. And she was strangling her other children w
ith her choke hold on their lives.
Brandi wasn’t sure how long she sat there listening to the mumbled voices go back and forth, but after a while it died down to low-level murmurs so she couldn’t even tell who was who.
The minutes ticked by.
Clearly Grandma and Grandpa had planned this call for when Mom wasn’t there. Which meant Mom was still Mom.
Anger simmered inside of Brandi. It wasn’t fair for her to feel guilty for something she had no part in doing. All she’d done was answer the phone.
Though, she should have expected this, what with her phone number on the card. If she’d just stuck to normal and ignored her homesickness, then this wouldn’t be happening right now. There would be no new strife, no reason to fight.
She’d also wouldn’t know that Grandpa could no longer speak. Why? What happened to him? How were they doing?
“Brandi?” a clipped woman’s voice said.
“H-hi,” Brandi said out of pure shock.
Her mother.
She was speaking to her mother.
It was an odd, surreal moment.
“You’re doing well?” she asked.
Brandi nodded, then remembered she needed to actually speak. “Yeah, well enough.”
“Thank you for the card. That was very thoughtful.”
“You’re welcome.”
Brandi wasn’t about to volunteer that she’d only sent one to her mother out of a moment of soul-sucking guilt.
“I need to cook dinner.”
“Oh, well, happy early anniversary and good night,” Brandi said.
“Same to you.”
The line clicked and the call ended.
She stared at her phone.
So very strange. All of it.
She’d assumed she’d never again speak with her mother. But she had. That conversation was almost pleasant. It was hard to take that in when she knew Sara was concerned about getting thrown out, too.
What the heck was going on down there?
The doorbell rang and she knew without looking that it was Jayden.
Brandi got up in a daze still and crossed the house to the front door and opened it.
Sure enough, there was her white knight standing there with both hands braced on the doorframe. His face was creased with lines of tension.
Fresh tears prickled her eyes.
“Oh, baby,” Jayden muttered.
He stepped into the house and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her to him while closing and securing the door with his other hand.
“She’s still awful,” Brandi whispered.
“Your mom?”
“Yeah. How can she be so cruel? I actually talked to my sister, Sara. You know what she asked me?” She leaned back and looked at Jayden through the tears. “If Mom kicks me out, can I come stay with you until I’m on my feet?”
Jayden grimaced. “Oh, baby, I’m sorry.”
That was when Brandi realized he wasn’t completely empty-handed. Once again, he had a plastic bag with food containers dangling from his arm.
Of all the men Brandi had met, Jayden might be the best. The very best.
He deserved better than her and her train wreck of a life, that was for sure.
JAYDEN KNEW HE WAS here for Brandi’s benefit. It was why he’d dropped everything when she texted. Still, it felt good to hold her. After so many days apart, he missed this.
He did not miss the tears.
Her shoulders shuddered as she tried to suppress yet another sob. He rubbed circles on her back and wished there was something he could do that would make this all go away. He hated that this brief phone call was opening old wounds for her.
In a way, Jayden thought his mother’s way had been kinder. He could still recall the day she’d sat him and Asher down on the curb outside the apartment building where they were currently staying on a friend’s sofa. She’d looked at them both and he remembered thinking her eyes looked funny. Then his world had changed.
“Boys, you know mama loves you, right?” She’d smoothed her hands over both their heads in that way only she had. “Mama has to make a tough call. I can’t keep a roof over our heads. Some people are going to come and take you to a better house. We might not see each other again. Don’t cry. No crying, okay? Never forget, mama loves you and you might not believe it now, but this is the best thing for you.”
Jayden had no doubt that the words in his head weren’t exactly what she’d said. Still, she’d been clear with them.
Brandi didn’t have that. Unlike him, her mother never wanted her.
That was worse on so many levels.
The back door banged open.
“I’m back,” Nicole announced.
Jayden lifted his head and met Nicole’s wide-eyed stare. Her arms were burdened with canvas grocery bags.
“Oh dear, what happened?” She set the bags down right where she was.
Brandi turned in his arms and laid her head on his shoulder. “I texted...”
“Shoot.” Nicole shoved a hand into her purse and rummaged around.
“Grandma called.” Brandi’s voice broke.
“It’s okay,” Jayden whispered. “Why don’t we all sit on the sofa?”
He remembered the last time he’d told her to sit and how they’d wound up on the floor very well.
Brandi let him guide her. Nicole turned around and grabbed the groceries. She went through the bags lightning fast and threw stuff into the fridge before abandoning the rest on the counter and joining Brandi on the sofa. Both women automatically curled their legs under them as they settled on the cushions. Jayden dragged a decorative ottoman he’d never seen used over in front of Brandi and perched on the edge.
“What happened?” he asked.
She closed her eyes and breathed deeply a few times, steadying herself. Then she launched into the story, how she’d answered the call, the exchange with her grandparents, then her sister and finally the stilted conversation with her mother. The more she talked, the fewer tears she shed, but the sadness in her eyes remained.
“Wow,” Nicole whispered when Brandi was done.
Jayden still clutched her hand in his while the other held the box of tissues. Brandi hadn’t needed another for a moment, but he just didn’t know when that would be.
“I don’t even know where to begin.” Nicole shook her head.
“Are you both hungry?” Jayden was starving. They’d been lining up to plate the meal when Brandi texted.
“I’d eat,” Nicole said enthusiastically.
Brandi merely nodded.
He scooped up the meal offering and held it up. “Well, this needs to be warmed up a tiny bit, but it’s fresh out of the kitchen.”
“What is it?” Nicole snatched the bag from him and her eyes widened. “It’s still warm.”
“Enchiladas. Mom made them.”
“Shut up.” Nicole jumped up and raced into the kitchen.
Brandi watched her. A ghost of a smile curved her lips.
“I take it she likes enchiladas?” Jayden asked in a whisper.
“Oh, yeah. If we’re lucky, she might leave some for us.”
He shook his head. “Oh hell naw. Nicole?”
Jayden got up, set the tissues on the floor by Brandi, then followed Nicole into the kitchen.
“They’re all mine,” she proclaimed.
Jayden planted his hands on his hips and narrowed his gaze. “I don’t think so.”
Nicole darted a look at Brandi over his shoulder. Concern quickly overshadowed Nicole’s enthusiasm for the food.
She leaned toward him and whispered, “Can you believe this? I swear her mother gets worse all the time.”
Jayden merely shook his head. He couldn’t put this situation into words. Anything he said he’d want to take back later.
Instead, he pulled down plates and helped Nicole divide up all the food. Mom had sent him with enough for all three, plus some leftovers. She didn’t know how to cook a small meal to begin with. Ad
d in that she’d expected to send seven boys home with lunch for the next day, and the kitchen had been nothing but pans.
In short order they had a hot meal ready. TV trays served as their respective tables.
“How is it?” Jayden asked, watching both girls chew their first bites.
Nicole pressed her hand against her stomach. “So good.”
Brandi studied him over her plate. “I thought you were busy this weekend. I didn’t realize you were doing stuff with your family.”
Jayden winced. Brandi had so many big things hit her this week, he hadn’t wanted to stress her out more with his news. But he also didn’t want to keep it from her.
“I told you I haven’t seen my twin in a while, right?” He focused on his plate, cutting the enchiladas into bite-sized chunks.
Brandi nodded. “Yeah. Did something happen?”
“Wait.” Nicole held up a hand. “You’re a twin?”
Jayden nodded.
Brandi frowned. “You didn’t know?”
“No.” Nicole glared at him.
“I often don’t lead with that. Asher and I aren’t alike.” He shrugged. “Anyway, this last week I went by his place and its clear no one has been there in weeks. Pretty much every night we’re calling his friends, checking out places he’s worked, trying to track down girls he dated.”
“And you still can’t find him?” Brandi asked. “Or did you get news? Did something happen?”
“I have no idea.” Jayden grimaced. “I’m a shitty brother. This whole time I figured it was just Asher being Asher. He chases the party. He’s irresponsible. But... This just seems wrong. He wouldn’t go on a trip without telling someone. Mom at least so she wouldn’t worry. He’s an asshole to the core, but he loves our parents.”
“What was tonight then?” Nicole asked.
“We ran out of leads.” Jayden pushed the food around, but couldn’t muster any interest now. “We thought if we got together and went over it all, maybe something would stick out? We’d think of something?”
“And then I called.” Brandi groaned and covered her face with her hands. “I’m so sorry.”
“No. Don’t be. We weren’t getting anywhere. I’d rather be here.”
“Oh, and this is my cue to go watch something in my room.” Nicole scooped up her plate and glass.
Brandi threw out her hand. “No, Nic. You don’t have to go.”
The Wrong Perfect Match (Fullilove in the House Book 1) Page 21
