When Arthur returns, Jack hops up to help him unpack the groceries.
“Thanks for all this, guys,” Bree says. “But I’m really doing all right. You can go home.”
“But what if we want to be here?” I ask smartly. “Didn’t anticipate that, did you?”
Even she seems surprised when a laugh bursts out of her.
“I missed you,” she says quietly, reaching out to touch my hand. “But please don’t tease me, either.”
I cock my head. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t let me think I mean something to you that I don’t. I’m too fragile right now for that.”
It hurts to hear. She thinks we’ll be done with her after this is over, like she’s disposable, when the complete opposite is true. I don’t think I can live without her.
There’s something I need to do, something I need to say. So I grab her hand and clutch it tight, then turn to Jack as he sits back down at the table.
“I’m still sorry for what we did,” I tell him, almost choking on the words. “I’m so, so sorry for lying to you about it. But I can’t… I can’t just go back to how life was before.”
Jack watches me steadily, daring me to continue.
“I know Marilee hurt you,” I go on. “And I know I went about this all wrong. I should have been more open about how I felt, and I should have never gone behind your back. But I can’t keep denying part of myself, either. I want Bree in my life. And if that isn’t acceptable to you, we have to talk about what that means for us.”
His face slackens as he takes in my meaning. If he doesn’t want me to have a relationship with Bree, then I’m not sure a relationship with him is in my best interest anymore.
“Stop,” Bree interjects, sitting upright in her chair. “You don’t have to do this. I don’t want to be the reason you?—”
“No. I do have to.” I level my gaze on Jack. I can tell Arthur is listening, too, because he’s no longer flipping the bacon. “I need this. And it doesn’t dim how much I love you. You know that, right?”
Jack grits his teeth. “I get it. And… I won’t get in the way, Bennett. I want you to have what you need.” He bends his head. “I want you to be happy, more than anything.”
Bree’s voice is hoarse as she says, “Please, I don’t want to fuck up your lives like this.”
“Bree.”
I’m surprised by the softness in Jack’s tone.
“I don’t know you like Arthur and Bennett do. But given how they feel about you…” He turns his head and swallows hard. “I would like to try knowing you. And I want to be there for you, too, while you go through this.”
A thousand emotions cross Bree’s face at once.
“But—”
“I said what I said.” Jack is using his bossy tone now, and for once, I think maybe she needs it. “You can’t drive us away. Sorry.”
I nod in agreement.
Arthur comes to the table with a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich and sets it down in front of Bree.
“Listen to him,” Arthur says. “He may be kind of a dick, but he’s right.”
Then he retreats to the kitchen to make another sandwich, and she halfway smiles.
I scoot closer, put an arm around her shoulders, and squeeze her tight. “You’re stuck with us now.”
Bree
I’ve announced to my viewers a “spur of the moment vacation” while I take time to recover and heal. Jack, Arthur, and Bennett go home that night to give me some peace and quiet, but as soon as they leave, the silence left behind stretches. On Sunday, when Mangelli checks up on me, I say that I’m not feeling well and need the day to rot in bed. I can’t monopolize their time when they clearly have their own issues to work out. He offers to bring me food, but I tell him not to worry about it.
