AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I shrug, offering her a small smile. "I'm trying. You heard everything?"
Holland shrugs apologetically. "Have you met my husband? Plus, your baby daddy is sleeping in my guest room and he snores like a freight train.”
I turn to Emery who gently hugs me. "Hi love."
"Hi."
Holland loops her arm through mine. "Come on, let's go have brunch and a drink. I know you probably need it."
Together, we walk the short distance from Ty's apartment to the restaurant. A perk of living downtown.
We get to the small bar and grill and wait to be seated.
Once we're at the table, Holland orders us all mimosas and an appetizer before saying, "Lay it on us, babe. You need to get it off your chest."
Emery agrees, "Yeah, Mads, we're your friends, it's what we're here for."
Even though I trust them, and I want to open up, part of me is still afraid after everything, to be honest about who I am. To actually say it out loud and admit it to someone other than Tyler or Briggs.
I suck in a deep breath, trying to calm myself before I get too worked up. "Thank you, guys, for being here and for dragging me out of the house, I needed some fresh air."
Holland nods. "Always. Even if you don't want to talk about it, just know we're here and we support you, no matter what."
I can't help the tears that well in my eyes. I drop my head into my hands as I sigh. "God, I've just messed everything up," I say quietly, "And I don't know how to fix it. I don't know that Icanfix it. I just know that I have to."
"I think that no matter what has happened, Briggs loves you. It's obvious that he's completely, without a doubt, in love with you, and love doesn't just stop, even when someone makes a mistake," Holland says. "Trust me, I know this from experience."
"I hid something from Briggs," I say, looking between the two of them, "I guess I just need to be honest, since not being honest from the start is what caused this in the first place. I run a sports blog, well, I guess not really anymore, called THE Puck Bunny. I'm not sure if you've heard of it..." I trail off.
Holland's eyes widen, and Emery's jaw actually drops.
“Holy shit, what!” Holland exclaims, “you’re the Puck Bunny!? Oh my god.”
"Oh my God, I love reading your posts! Girl, you're hilarious," Emery exclaims, "I mean, I know some of them were a little telling when it came to Briggs. Oh shit, wait, that's what happened, isn't it?"
I nod then turn to Holland. “Holland, I just want to say I’m sorry… if anything I reported on hurt you or Reed in anyway. I truly never meant to hurt anyone, and I take full responsibility.”
Holland nods, offering me a small smile. “Nothing to forgive, babe.”
"I didn't tell him at first, well, because I didn't really think that I should. I mean, we barely knew each other. We spent a whirlwind weekend together that ended up creating Olive, and then he was there for her birth, but... we decided to keep things strictly about co-parenting. I didn't think I should tell him, not when we this was so rocky, so new. But somewhere along the way, things changed. I fell for him before I even realized what was happening, and then I just felt like it was too late to tell him, or wondered when the right time was? When's the right time to do something, knowing that it will hurt the person that you love? And after he opened up about how much the media had hurt him, it made me sick to even think about telling him, opening up those old wounds and causing him more pain. But, I had decided to tell him." I pause, trying to catch my breath, the tears now falling freely down my cheeks. Holland reaches out and grabs my hand, squeezing it in hers to reassure me. "I kept telling myself that I was waiting for the right moment, but I just never found the right moment. God, Holland, I was so afraid of hurting him and so afraid that when I told him, he would leave me, that I kept putting it off. We were lying in bed, and I almost told him right then, but then he said we were going away for the weekend and I thought it would be the perfect time to tell him. Look how wrong I was. He found out and it blew up before I could even stop it."
Now, I'm sobbing quietly, unable to hold back the hurt and heartache that has been bubbling inside me, threatening to spill over.
Emery stands then pulls me into her arms, crouching down next to my chair. "Hey, we all make mistakes, Maddison. I hear you. I hear everything that you're saying, but you know what Isee? I see how much you love him. If I can see it, then I know he can see it. Darling, you have to fight for him. You messed up, sure, but that doesn't mean that it's over for good.”
"Exactly," Holland adds, "when Reed and I went through a rough time… I fought for him. Because I let something insignificant almost tear us apart, and I would've been lost without him. You fight for him, Maddison, and you show him that your love for him is what matters, not the past, not the mistakes that were made."
I try and slow my blubbering, dabbing at my nose with the linen napkin from the table, but their advice seems to make me cry harder. "I'm so sorry, for all of it."
"Maddison, we told you, we're friends, and this is what we're here for. To pick you up when you're feeling low. Everyone makes mistakes," Holland says.
I nod.
What I want more than anything is to show Briggs that I love him, and even though I made a mistake by not being honest sooner, it wasn't because I wanted to be deceitful. I was just afraid to lose him, and it was the wrong way to show my love for him. It came from a place of love, genuine love that would do anything not to hurt the one you love and I let my own insecurities interfere.
The waiter chooses then to bring our mimosas over to the table, but when he sees me crying, and snotting everywhere, his eyes widen and he stops.
“Uh... .should… I come back or?” he asks nervously.
"Drop the mimosas, sir, and back away slowly," Emery says, making me laugh, even though tears are still fresh on my cheeks.
I take a sip of the orange juice and champagne mix before sitting back in the chair. "I haven't reported anything in a while forThe Puck Bunny, the last time I sat down to try... I just couldn't. Not with knowing that it had hurt Briggs. I've been thinking about it a lot for the past few days, about what the future ofThe Puck Bunnyis. You know the only reason I did it in the first place was because I love hockey, and I want to be a journalist, and the money was great. I needed the money to put myself through school, and when I found out I was pregnant, I needed it more than ever. But, I think I know what I want to do. I just think I need a little help."
A wide grin spreads on Hollands lips. "Are you telling us you need help to win your man back?"
I nod, biting my lip. "I think so. I don't know if it'll work, or if he'll forgive me, but I have to try. Like you said, I have to fight for him, for our family. I love him, and I want more than anything to fix this."
Emery smirks, a twinkle in her eyes as she leans forward, placing her chin in her hands anxiously. "Now, this is something I’m good at. Let’s do this."
