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“It’s all gone.” Bree stands in the middle of Hayden’s room, surveying the empty space. I’d stayed for a few minutes to see what he was going to do, hoping he would come to his senses, but when the movers showed up, I left, unable to watch.
“You let him leave,” she says matter-of-factly. “You promised you would handle it. This is handling it? Letting him move out? Good job.” She glares at me, and I remind myself that she’s lashing out at the person who’s still here. She isn’t mad at me. She’s heartbroken over Hayden leaving.
“I have to go,” she says, a small sniffle giving away her hard exterior. “Beatrice is bringing the kids home after practice.”
“Or you guys could stay the night,” I offer, not wanting to be away from her—and also dreading being alone in this big place.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Miles is upset about Hayden making me cry, and I haven’t told him he left for good.”
“Okay,” I say, feeling like even though I’m not the one who left, I’m losing her just the same.
After she’s gone and the place is too quiet, I grab my jacket, wallet, and phone and go out for a drink. I end up at Lush, one of the bars Fields owns, and order a drink. Then another, and another. I’m three, maybe four deep when my dad sits beside me.
“What are you doing here?” Ever since he retired, it’s rare to find him in the city.
“Hayden called,” he says, making me drop my drink and give him my full attention. “Said you might need someone tonight and that I could find you here.”
Fucking location app. When Bree told us she uses it to keep track of where her kids are, Hayden suggested we sign up as well. God forbid something happen to Bree or the kids, we could pull up the app and see where they are. I honestly forgot about it, but he clearly didn’t.
I pull out my phone to see where he is and laugh bitterly when it shows his location is unknown. Then I turn my location off as well—because fuck him—and down my drink, motioning for the bartender to bring me another once my glass is empty.
“Did he also tell you that without any reasoning, he quit his job at Fields, broke up with Bree, and moved out?” I ask, looking over at my dad.
When his eyes widen, I know Hayden conveniently left all that out. I throw back the drink the bartender sets down and then slam my glass on the bar top. “What I need is for my friend to come back.”
Another drink is placed in front of me, and I shoot it back. But before I can motion for another, my dad shakes his head, cutting me off.
“Getting drunk isn’t going to fix things.”
“Nothing will fix this, but at least getting drunk will numb the pain.”
I raise a finger to get the bartender’s attention, then gesture for another drink, but my dad shakes his head again, throws down a few bills, and wraps his arm around my shoulders. “C’mon, son,” he says. “How about you come home with me tonight? Savy is making dinner, and I know your brother and sister would love to see you.”
“I appreciate it, but I’m not good company tonight,” I mutter once we’re out of Lush and standing by the valet. Knowing I had every intention of getting shit-faced, I didn’t drive, but Dad showing up put a damper on that.
“We don’t need you to be good company,” he says. “We just want to be there for you. I don’t know all that’s going on, but I don’t think you should be alone tonight. Come home with me, have a home-cooked meal, and then if you want to close yourself off in a room, we won’t stop you. But at least we know you’re not alone.”
Because I can tell he’s worried, and I really don’t want to be alone in that condo, I agree and go home with him. Just as he said, Olivier and Penelope are happy to see me, and Savy made delicious pot roast, one of my favorites. Nobody questions why I’m home on a random Monday night, and after dinner’s cleaned up, they don’t say a word when I excuse myself to the guest room that used to be my room before I officially moved out after college.
I open a drawer and find some shirts and pajama pants in my size. Since the room has an en suite bathroom, I take a quick shower to rinse off, get dressed, and then drop onto the bed, staring at my phone.
It’s been hours since I spoke to Bree, and I hate that she left upset. I hate even more that I don’t think there’s any way I can fix this. Not unless Hayden tells me why he left, and from the way he was talking, I don’t think he’s going to do that any time soon.
