AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Of course. I love Grady. He's my brother." I had lost a sister, but tried to hold on to the fact that I had gained a brother.
"When he looks at you, he sees Tessa."
I studied his body language. "It's not like that, Brandt. Tessa and I are practically twins, but he was in love with the complete opposite of me. She and I were nothing alike."
"He's grieving and drinking. Lines get blurred," he pointed out.
"Maybe for him, but not me. I'm your wife, Brandt. He…I wouldn't do that."
He shifted uncomfortably and then walked to the slider. "I know. I'm sorry. I just don't know how to deal with all of this. I'm trying to be strong for you guys, but geez, Bay, I miss the hell out of my dad. I miss my stepmom, too, but after my mom left, it was just us for a while. It's just hard without him."
I felt like such a jerk. He was being so noble, and I was being selfish. Depression consumed me, and it didn't care who it affected in the process. I stood up and hugged him from behind.
"I'm sorry. We'll all learn together how to do this. We'll make it." I still had that nagging feeling I was going to have to give Grady space, a lot of it, for him to get the closure he needed, but I didn't know when or how to talk to Brandt about it, and right now was too soon for any of us to be without each other.
He turned around and hugged me gently. "I can't do this without you, Bay."
"You won't have to."
He kissed me on the head. We had barely touched since the accident, so when he brushed the hair out of my face and looked for permission to kiss me, I pulled him down to my lips and kissed him. It felt good to have his warmth touch me again. His kiss was insistent, as he pressed hard against my mouth. The last kiss we shared was in the hotel room before we crashed. We needed this.
Grady's door opened, catching us in the moment. He looked at us blankly and then headed into the kitchen and poured himself a drink.
"I'll talk to him. I know you need to get some work done." I squeezed Brandt’s arm gently.
"I do. I ignored it all last week, and I don't think Grady will be helping with the business any time soon."
"Go. It's fine."
"I think I'll go somewhere else to work, if you'll be okay?"
"We'll be fine."
"Don't forget to take your medicine. I'll see you in a few hours."
He took my lips in his and then grabbed his laptop bag on the way out the door. Grady had already retreated into his bedroom again. The vodka bottle was missing off the counter. I kept reminding myself it had only been a little over a week. We would all get better with time. I knocked on his door.
"Go away, Bay. I don't want to talk right now."
I put my head on the door for a minute, trying to decide what to do. I knew he would ask if he needed me, but I didn’t want to move, so I slid down the door and sat propped up against it and stared out the slider. Yesterday it was sunny when it shouldn't have been, but today it was gloomy. Much more fitting. Finally, the world was grieving with us.
