Mom glanced my way. “Fighting? Really?” There was little censure in her tone as she approached me and pulled the bag of peas away. Maybe she thought I deserved it. “You’re lucky it was just Bradley hitting you and not one of your brothers. They might have really done some damage.” She gently tapped my cheek. “I’m Sarah, Decker’s mom.” Mom turned to Leah, her arm outstretched.
“I’m Leah, Decker’s friend without benefits. No screwing around going on here, we are just friends. Good friends since I cleaned up his vomit.” Did she really have to bring that up again?
“You’re sick?” my mom asked, suddenly all business.
“Love sick,” snickered Bradley.
“Ohhhh, snap! That was a good one,” laughed Leah.
My headache was getting worse by the second.
“You finally going to tell me what happened?” Mom pinned me with a glare that basically said I had no choice.
I rubbed my hands over my face, wincing at the sting in my jaw. “I fucked up,” I admitted, not elaborating. Bradley had seated himself beside Leah at the kitchen table. It was as if they were both settling in to watch an episode of their favorite soap opera. Mom sighed and began cleaning away the empty bottles that cluttered the countertops.
“Wouldn’t be the first time, Decker. You’re lucky though; you’re one of the smart ones who seem to learn from their mistakes.” I threw the bag of peas back in the freezer. “Now, tell me exactly what happened and let’s work out how to fix it.”
Fix it? I laughed and shook my head. “You’re such a nurse, Mom, wanting to fix everything. This one is unfixable though.”
She passed me a glass of water and a two pain killers. Bradley and Leah were still watching with unnerving interest.
“Well, I’m the expert, so I guess I will know if it is fixable or not.” My mom was relentless. She wouldn’t give up until she realized that this situation was completely and utterly destroyed beyond repair.
“Andi and I were dating, I guess.”
Mom rolled her eyes, and Leah snorted.
“Obviously, you couldn’t take your eyes off her when you brought her to dinner.”
“You took her to meet your parents?” Bradley said, more than a little shocked.
“They were so sweet together, always sneaking looks at each other when the other wasn’t watching,” Mom sighed.
“Well, while you and Dad were planning mine and Andi’s happily ever after, I was scheduled to start filming on a new project with The Bishop.”
Bradley’s eyes darkened, Leah’s gaze turned to one of pity, and my mom? Her disappointment washed over me, leaving behind self-loathing and guilt.
“But, you had that meeting with your father.”
“And I hadn’t decided anything at that stage.” Bradley went to stand, but my mom pushed his shoulder, forcing him to sit again. “I liked Andi, I liked her a lot, but I didn’t know what it was, how serious it was. I wasn’t sure what she wanted from me or me from her. It wasn’t like I was hoping it would all turn to shit, I was just reluctant to let go of something that felt safe, something that I knew how to do and I was good at it. It was Andi or the job. I’m man enough to say I was scared at the thought of giving away the job for her. When I finally realized that being with Andi meant I was gaining something, not giving something up, it was too late. Even though I hadn’t officially pulled my name from The Bishop’s film I was done, it was just a matter of a verbal resignation. I wanted Andi, I wanted her forever, but she found out about the film. Then, to make matters worse, I went and got shit faced, ended up at the pre-screening party in town, and Fabian walked Andi straight into the back room.” I took a breath and was met with silence.
“Oh, Decker, what did you do?” Leah sighed.
“Nothing. I did nothing. I almost did something. I was drunk, I was pissed off, and I was seconds away from telling Melody to get the fuck away from me, but Andi walked in, and…” Shit it hurt remembering that moment, her face.
“She broke her hand hitting you?” my mom whispered.
I snorted. “No, but I wish she had, I deserved nothing less. She was on a date with Fabian. I don’t know the exact details, but from what I gather, Fabian and Melody had coordinated the back room event with every intention of allowing Andi to see me like that, with Melody. I figured it out, Andi figured it out, and she punched Fabian.” I smiled at the memory. “She socked him a good one.” I glanced at Bradley. “You should ask her for some tips, she hits a hell of a lot better than you.” Bradley didn’t smile though. Instead he stood and turned for the front door. My smile disappeared under his final words.
“You don’t deserve her,” he shook his head with irritation, “but for some reason she wants you. You need to think real hard, Decker, this isn’t a game or a movie, this is life, her life. If you love her, like, really love her, the shit that marriage, babies, and happily ever afters are made of, then you need to fix this. You get one chance and if you fuck up again, we’re done.” He left.
Leah gave me a pitiful attempt at a smile. She moved around the counter and gave me a chaste kiss to my cheek. “Don’t lose her, Decker, for all of us who haven’t found it, don’t throw it away.” She left.