Fragile Bonds

“Actually, coming here was his idea, but I’m pretty sure he had some help from his uncle.” I laugh as her eyebrows seem to disappear into her hairline. I haven’t told her that Braydon has moved from telling me to be careful about getting closer to Melanie into matchmaker mode.

“Braydon?” she asks, which is somewhat funny seeing as I only have one brother. “What happened to him telling me to stay away from you because of how much I hurt you when we split up before?”

I’m not sure I will ever be able to fully make Braydon see that I was much more to blame for that situation than Melanie, and part of me wants to hit him for getting in Melanie’s face about it. I get that he’s my big brother and wanted to protect me, but as with so many other things, it wasn’t his place.

“I told you before that I set him straight on that,” I groan. Part of me wonders when we’ll be able to transition from this place where we’re trying to glue the pieces of our former life back together into the solid, healthy relationship we both deserve. “Plus, apparently Alyssa talked to him too, told him to make sure that we didn’t fuck things up again. And knowing her, those were probably her exact words to him.”

Melanie shakes her head in disbelief. “You know, part of me wishes I had known her before she was sick, but I don’t think we would have been friends if circumstances were different. She seems like a pretty cool woman.”

“She was,” I admit. “I just wish it hadn’t taken me so long to see that.” We’re still sitting in the car, but suddenly I’m not in a rush to go inside. I’m not ready to go back to having to share Melanie with anyone else, even if it is just Jacob and Braydon. “Anyway, I promise, we’ll talk about that some other time. For now, we’d better get inside before Jacob drives Braydon insane.”

Hand in hand, we cross the parking lot. I follow Melanie inside after holding the door open for her, my hand casually resting on the small of her back. As we look for Braydon, my thumb traces small circles along her spine, causing her to visibly shiver. She looks back at me and I can’t help but lean down to kiss her. Melanie’s kiss is like heroin to me and I’m not sure I will ever get to the point where I want to quit.

“Don’t you two look all cozy,” Braydon laughs as we enter the bar area. I would be upset that he has my four year old son in here, but at least he had sense enough to sit at one of the high top tables rather than at the bar.

I look over at Melanie and see her looking up at me with a shy grin on her face. There’s nothing I can say anything that won’t fuel Braydon’s ribbing. “What can I say? We had a good talk today. Thanks.”

Braydon stands, pulling my arm so we can talk in private. I ask Melanie to stay with Jacob, wondering why Braydon suddenly looks tense. If he decides to give me shit for being with Mel, I swear I will lay him out on the floor in a heartbeat.

“I’m not sure if you’re going to want to hang out here tonight,” he tells me once we’re in the hallway leading toward the restrooms.

“Good time to bring that up, don’t you think?” I ask sarcastically, reminding myself that Melanie and Jacob are sitting out there waiting for us. Honestly, as long as I keep that in mind, I don’t think anything can bring me down.

“True, but if you knew what I saw a few minutes ago, you’d understand.” He looks nervous, like he’s expecting me to go ballistic at any moment. Not going to happen because I’m committed to making today a great day. Yeah, I know that might make me sound like some sort of hippie freak, but I’m going to ride this high for all it’s worth. “Stacey walked in with a bunch of her friends. They’re in the dining room, which is why I took Jacob into the bar.”

Now it makes sense. He wasn’t sitting in there because he didn’t think about the fact that it’s not the best place for a kid, it’s because he wants to make sure I don’t do anything stupid. Or, more likely, that Stacey doesn’t see us and run her mouth. I won’t go so far as to cause a scene, but if she starts something, you can be sure I’m going to finish it.

“This is what Jacob wanted for dinner, that’s what he’s going to get,” I tell my brother. “But you have to promise me that if that psycho beast comes over to us, you’ll get Jacob out of there before things turn ugly.”

“You got it,” Braydon says, giving me a firm pat on the back. I look to the dining room as we make our way back to Jacob and Melanie, but I don’t see Stacey anywhere. When I turn into the bar, I see her leaving the bar. I offer up a silent prayer that she won’t see Melanie, or that she’s civil enough to ignore her if she does, but those prayers go unanswered. There’s no time for me to get to the table before Stacey sits down, making herself comfortable next to my son.

“I think you’re in my seat,” I say firmly, moving close to Melanie as Braydon grabs Jacob, bribing him with five dollars in the arcade.

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