“Five minutes are up, Ace,” Tate cut in, I looked at him then I saw Steg, Wings and Jim-Billy come off their stools like soldiers who had just been given orders.
I nodded to Tate and looked at Brad, deciding to sum up. “I don’t hate you. I hate her.” I pointed to Hayley and my eyes went to her. “Women have it hard enough, we don’t need our sisters behaving like you. It was up to me, we’d take away your membership card.” Nadine laughed softly at this but I looked back to Brad. “But you, I don’t feel anything for you. I just want you to get out of my life so I can live it. And you, you’re so full of yourself, after taking so much from me for so long and not giving anything in return, not love, not attention, not affection, not understanding, not even birthday presents, you won’t give me even this. So you want to take more so you can try to save face? Do it. I don’t care. It’s all the same to me because while you’re making a fool of yourself, I get to go home to Jonas and Tate and make them dinner and watch TV and climb into bed with my old man and you don’t exist until you make your presence known and then you’re just a nuisance and a reason for Tate and me to share a laugh because just like her,” I jerked my head at Hayley, “in the end, you’re just a joke.”
“You can’t make me believe you honestly want this life,” Brad returned.
“Brad, it’s so beautiful, I not only want it, I’d fight and die to keep it,” I shot back.
Not unwilling but completely unable to believe I’d pick a life without him, Brad kept going. “You know I can give you more than he ever can.”
“You’re wrong,” I whispered, looked him straight in the eye and kept whispering when I pulled out the big guns. “I sleep.”
Brad’s face got pale.
“What?” he asked, but he knew what, he knew exactly what. I’d aimed, I’d fired and I’d hit the bulls-eye.
“Like a baby, straight through. Tate’s in bed with me, I don’t wake up.”
Brad stared at me, his face blanched of color, his expression stuck in a flinch. “Ree –”
“Straight through,” I repeated quietly. “He gives me peace.”
“Darling –”
“Peace, Brad, which means he gives me everything and you never, never gave me that.” I shook my head. “Not even close.”
“Honey –”
“Please give me one thing, just one thing. Leave me to my peace,” I whispered.
Brad held my gaze and I saw his throat working and I remembered, a long time ago, when my insomnia bothered Brad like it bothered Tate. I remembered a time when he wanted to make me better. I remembered a long, long time ago when he thought he, too, could fix me and give me peace and he wanted that for me and he wanted to be the one who gave it to me.
And I remembered that it didn’t take long for him to stop wanting that.
And I knew Brad remembered too because a miracle occurred in the instant he did.
Bradford Whitaker finally became human.
I knew when he asked, “Who’s Jonas?”
“Tate’s son,” I answered and Brad closed his eyes, pain, fleeting but real, sliced through his features because, a long time ago, he’d wanted to give me that too and then he didn’t.
He opened his eyes again.
“We should have had children,” he whispered.
“We didn’t,” I replied.
His throat worked again but his eyes didn’t leave mine when he admitted quietly, “I miss you, Ree.”
“I’m sorry, Brad, but I can’t do anything about that.”
He stared at me for long moments, his face still pale, his eyes wounded before he finally nodded.
“You done?” Tate impatiently demanded to know and Brad looked at him.
“One thing.” He was still talking quietly.
“You got one thing then you get out,” Tate allowed and Brad’s gaze came back to me.
“I loved you,” he stated, I sensed Tate moving but I didn’t look from Brad.
“Brad –”
“I did, Ree, swear to God. I just don’t know where I lost my way.”
Tate was suddenly there, at my side and partially in front of me.
“You’re done,” Tate declared and Brad looked up at him and you could have knocked me over with a feather because another miracle was happening.
Now Brad was looking at Tate like he was a god.
“She sleeps,” he whispered, visibly swallowed and repeated almost inaudibly, “She sleeps.” He looked at me and finished, “I wanted to give you that.”
I felt tears prick my eyes as I watched Brad, my ex-husband and a man I once loved, it was without reason but I loved him, have his epiphany but the tears didn’t form and Brad said not another word, he just turned and walked straight out of the bar.
“Get out,” Tate ordered, my body jerked and I looked up at him to see he was scowling at Hayley.
“I –” she began.
Tate leaned forward and bit off, “Bitch… get… out.”
Hayley stared at him, eyes wide then she looked at me then she ducked her head and quickly scuttled out.