27. Brielle
Chapter twenty-seven
Brielle
I picked up my mom and Callie at the airport around six in the morning. I got absolutely no sleep. I pulled my mom aside so I could tell her about Elijah before anyone else could.
“So, I have a boyfriend.”
“What did you just say?” Callie asked. That girl has hypersensitive hearing. She was all the way across the room and in a completely different conversation, and she still picked up what was said.
“You do?” My mom’s expression gave nothing away. I couldn’t tell if she was really happy for me or if she was more concerned.
“I do. It’s Elijah.”
Callie jumped for joy and instantly started talking to Aubrey about it. My mom’s eyebrows raised. “Wow, Brielle, that’s great. As long as you are safe and happy, that’s all we care about.” She paused. “You are being safe, right?”
A small blush began to creep up my neck. I lowered my voice, so only my mom could hear me, “We aren’t doing that, but yes. When the time comes, I will make sure we are safe.”
She pulled me into a big hug. When I looked up at her, her eyes were filled with unshed tears. “Mom, what's wrong?”
“You’re growing up.”
“I am not a baby anymore, Mom. I am an adult.”
She hugged me tighter. “You are and always will be my baby. I love you, Brie.”
“I love you too, Momma.”
“And I love you both,” Aubrey said as she joined in on the hug.
“We love you too, Aubs,” Mom and I said in unison.
I broke away from the hug fest and told everyone I would be back later.
I met Elijah at the hospital. The moment he saw me, he ran up to me, picked me up, and kissed me deeply.
“God, I’ve missed you.”
I spoke against his lips. “Elijah, put me down.” I let out a giggle. “It’s only been like seven hours. I knew you would survive,” I joked.
“I wouldn’t have survived a single moment longer.”
I playfully slapped his chest as he put me down. We walked hand in hand into the hospital. He was stopped twice for autographs, on the way up to his dad's room.
We were directed to a different part of the hospital this time. It was the hospice wing. I gripped his hand a little tighter as the feeling of sadness and death surrounded me.
When I walked through the door, his dad seemed to perk up. “Brielle, how nice… of you…to come.” Greg’s voice was quiet and breathy. He coughed between a few of the words. He attempted to sit up, but I stopped him.
“Oh, please don’t. Not on my account, at least. Stay comfortable.”
“Hey, Dad.”
He gripped Elijah's hand with a grateful smile. “You just missed your brother.”
Elijah joked, “Eh, I see him all the time. There’s nothing to miss.”
“Be good to each other.”
“We will, Dad, but don’t talk like that, okay?”
Greg nodded. I walked around and sat down on the other side of his hospital bed. He turned his head to appreciate me. He put his hand out like he wanted me to take it. I looked at Elijah, and he shrugged. I looked back to his dad and hesitantly took his hand.
His voice was just below a whisper. “Eli, can you please get me some ice chips?”
He stood. “Sure, I’ll be right back.” He looked at me. “Want anything?”
“I will take some water, please.”
Once Elijah left, his dad gripped my hand a little tighter. “Thank you.”
I leaned in a little closer, since I could barely hear him. “For what exactly, sir?”
“Giving him back to me.” My heart shattered into pieces in that very moment. My eyes stung with tears. “I was a coward. I wasn’t a man who deserved his forgiveness. I still don’t. But I know I was able to get it because of you. You gave me another chance to be his dad.”
“I think he would have come on his own.” I sniffled. A tear slowly fell, and I wiped it away with the back of my hand.
“I don’t think so, but either way, you are responsible for both of my sons getting to know me again. Even if it is only for a short time.”
I was trying to hold back sobs when Elijah returned to the room.
“What’s wrong?” Concern laced his face as he rushed toward me. I looked up at him, trying my best to smile.
“Happy tears, I promise.”
Elijah let out a sigh of relief. His dad was still holding my hand. “She’s a good one. Hold on to her. Treat her right.”
He nodded. “I promise I plan to.”
I wiped more tears that were falling. I pulled his hand into both of mine. “I am so glad we had the chance to meet.”
“So am I, sweetheart.” He paused to cough. “Take care of my boys, will ya?”
“I will.”
I knew that it was the last time I would see him. It was goodbye.
I returned to August and Liza’s house just as everyone was sitting down to eat. Liza was in the middle of telling an embarrassing story about Link. Then, of course, she was adoring Aubrey and praising how much she had changed him for the better.
I did my best to be present in the moment and put the visit with Elijah’s dad to the back of my mind, but my phone buzzed, and I knew I was going to need a moment.
I stood to excuse myself to the room I was staying in. I sat on the edge of the bed and opened the text.
Eli
Thank you for coming. You don’t know what that meant to my dad. You also don’t know how much that meant to me.
I started typing and then deleting my response, trying a few different ones, but none of them seemed like they were enough. Finally, I sent the best response I could come up with.
You’re welcome. I miss you already. Have a fun day with your dad and the guys. Text me later, and we can have dinner or something.
Eli
And have a sleepover?
An amused smirk crossed my face.
And have a sleepover.
Eli
FUCK YES. I can't wait. Have fun today. Send me nudes…I mean pics of your pretty dresses.
You are something else.
Eli
You love it. I really meant it, Brie. I really appreciate you being there for me today. I don’t know how many more days like this I have left with him. Knowing he knows you and knows how amazing you are is everything I could want at this point in time.
Again, I didn’t know how to respond, so I kept it simple.
See you later, baby 3
My body shook as tears began falling down my face. The bedroom door opened, and Aubrey entered with a concerned look on her face. She slowly approached me and then bent down in front of me.
“What happened?” she whispered.
I looked at her with a tear-stained face and welling eyes. “I think I just said goodbye to Elijah’s dad for the last time.”
“Oh, Bean. Come here.” She just held me, as I cried my eyes out. She let me just cry, for I don’t know how long, without saying a single word.
“I am sorry.” I wiped my face clean and stood to check myself in the full-length mirror. “Today is all about you and Callie, and here I am ruining it by being a blubbering mess.”
Aubrey came up behind me, hugging me around my neck and looking at me through the mirror. “Never apologize for being a human. You are allowed to have feelings.”
“Okay.”
She leaned down and kissed my cheek. “Let's go, best Maid of Honor ever. We have dresses to find.”
Callie's head popped in the door as we grabbed the handle. She hit Aubrey’s foot with the door. “Let’s go, bitches.”
I laughed as Aubrey said, “We’re coming. Chill your tits. You just smashed my foot, ya ogre.”
Callie cupped her breasts jokingly. “My tits are quite perfectly chilled, thank you.”
“Move, ya weirdo.” Aubrey pushed her out of the room, and we all went downstairs. I didn’t know how I would ever survive in this world without my sister and my friends. They were the lifeline I could never lose.
The bridal shop was the most beautiful place I had ever seen.
“These dresses are all so pretty. How the hell are you even going to choose?” I asked.
Callie answered, “I can't fucking wait. Nick is going to absolutely melt when he sees me.”
“You ladies will give those men heart attacks with how beautiful you look,” my mom said as she hugged both Callie and Aubrey.
The wedding consultant sat us all down on pristine white couches in a lounge area. They provided us with a small spread of fruits and veggies and a pitcher of mimosas. Next to it was another smaller pitcher labeled “Brielle”.
“What’s this?” I asked, gesturing over to it.
Aubrey looked over and grinned. “It's cranberry juice for you. You don’t drink, dummy. I wanted you to have a drink option besides water.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“Yes, I did. You don’t drink, and even if you did, you don’t like OJ.”
“I know, but today isn’t—”
“If you say today isn’t about you one more time, I am going to punch you in the tit,” Callie chimed in. “You’re the M.O.H. girl. You’re important, too.”
A few small laughs broke out between us.
The wedding attendant pulled our attention back to her. “Let's begin. Who’s first?”