36. Lost In Echoes – Brad
Out of nowhere, my phone starts blowing up. My first thought, well, hope, is that it’s Tess, and I jump to answer it, only to find that it’s Ian.
“Just a head’s up that your secret is out,” Ian announces, not even a ‘hello,’ or, ‘how are you?’ to start the conversation politely. That’s not like him.
“Secret? What secret?” I glance over at Charlie, half-asleep on the couch next to me, and make my way to my bedroom down the hall. That initial statement makes me think this is going to be a crazy discussion. I am not wrong.
“About you and Sierra,” he adds, sounding disappointed.
I may not be disappointed currently, but I’m sure as fuck confused.
“Me and Sierra? What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Don’t act so surprised, Brad. She went to the tabloids and told them you’re back together.” He hesitates for a second, and with a sigh says, “And, Tess and I overheard your conversation with her earlier today, so the cat’s out of the bag. But why is she going to the press with this stuff? Did you guys think it would help?—”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I shout, disbelief clouding my vision momentarily. I literally have to blink several times to focus on anything again. “Sierra and I are not back together. And we won’t ever be.”
“Well, that’s not what she told Blindsided.”
“I don’t give a shit what she told anyone; it’s not fucking true.” My heart is about to pound out of my chest, and I start pacing around the bed, trying to make sense of what he’s saying. I can hear other phone notifications trying to break through the call, but I ignore them for now. I need to know what the fuck is happening.
“She said, and I quote, ‘Brad and I realized during our time apart that we were made for each other. No matter how much we tried to forget the other person and move on, we just couldn’t. We were meant to be…’”
“What the actual fuck?” I growl, my teeth and fists now clenching. There was no indication whatsoever during my call with Sierra that she would do something like this. She tried to get back together with me, but it didn’t work. I shot her down as gently as I could. Even though we broke up because of her lying to the press about a supposed ‘engagement’ that never happened, I never hated her. Shit, I still considered us friends after the call this afternoon. Well, fuck that now. She just burned that bridge with napalm.
I rake an angry hand through my hair, grabbing a fistful and debating pulling it out by the roots. I don’t know that I’ve ever been this mad before in my life. And to be fair, I’ve had a lot of fucked up shit happen to me.
Charlie’s small voice from the doorway freezes me in place.
“Daddy? What’s wrong?”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“I’ll call you back,” I mumble to Ian before hanging up the call.
I don’t want to turn around. I don’t want to see the anxiety and confusion on my baby girl’s face. And I sure as shit don’t want to explain what the fuck is going on right now.
But I can’t lie to her either. That’s not how we do things.
My phone starts ringing again, and I see that it’s Tess. My heart lurches, wanting to take the call and explain myself, but I need to explain this to Charlie first. She’s my priority. Always.
Switching my phone off, I fall onto the edge of my bed, patting the space next to me for her to sit with me. She hesitates at first, wary of my sour mood, but jumps up and leans her head onto my arm.
“What happened?” she asks quietly.
Jesus. Where do I begin? Sierra was one of the few girlfriends that I had that got along with Charlie. At least, I thought they did. Maybe that was all a lie too. Then again, I was still in and out of parenthood at the time, and they really didn’t see all that much of each other.
“Do you remember Sierra?”
“Yeah. She was pretty.”
Charlie was around five when Sierra and I dated, so maybe her memory of her isn’t as solid as I’d thought. That could turn out to be a saving grace if she’s not expecting much from her.
“She was. Well, she’s telling people that she and I are back together…”
Charlie sits up straight, automatic defiance taking her small frame over. I see so much of myself in her right now. “But you’re with Tess. Not Sierra. She’s lying.”
I nod. “She is lying.” Memories of Tess leaving today’s rehearsal in a hurry come crashing into my mind. That’s why she left so quickly. What did Ian say? They overheard my conversation? Well, part of it anyway. They obviously didn’t hear the whole thing. Now it all makes sense. “And I think Tess might think Sierra is telling the truth.”
“But, why?” Charlie’s brow furrows, and her confusion is so relatable, but at the same time it strikes a chord of guilt through me.
I replay everything that I said to Sierra this afternoon, and for the life of me, I can’t imagine what they overheard to make her believe any of this. But Tess is no fool. There must have been something that triggered her. I’ve obviously done something to fuck things up.
“I’m not entirely sure, but I’m going to call her now and try to clear this up.” It’s the best I can do. I can’t promise anything. “Give me a few minutes?”
She hugs me tightly, which is exactly what I need in this moment, and then slides off the bed. “Make sure you tell Tess that you love her, so that she can tell you’re telling the truth.”
My brows raise. “Love her? It’s a bit soon, don’t you think?” Am I considering dating advice from my eight-year-old? I think I am. But love? Really? Is that what we’re talking about?
She stops in the doorway, and glances back at me over her shoulder. “But it’s the truth, isn’t it? You love her?”
She disappears back down the hall before I can answer, let alone think of one.
Way to hit and run little one.