EMBER
Jo opens the door to one of the guest rooms. “You can take this one,” she tells me. “Bathroom is through there. There are clean towels in the cupboard, and I put a toothbrush on the counter.”
“Thank you,” I tell her, she’s been great. I love her. I’m so happy that my brother found her and that one day she is going to be my sister-in-law.
“You don’t need to thank me,” she says.
“I know, but I’m going to because we’ve just shown up on your doorstep and kind of crashed your night.”
Her expression softens. “You’re family. I’m glad you came here, it truly was the best place for you both. Now, try to get some sleep, everything will be clearer in the morning.” She gives me a hug. “Call out if you need anything.”
“I will.”
“Cass, your room is across the hall.” I hear her say as she closes the door behind her.
The room is familiar because Cassidy and I designed it.
Soft grey walls, linen curtains, brass light fixtures, and a gorgeous antique bed.
I kind of designed this room for me, if I’m being honest, because it was the room my brother always gave me when I came to visit.
I needed something nice if I was going to stay in it.
I drop onto the edge of the bed and stare at my phone.
It’s been turned off since the airport. I need to call Mom and let her know what is happening because I wouldn’t put it past Kevin to try to play the fucking victim to her.
The second I switch it back on, notifications start filling the screen.
All the missed calls, texts, and voicemails.
Kevin.
Kevin.
Kevin.
Trevor.
Kevin.
Mom.
My stomach sinks when I see her name. I press call before I can talk myself out of it. She answers on the second ring.
“Ember?”
“Hey, Mom.”
“Sweetheart, are you okay? Kevin came by earlier looking for you. He was acting strangely, and then Emmett called to tell me you were safe with him, but I didn’t know you were missing. Is everything okay?” I can hear the concern in her voice.
Of course, Emmett called her. He would’ve known she’d worry, but he also probably didn’t want to tell her the reason I was in his guest bedroom.
“I’m safe,” I tell her.
“That’s good, but what’s going on?” she asks.
I close my eyes. There’s no gentle way to say what happened today. “Cassidy and I left Kevin and Trevor.”
Silence.
“What do you mean you left them?” she asks cautiously.
“We left Wisconsin.”
“I know that. Emmett told me you were in New York. I mean, why did you leave them?”
My throat closes. “Mom …” I try to hold back my tears.
Her voice instantly softens. “Oh, sweetheart. What did he do?”
The tears I’ve been holding back start falling again.
“Cassidy found Trevor’s phone at home this morning. We were going to the gym, so we thought we’d drop it off at the Maple Street flip.”
“Okay.”
“He wasn’t there.” I grip the phone tighter as I explain. “We checked his location. He was at Magnolia Avenue.”
“With Kevin?” she adds.
“Yes.”
Another pause.
“We went there.” I can hear her breathing on the other end. “And we found them together.”
“What do you mean together?” I wipe my cheek with the heel of my hand. “Together, Mom. They were naked on the floor on a blanket.”
The line goes silent. I don’t have to explain it further.
“Oh, my god.”
“Yeah.”
“You saw them?” she asks.
“Yes.”
“Oh, sweetheart.” Her voice breaks, which makes me cry harder. “I’m so sorry.”
“I didn’t know what to do. I think we were in shock, and we ended up at the airport on our way to New York.”
“I’m getting on the next plane and coming to New York,” she tells me.
“No, Mom. I’m fine. Cassidy and I are fine …”
“I’m not leaving you there by yourself after something like this,” she says, and I know in this moment she wants to solve the problem that is my marriage, but I think I need to work it out myself first.
“I’m with Emmett.”
“But you’re my daughter, and I just want to hug you.” I can hear her crying.
“I know, Mom, but …”
“You’re overwhelmed …?”
I nod. “Yeah, we both are. We … um … this is a lot to navigate, so I think Cass and I just want to … I don’t know … work it out ourselves first.”
“I understand,” she says quietly. “Well, I’m here for you day or night whenever you need to talk,” she assures me. “And I need you to know you did nothing wrong.”
“I know.” But a tiny part of me doesn’t believe that yet. Because how did I not know? How could I have been married to someone for that long and not see it?
“I’m going to call you tomorrow,” Mom says.
“Yes, Mom.”
“Good, just indulge me a little. I need to know my baby is okay, just five minutes to check in.”
I nod even though she can’t see it. “I’ll do that.”
“Do you want me to deal with Kevin if he comes to the house?” she asks.
“Tell him to get fucked.”
“That might be harsh, but I probably will.” I can hear the smile in her voice. “Do you want me to go to your home and get anything?”
“I haven’t thought that far yet, but I’ll let you know.”
“It’s been a big day. I can hear it in your voice. Go to sleep, and we can put a plan together later.”
“Thanks, Mom, love you,” I say.
“Love you too, sweetheart. And as I said before, I’m here for you,” she tells me again.
“I know.”
“Night, sweetie.”
“Night, Mom.” I put the phone beside me and stare at the black screen, and then hear a soft knock at the door. “Come in,” I call out.
Cassidy opens the door slowly. She’s changed into one of Jo’s oversized T-shirts. Her face is washed clean, but her eyes are red and swollen. “Hey,” she says.
“Hey.”
She lingers in the doorway. “Can I sleep in here?”
“Of course,” I tell her as I throw back the covers.
“Thanks, I don’t want to be alone, not tonight,” she confesses.
“Neither do I,” I tell her.
She closes the door and climbs into bed beside me, and for a while, neither of us says anything. We lie on our backs staring at the ceiling.
“I called my mom,” she says eventually.
“Me too. How did that go?”
“She cried, and Dad got angry. Then Mom told me she never liked Trevor’s mother.” Despite everything, a laugh escapes me.
“Sounds like she’s been waiting years to say that.”
“One hundred percent,” Cassidy says in agreement. “How did things go with your mom?”
“She cried. Wanted to get on the next plane to New York.”
“I told her not to come, that I needed to sort this out myself.”
Cassidy nods, and then silence falls between us. “Do you think it’s been going on for years?” she finally asks.
“I don’t know.”
“Because they didn’t look confused on that blanket, it felt very … you know …”
My brows pull together. “I know.”
“Do you think they love each other?” she asks.
The question sits between us. “I don’t know. Maybe?” My chest aches as I say those words.
“They’d better be in love, otherwise, what was the point of blowing up our lives for a fling?” she says angrily, and I agree with her.
“I don’t understand why they never talked to us about ….”
Silence again falls between us as we mull over the words.
“You think if they came to us, we wouldn’t be in the same mess we are now?” Cassidy asks.
“I don’t know. It would be shocking, but seeing it instead of hearing the words is a whole other thing,” I tell her.
“True. I can’t get those images out of my mind, they play on a loop continuously.”
“Me too,” I tell her, she’s not alone in that. I still can’t quite comprehend what I saw. I feel like I’m in a nightmare that I can’t wake up from. This can’t be real.
She reaches across the bed and takes my hand. “I keep going through every work trip. Last month they were in Vegas for that conference. Why weren’t we invited?”
That’s right. “They told us we would have been bored.”
“Right, or was it a lover’s getaway?” She shivers saying that.
“Kevin and I haven’t had sex in three months, and we were supposed to be trying for a baby,” I confess to Cass.
She gasps. “Me too. It’s probably been that long too, and we were supposed to be trying to have a baby as well. You think this started three months ago.”
“Maybe.”
She nods as if that little piece of the picture makes sense. “I’m glad that I didn’t get knocked up.”
“Me too,” I confess.
We’re quiet again. The tequila makes my head heavy, and the room starts spinning when I close my eyes.
“Em?” Cassidy whispers, her words heavy with sleep.
“Yeah?”
“Don’t leave me.”
“I won’t,” I tell her.
“Promise?”
“I promise. You have me for life.”
The next thing I know, sunlight is pouring through the gap in the curtains. My head feels like someone has used it as a hockey puck. I groan and roll onto my back. Beside me, Cassidy makes a similar sound.
“Are you alive?” I ask.
“Unfortunately,” she mumbles.
I open one eye. Her hair is spread across the pillow, her face is puffy, and there’s a crease running from her cheek to her jaw.
“You look like shit.”
She turns her head slowly. “So do you.”
“My head hurts.” I groan.
“My entire body hurts.”
I reach blindly for my phone on the nightstand and the screen lights up. “Shit.”
“What?”
“It’s ten.”
“In the morning?” Cass asks.
“Yeah. I can never sleep in this long.”
“Me either. Wow, we needed it.”
I sit up slowly, every muscle in my body protests. “We should get up.”
“Why?” Cassidy moans as her stomach groans, making us both laugh.
“Because I’m starving and you are too.”
“Looks like I am.”
Eventually, we drag ourselves out of bed.
Cassidy follows me into the bathroom and uses the other toothbrush Jo left on the counter.
We brush our teeth side by side without talking.
I look in the mirror and wince. My eyes are swollen, my skin is blotchy, and my hair looks like I’ve been electrocuted.
Cassidy catches me staring. “We look like shit, but this will be temporary,” she reassures me, and she’s right.
We wash our faces and stumble into the hallway. The apartment is quiet, there’s no television, no voices. Where is everyone? I shake my head as I need a coffee to start the day and feel human again.
“There’s a note,” Cassidy says as she enters the kitchen. She picks up the folded note and reads it.
Morning, girls.
Jo’s gone to work, and I’m at the gym with Sully. We’ll bring breakfast back. Help yourselves to anything.
Em.
“How long ago do you think they left?” she asks. I shrug. “Because I don’t understand the coffee machine.”
“Neither do I,” I tell her.
“We designed this kitchen.” She smirks.
“We didn’t pick the appliances, he did.”
“Good point.” She nods.
Before we can work it out, the front door opens. Emmett walks in carrying a cardboard tray filled with coffees, and Sully follows with two large paper bags. Oh, thank goodness.
“Good morning,” Emmett says.
Cassidy squints at him. “Is it?”
He looks between us. “You both look terrible.”
I flip him off.
Sully sets the bags on the island. “We brought breakfast, thought you might be hungry.”
Cassidy reaches for one of the bags. “What did you get?”
“Bagels, breakfast wraps, hash browns, and enough coffee to bring you both back from the dead,” Sully explains.
“I love you,” Cassidy says, hugging her brother, who looks surprised by the action. She pulls out a hash brown and takes a bite. “Yes.” She moans around it.
Emmett hands me a coffee, and I take a sip. It’s exactly how I take it. “Thank you.”
We sit around the kitchen island and eat. “How are you two feeling this morning?” my brother asks.
“Like I’ve been hit by a truck,” I answer.
“You doing okay, though?”
“As well as can be expected.”
“Have you heard from those two idiots?” Sully asks.
“We’ve been ignoring them,” Cassidy tells him.
“There’s nothing for us to say to them right now, nothing that will change the betrayal.”
Emmett finishes his coffee and checks his phone. “Sully and I are supposed to meet the guys today to hang out. We can cancel if you need us here.”
“No,” Cassidy and I say at the same time.
Emmett frowns. “You sure?”
“Yes,” Cassidy tells him. “We’re going to couch rot all day. We’re still in our feels.”
He looks at me. I nod.
“You don’t want to do anything?” he asks.
“Like what?” I question him.
He shrugs, seemingly lost.
“If we are in your way, we can get a hotel,” Cassidy adds.
“No.” He shakes his head. “I just, I’m worried that’s all,” he confesses.
“We both are,” Sully adds.
I appreciate our brothers’ worries, and I understand it. “Yesterday was a shock, and we’re both drained. We just wanted to veg out in front of the TV and not think about how shitty our lives are for a day.”
My brother’s face softens. “I get that, but those two assholes don’t deserve your tears.”
“I know, but unfortunately there are going to be many tears in the near future,” I explain to him.
“And we kind of want to do that alone and not in front of an audience,” Cassidy adds.
Emmett and Sully look at each other.
“Fine, we’re going to shower, get cleaned up, and leave the two of you to your day of crying on the sofa. Let me know if you need anything,” Emmett says.
“Will do,” I call out as the guys head to their rooms, Sully crashing the night in the guest bedroom. I turn to Cassidy. “One day of moping, okay. Em’s right, they do not deserve our tears.”
“I agree. So, crappy movies and ice cream?” she asks.
“Yes, of course.” We both head over to the sofa and settle in for the day.