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Authors: Veronica Makers

We Ended Up Together (8 page)

BOOK: We Ended Up Together
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"Why can't you consider my point of view? When you leave, I'm going to be the one dealing with the massacre," James stated.

"I'm sure if you tell them what happened, they'll understand," Chloe pointed out.

"Chloe I'm sorry about cheating and I'm sorry you don't love this lifestyle but can you please try once more," James pleaded again. Chloe shook her head.

"It's not only this life, or that you cheated on me with two other women. James, face it, we have nothing in common. Part of the reason I can't stand this marriage is that we don't love each other. Our parents practically pushed us into this marriage for their own benefit, and we just went along with it," Chloe explained.

"Why didn't you ever say something? We could have fixed this. I mean, I was dealing with it just fine," James stated.

"That's because you were cheating on me with Becca and my sister," Chloe clarified. "Plus I didn't want to fix it; I only want to leave this for something better."

James looked at the ground. He knew she was right. He didn't deal with it because he thought cheating would help get him through it.

"So I guess this is it," James said, breaking the tension-filled air.

"I'm going to go," Chloe said, softly. "Before I do, I'd like to return these." Chloe slid the wedding band and engagement ring off of her left ring finger. James looked at her with a hurt expression, as he held out his hand.

Chloe placed the rings in his palm.

"Thanks for giving these back," James said sincerely.

"I'll talk to you soon about the arrangements for our divorce," Chloe said, James nodded. Then she picked up her bags, once again, and left the apartment. James couldn't help but feel upset, but he also felt happy. At least Chloe would be able to live the life she wanted.

When she exited the building, she inhaled a deep breath of air. These steps were steps into a whole new life.

She was free at last.

Chapter 8

Brad twisted his doorknob with a flick of his wrist as he arrived home to his apartment. As he entered his living room, he noticed Chloe sitting on the couch, leaning over his coffee table. She was writing on something, her cinnamon hair falling over her face, hiding it from view. She kept her elbows rested on the table but raised her head to look up from her paper at Brad.

At the sight of him in the entranceway, Chloe sat up straighter and tucked her hair behind her ears, giving Brad a shy smile. Brad admired the way the outer corners of her eyes crinkled with her smile. Brad returned the smile, happy to see her. He finally withdrew his gaze from Chloe long enough to notice the bags scattered around her.

"What's all this?" Brad asked curiously as her gestured to the bags. He then placed his briefcase on the floor beside his side table and placed his keys in a bowl on the coffee table.

"Sorry about the mess. I stopped by my old apartment and picked up a couple of things," Chloe explained, hesitantly glancing at him.

"Don't worry about it. What are you up to now?" Brad asked as he stepped over a bag and sat on the couch beside Chloe. He loosened his tie slightly as he relaxed, waiting for her reply.

"Um, these are my divorce papers. I stopped by my lawyer's office and picked them up. I'm going to fill them out and then just get my ex-husband to sign them," Chloe explained.

"I know how hard it is to go through a divorce, trust me. So if you need anything I'm here for you," Brad said, sincerely. Chloe looked at him and smiled.

"Thanks Brad for everything. I really appreciate it," Chloe replied with honesty in her tone.

"I'm glad I can help," Brad said. For a moment Chloe felt tears in her eyes. Brad was just so sweet. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she just stared at the calm expression on his face.

Luckily the phone began to ring at that moment. Brad rotated on the couch and picked it up, turning away from Chloe.

"Hello?" Brad answered.

"Brad, it's Kathy," Kathy's voice spoke from the other side of the phone.

"Oh hi, what's going on?" Brad asked, inquiringly.

"I wanted to remind you that you have Jake this weekend," Kathy said. Brad furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, before recalling these plans. Chloe watched him with interest.

"I completely forgot. Listen, I have company and she really needs my undivided attention right now. I thought it was your weekend," Brad responded. Feeling uncomfortable under Chloe's watch he stood up and paced to his living room window.

"No. Remember, Harry and I are taking a trip to the Hamptons," Kathy said carefully. Brad felt a pang of discomfort ripple through his body. Anything to do with his ex-wife and her boyfriend still hurt for him to hear about.

"I'm sorry. That completely slipped my mind. But, we did discuss that," Brad apologized, unable to hide his sadness. "When will you drop him by?"

"I'll bring him tomorrow at 10:00," Kathy replied, somberly.

"Okay, I'll, uh, see you then," Brad responded. As much as he loved his son, he had hoped he could have this weekend alone with Chloe. She needed him right now, with what she was going through.

Brad and Kathy exchanged goodbyes and then Brad walked over to his side table to hang up the phone. As soon as Chloe heard the click of the handset hitting the base, she broke the silence.

"Is everything okay?" Chloe asked softly. Brad glanced down at her, as she still remained seated on the couch.

"Um, well, my son has to come and spend the weekend. I'm really sorry," Brad apologized.

"Brad that's fine. Don't worry about it," Chloe said, dismissing him with a hand wave.

"It's just that I usually take Jake to visit Vanessa. I'm sure you're welcome to join us if you'd like," Brad suggested, kindly. Chloe took her focus off of his face and looked at the floor.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea," Chloe mumbled. Brad stepped around the arm of the couch and sat down beside her once again.

"What do you mean?" Brad asked as he stared at her with a perplexed expression.

"I haven't seen her in years. We promised to stay in touch, but that didn't happen," Chloe explained, still looking at the ground as the guilt caught up with her. She looked up into Brad’s concerned gaze.

"Chloe, I'm sure she'll be fine. I bet she'll just be happy to see you again," Brad stated.

"Okay, I guess you know her better than I do. I'll come," Chloe decided.

"That's great," Brad exclaimed.

Chloe still hadn't convinced herself that this was a good idea. It was the reason why she didn't call Vanessa after Brad had given her Vanessa’s number. She was scared that Vanessa would be bitter about the way they left things.

Chloe had met James in college. As soon as she started dating him, her parents discovered that James’ parents were in the same country club.

Chloe began spending more and more time with James, going to functions their parents attended and making friends within the club. All came at a cost as she had less time for Vanessa. Eventually they just drifted apart and soon enough they lost touch.

It was as if their years of friendship were forgotten when Chloe started dating James. She didn't know how Vanessa would react to seeing her again.

Chloe decided to stop thinking about that by changing the topic of their conversation.

"So, it must be hard to take care of Jake all by yourself," Chloe spoke, breaking the silence that filled the apartment.

"Actually, the toughest part is not getting to see him every day. It's hard having to drop him off and pick him up," Brad explained.

"I can't even imagine how it feels. I guess I'm lucky my divorce doesn't involve kids," Chloe pointed out.

"I just love having him around though. The time I get to spend with him is always so much fun," Brad said, smiling to himself. Chloe couldn't get a burning question off her mind, so she decided to just come out and say it.

"Brad, can I ask you something personal?" Chloe started, watching as he snapped out of his thoughts and became serious.

"Sure, Chloe," Brad approved.

"I told you why I'm divorcing my husband. Why did you divorce your wife?" Chloe asked, hesitantly. Brad hated explaining this story. But he decided that Chloe had shared her personal life, so he should repay the favor. He cleared his throat before he began.

"I got divorced because my wife turned out to be a cheater. She cheated on me with a co-worker of hers and eventually we decided things would have to end between us," Brad explained uncomfortably.

"Wow. I'm so sorry. That has to be tough," Chloe responded, trying to keep the shock in her voice to a minimum.

"It is. It's hard to accept the fact that you married someone thinking it would last forever, only to find out that you pushed them into liking someone else," Brad said, depressed.

"Brad, I'm sure it's not your fault," Chloe reasoned.

"Thanks," Brad simply replied.

A memory was brought to Chloe's attention when she heard Brad’s story. She remembered that her friend whom she had been emailing over the past few months had also gotten divorced because his wife had cheated on him with a co-worker. Chloe didn't realize that that was a common problem in marriages.

"Are you sure you want Jake to stay here with us? I mean, he cries at odd hours of the night," Brad said out of the blue. He and Chloe had been sitting there silently for quite a while.

"Brad, really, I don't mind. I mean you're letting me stay with you. I can put up with being woken up by your son," Chloe responded, before yawning. "Speaking of sleep, maybe we should go to bed."

"You're right. I'll take the couch again," Brad responded.

"Brad, I feel bad. I can't let you keep taking the couch," Chloe declared.

"I know this is going to sound really sudden but, I was thinking, what if you moved in with me? I have a spare bedroom that Jake sleeps in on the weekends. He could sleep in my room and I can furnish that one for you if you'd like to stay here," Brad explained. Chloe's face shone with joy.

"Brad, I would really like that," Chloe stated as her eyes twinkled in the dim light.

"All right then. In the mean time I'll sleep out here and you can stay in my bed," Brad declared. Chloe began to object, but Brad stopped her when he said, "You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow, you need a good night's sleep. Please, I insist."

Chloe gave in, knowing he was right.

"Fine. Goodnight," Chloe said.

"Goodnight," Brad replied. Chloe got up and departed to the bedroom. Even with all of her clothing she had brought to Brad’s she chose to wear his t-shirt to sleep in.

Chloe had merely settled under the blankets when Brad opened the bedroom door a crack and peaked inside. Chloe sat up and looked at him.

"Sorry, I needed a pillow," Brad explained remorsefully.

"Come in," Chloe responded. Brad crept in; he wore only his boxer shorts and a tank top. Chloe reached beside her and grabbed a pillow to hand to him.

"Thank you. Sweet dreams," Brad said, and then with pillow in hand, he turned around and headed for the door. But suddenly a question crossed Chloe's mind.

"Brad?" Chloe called, barely louder than a whisper. Brad had just reached the doorway but he spun around to face Chloe.

"Yes?" Brad answered.

"There's something I've been meaning to ask you," Chloe stated seriously.

"Okay," Brad answered. He crossed the room and sat next to Chloe on top of the covers. He put the pillow behind his head against the headboard and looked over at her.

"Why are you letting me stay with you?" Chloe asked.

"You have nowhere else to go. I would never leave you without a place to stay," Brad responded.

"But you barely know me. Why did you let me come over when I gave you that hysterical phone call?" Chloe asked. Brad didn't hesitate for a minute. He spoke the truth.

"I know how hard it is to be alone after a divorce. Luckily I had friends and family to turn to. But you were leaving a life behind and you had no one. I felt like I needed to be there for you," Brad explained. He paused before adding, "And to tell you the truth I was lonely."

"Well Brad, thank you for being there for me. You've been so kind. You've made this a whole lot easier than it was going to be," Chloe said.

"You're welcome," Brad responded, caringly. He locked eyes with Chloe. He remembered back to when their eyes met back in the elevator. She had looked so miserable that day. Her eyes seemed empty as if all the life had been drained from them. But now her eyes matched the blue skies after a storm.

Brad couldn't help but feel drawn to her. Brad desperately wanted to kiss her, but he knew it was still a bad idea. They were roommates now and doing anything like that would only complicate things. Not to mention it wouldn't be right to take advantage of her at such a vulnerable time.

Brad decided it was time to leave before his heart took over his body, making him forget all logic.

"Goodnight Chloe. I'm really happy you've saved me from my loneliness and frankly my grief. You're such a great person. I knew that back when you were Vanessa's friend. You don't deserve all you've been through," Brad said, an embarrassed smile curved his lips.

With that, Chloe hastily closed the space between them, placing an impassioned kiss on Brad’s lips. Brad froze before he closed his eyes. The feeling of her soft lips on his was indescribable. She moved a hand to caress his cheek, as Brad placed a hand on her arm, which she leaned on the bed with.

Brad immediately realized he was making a bad decision, but Chloe's lips moving with his own quickly made all other thoughts slip away. The way she gently began sucking on his lip as she threw both her hands around the back of his neck drove him insane.

Not until he felt her tongue brush against his lip did he snap out of it. What in the world was he doing? He didn't want to cross this line with her. No matter how good it made him feel, it wasn't right.

Brad pulled away keeping their faces only inches apart. Chloe realized what he was doing. She knew what they had done was wrong, but she couldn't help herself.

They just looked deep into each other's eyes, letting the heat of the moment wear off. Chloe slid her hands off of him, and sat up straighter. Brad looked at her apologetically.

"Goodnight, Brad," Chloe whispered.

"I'll see you in the morning," Brad answered. Then he quickly grabbed his pillow and left the bedroom. Chloe sat there and touched a hand to her lips.

Brad lay wide-awake on the couch. His high school dream had come true. He had kissed Chloe Etienne. But even with that in mind, nothing could happen between them now that they were roommates, even if he wanted it so bad.

 

Brad pushed the stroller and Chloe walked beside him. I was a wonderfully sunny day. The streets were full of people all enjoying the beautiful Saturday morning.

Kathy had dropped Jake off at Brad’s apartment that morning and they were now on their way to Vanessa's.

As they approached the park, Brad had an idea.

BOOK: We Ended Up Together
5.18Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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