Page 88 of A Me and You Thing
“Where’s Bree?” I ask. “Why isn’t she in here with us?”
Is it my imagination, or did the room just fall oddly silent?
Sawyer sits back in his chair. “She doesn’t want to intrude on our family time.”
“She’s family. I want her in here too. Tell her to come up.”
I glance at our parents. Mom is looking down at the floor and Claire is whispering to Walter. Dad shakes his head as though he’s upset.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, not at all.” Sawyer folds his arms. “She’ll visit you later. You don’t need to feel overwhelmed.”
Too late for that.
The girls pull the covers over themselves, tucking themselves in beside me. Oh my, they’re adorable and I’m completely distracted. “Okay.”
It isn’t until later that evening, after Sawyer has brought me dinner, and then left again to help put the girls to bed, that I again wonder why I haven’t seen Bree all day.
I want to wait for Sawyer to come to bed and make him lose his nobleness, but my eyes again seem to close of their own accord.
THE ROOM IS pitch black and the house is quiet. I turn on the bedside lamp and find that I’m alone. Where is Sawyer? My dinner tray is gone, so I know he came back and checked on me. I glance at the clock and see that it’s nearly eleven at night.
I open my bedroom door and pad into the hallway. I sneak into Josie and Jordyn’s room and watch them sleep for a while. I kiss their soft little cheeks and readjust their blankets. I’m so looking forward to days filled with nothing to do except playing with my daughters. My chest burns with love for them.
I check the office, but Sawyer isn’t in there. I stand at the top of the stairs and that’s when I hear a rush of whispering below me.
Loud whispers. Upset whispers.
I silently descend the stairs, and when I’m almost to the bottom, I see Bree and Sawyer standing face to face in the living room. The whispering emanates from them—and the tension in the room is thick.
All at once, I feel sick to my stomach.
Bree lets out a frustrated sigh and walks away from Sawyer.
“Bree, please come back. Let’s talk this out.”
She wipes at her eyes and returns to Sawyer. He holds her hands in his. “I’m sorry, Bree. I really am.”
“I know you are, but that doesn’t make this any easier. Everything we’ve shared can’t be erased as though it never happened.”
Wait. What?
“Breezy...”
“Don’t call me that.”
Sawyer pauses, looking dismayed. “Bree, I know this is hard. No one expected this to happen. Please try to understand...” His voice is deep, calm, yet firm.
“It’s not that I don’t understand, because I do. I knew this was going to happen the moment I saw her on the doorstep. How could I not know? It just feels very unfair.”
Coldness washes over me, and ice runs through my veins.
No. No way.
Bree and Sawyer? I didn’t see that coming. Not at all. I didn’t even suspect such a thing. It never even crossed my mind.
Sawyer did move on.He did.
