Final Score: Part One (Game On 5)

His voice had turned bitter and I looked up at him. “She’s a drinker?”

He nodded. “Not all the time. Mostly on Friday and Saturday nights according to Peyton. It makes me uncomfortable because on the weekends she has the kids, it’s usually because I’m not around. And if she’s at home alone, it’s because her boyfriend is working.”

“Have you talked to her about it?”

“I don’t know how to without her getting upset with Peyton for telling me.”

“But if she mentioned it, it must be more than just a couple of drinks. Want me to kick her ass?”

Bryce chuckled. “I’ll keep that offer in mind.”

I’d only met Sarah a handful of times, and she was decidedly unpleasant on every occasion. She seemed to lack any kind of pleasantness and I’d never worked out what Bryce saw in her. She was reasonably cute, I suppose, but her personality was seriously lacking.

“Do you want me to stay?” Bryce asked, and I sighed.

“Nah, I’m okay. It’s not worth you staying just so I can drown out my misery in a bottle of wine. But thanks.”

He caught my eye and said, “That’s not the only reason, Leah. Seems like you’re too wound up to sleep yet. If you need someone to talk to, I’m here.”

After a moment, I smiled up at my friend. “You know what? That sounds good. Let me go check on Jessica, and then… we’ll talk the night away.”

Within twenty minutes, Bryce and I had settled down in the living room, both of us lounging on separate sofas, the music channel playing on the TV in the background. I’d decided against alcohol and gone for a hot chocolate, while Bryce had a coffee. Weirdly, it was the most relaxed I’d felt in a while. There’s something about late nights after a rough day that feel sort of… poignant somehow. Like you know the worst of the day is over, and you can relax, if only for a little while. My mind was still firmly on Bree, and I hated the image I had of her when we first walked into her hospital room. It was almost chilling to see the woman who was always so full of sunshine suddenly hidden away behind a dark cloud of hurt. She’d finally let Jude in when we left, and I knew she would be okay with him there, but her miscarriage was going to leave a very prominent scar, and very likely mar her enthusiasm for trying for another baby.

“Sarah and I lost a baby once,” Bryce said, as if he’d heard my thoughts.

I shifted my eyes to his. “What? When?”

“In between Peyton and Ava. It happened five months into the pregnancy. Sarah handled it better than I did. I was devastated. Sarah was upset, but she accepted it as this unfortunate thing that happened, and that she’d get over. And maybe that’s a good thing. But at five months pregnant, I thought the dangerous time was over. It hit me like a truck, because I was already imagining life with two children, and how much fun it would be to see them playing together, growing up together.”

“I’m sorry.”

Bryce shrugged. “It was a long time ago. But I’ve never forgotten how I felt when I found out the baby was gone.”

“Have you spoken to Jude much yet?”

“Yeah. I called him while you and Freya were with Bree. He’s crushed.”

I nodded. “He sure is. One thing I love about Bree and Jude, though, is that they can get through anything. Of all the couples we know, I think they’re the strongest.”

Bryce’s eyes dimmed for a second. “I always pegged you and Radleigh as the strongest.”

Funny. Once, I would have agreed. He and I had well and truly tested each other’s boundaries before we got together, and we’d built a solid foundation out of something that used to be so precarious. What were we now? Two people who didn’t recognise each other anymore. Or at least, I didn’t recognise him anymore. Not the way I used to.

“I miss him, Bryce.”

“So ask him to come back.”

I shook my head. “I can’t. The truth is, this is his house. If he really wanted to be here, he would be. How could I stop him? He knows he needs this time to think and that he’ll do that more clearly if he’s not here. We can’t be the way we were until he sorts out his feelings.”

“He doesn’t love her, Leah. He doesn’t want her.”

“Did he tell you that?”

“He told me he loves you.”

“That doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel something for her.”

“He does feel something for her, but that something isn’t threatening to your relationship. I will always love Sarah for the relationship we had, and for the fact that she’s the mother of my children. But am I in love with her? Do I wish we were still together? Hell no.”