I grab her hand, running my fingers over hers as she passes. She pauses, gives me a faint smile, and presses up to her tiptoes to kiss my cheek.
Closing the door behind me, I lean back against it.
Once she’s inside, Brandy crosses her arms over her chest, and leans against the porch railing. “I see.”
“Whatever it is you want this time. I can’t do it anymore. I won’t.”
I don’t miss Brandy, but I do miss the old days when I thought I could make things work with her. Every time I look back on it, I’m reminded of her actions. And mine.
I’m such an asshole.
Fuck.
“I know I’ve put you in shitty situations, but I really came here to talk. Nothing more.”
I scoff. The phrase “shitty situations” doesn’t begin to describe our past. “I was in love with you, Brandy. Maybe a part of me always will be, but we’ve hurt each other too many times. I thought if I just tried harder or did better, I could finally give you what you needed, and I lost myself in the process. I didn’t come home to end up in that same rut. So, whatever you’re selling this time, save it for someone else.”
Brandy’s eyes burn with emotion, and her lips tremble as she tries to hold them together, but then, she gives me a faint smile. “You have a kid?”
Closing my eyes, I shake my head. Brandy always dreamed of having a big family, but after the ectopic pregnancy and the damage from the rupture, doctors warned she may never be able to conceive. I carried the guilt of knowing I’d played a part in that. “I was babysitting for my girlfriend.”
“You’re happy?”
Well ten minutes ago, I had been pretty damn happy and content. “Yes.”
She doesn’t say another word as she turns her back on me and walks to her car. I watch until she leaves, but I don’t start breathing again until the car is out of sight.