Old Fashioned - Becker Brothers

“I don’t know what happened between you two, but I hope you realized that you will never have her.” He stopped walking backward, tilting his head to the side a little, his red eyes narrowed in on mine. “Sydney is mine, do you understand? She always has been, she always will be.”

My fists clenched where they were tucked into my sides, but I held back, biding my time until he would be gone.

“Stay the fuck away from her, Becker, or I swear to God, I’ll take you and your entire family down.” His wicked grin split his face then. “And believe me when I say I can.”

With another slug from the bottle, he opened his door, pointed at me one last time, and slipped inside the squad car, slamming the door shut behind him.

Then, he revved the engine to life, flicked on the blue and red lights and an ear-splitting siren, and peeled out of the parking lot, leaving me in his dust.SydneyPaige and I slept in the next morning, which was usually impossible with Paige, but all the excitement from the game had kept her up late and led to her passing out hard when I finally got her tucked in.

We woke around eleven, and then she insisted on making me chocolate chip pancakes — which always ended up being more work for me than for her. But, she was adamant that we celebrate, and I was in need of a distraction from the way my chest was slowly ripping open, so I obliged.

The kitchen was covered in flour and smudged chocolate and bits of batter when we finished. We ate in the living room, still in our PJs, leaving the mess in the kitchen while we watched College Game Day.

When we were done eating, Paige asked if she could drag all her art supplies into the living room to make a card for Jordan. And of course, I told her yes, because what else could I say? I didn’t have the heart to tell her he likely wouldn’t be by as much as he had been.

Would he?

I wondered if maybe there could be a friendship between us, one that was comfortable and safe and where no lines would be crossed. Would he want to still come over and work with Paige? To stay for dinner? To be with us?

The answer, I knew, was that he would love those things — but that now that we’d crossed the line into being more than friends, we could never just tiptoe back over it as if nothing had ever happened.

My chest was tight, tears pricking the corners of my eyes as I watched Paige sprawled out on her belly in the middle of the living room floor making a card for Jordan. Her little legs swung in the air, and she’d stop every now and then to look up at the TV before she’d get back to her task.

It was too much for me to bear, and so I slipped outside, dialing my sister’s number as soon as the sliding glass door was shut.

“Well, if it isn’t the State Champ!” she greeted enthusiastically. “Please tell me you’re extremely hungover from all the celebrating you did last night.”

She chuckled, but my eyes flooded with the tears I’d been trying to hold back, and a soft sob broke through my lips and the silence I’d met her with.

“Oh, Syd,” she said sadly. “What happened?”

For the longest time, all I could do was cry while my older sister listened helplessly on the other end. But finally, I found my breath, and I told her everything — from our agreement and the amazing two months we’d spent together to Thanksgiving and the wedding and the last week. When I’d said all I could think to say, I quieted, sniffling, waiting for her response.

It was her turn to be silent.

“Please say something,” I finally pleaded, wiping my nose on the back of my sleeve and tucking my legs under me. It was cold outside, and I’d wished I’d grabbed a blanket or a jacket.

“Do you want me to bullshit you, or be honest?”

I cringed. “Honest.”

She sighed. “Sydney, you deserve to be happy. Do you realize that?”

Another wave of tears assaulted me, and I closed my eyes, resting my forehead on my knees and holding the phone tightly to my ear.

“First of all, Randy does not own you. I know it can feel like that, but he doesn’t. Jordan would protect you if he tried anything, and I think the bigger part of you knows that.” She was quiet for a long pause. “Did you… did you really hear him say something about homicide that night?”

I sniffed. “I think so. I mean, I was pregnant, there were a lot of hormones going on and I was tired and we fought and…” All the muscles in my body tightened. “And that was the first time he hit me…”