Christian
"What do you mean she's gone, gone where?" A sinking feeling hits my stomach like a rock but I won't let it affect me not until Tom says the words I have a feeling he's going to. He stands from the table finishing his beer in one swift mouthful before heading for the fridge and pulling out two more and passing me one.
"I can't... I promised Chris. I promised I wouldn't say." He looks torn and I hate to put him on the spot but there's a difference between her going to Penny’s for the night and leaving Huston. If she's at Penny’s because she needs a break then as crap as that will be I will deal with it for a night, I'll have no choice but if she has left Huston or is on her way to leaving then I need to know, and now. I have to stop her. She can't leave Huston. She can't leave me.
"Can you answer me this then is she still in Huston?" He takes a moment to think about his answer before nodding his head. A puff of air leaves my mouth as I feel relief flood me. "For now anyway." My head shoots up at his words and my heart starts beating so fast I'm pretty sure it's going to burst through my chest at any moment.
"What?" He doesn't say a word and it takes all I have to hold back my frustration. He's my brother and he's in a shitty position but I need him to talk to me and being frustrated and angry at him won't help either of us here. "Tom, you want to keep your promise and I understand that, I really do but if you don't want to tell me where she is then why tell me what you have already?"
He stares at me for a couple of heartbeats before he slumps down in one of the chairs and I follow him and watch as he downs almost half of his beer. "Because I'm torn, Chris. She's my best friend but your my brother." Watching how much he's struggling with this is enough to stop the words I wanted to say and instead have me doing something that I didn't think I would.
"It's ok, Tom. I get it, brother, I do and I don't want to put you in this position so please don't worry about it. I’ll figure it out." How I'm going to figure it out I’ll never know but I can't put this pressure on him it's not fair. I take my beer from the table and drink it as I walk out the backdoor and onto the porch rattling my brain on how I can find her. From what little I did get from Tom, it sounds like she's not planning on staying in Huston, as in she's leaving this place and soon. Fuck! Maybe Penny knows something? Going to see her has got to be worth a try.
"What do you want from her Chris? I mean really want. No bullshit, No messing me around. Tell me straight brother." I jump hearing Tom's voice as he walks over to me. I didn't even hear the door when he opened it. I look up at him as he comes to a stop standing over me and straight away I know he's serious and if I stand any chance of him helping me then I need to be honest with him. "I want her, Tom. I want her in my life. I want to build a life with her and my children. We've both been hurt so I doubt it's all going to be sunshine and flowers but I want to try."
He comes to sit next to me as I swallow down the lump in my throat. "After Amy, I didn't think I’d ever be with anyone again. I never thought that I would meet someone who would make me want that but she does. She's so kind and caring and selfless and she's absolutely fucking beautiful!" I hope he knows how genuine I am being because I mean every word. There isn't an inch of her curvy body that doesn't turn me on daily.
"I promised I wouldn't tell anyone where she is, not until she's left Huston anyway so if I'm going to break that promise to my best friend then I need to know that it's worth the ass-kicking I’m no doubt going to get. You understand that right?" A laugh bubbles out of me at his words and a part of me kinda wants to see that happen. I always find her sexy as fuck when she's angry but I have a feeling that it will be even better if her anger isn't aimed at me.
"Tom, after everything she's been through and is still going through because of Archie... I wouldn't do it if I wasn’t 100% sure. After everything me and the kids have been through with Amy... I wouldn't do it to them or myself if I wasn't sure, Tom but I am. I'm sure about her. The thought of her leaving... fuck it physically hurts.
I know I've been a massive dickhead to her but I promise if you help me to stop her from leaving that I will spend every single day making her as happy as I possibly can. But I still understand if you don't want to tell me, maybe it's what I deserve for how I've acted towards her."
I watch as he takes in my words but I don't know how much he believes me. I sit back against the swing running my hands through my hair as a small smile tugs at my lips when I hear Brody's laughter coming from inside the house. "She's at the Preston Hotel. She's got a flight leaving tomorrow at 10 am but..."
"But what?" Now he's got my attention. "But I checked the flight logs and there's a flight heading to JFK at 10 pm tonight and I've got a feeling that she may go on that one before anyone can find out she's going." Shit! I look down at my watch to find that it's 6 pm already.
If she is going to take that flight then she’s going to need to leave in an hour." I jump up from my seat and quickly pull my truck keys from my pocket as I run for the back door. "Chris?" I quickly stop and turn to face Tom when he calls me. "Go and get your girl, I miss her already!" He has the biggest smile on his face that I know matches my own. "Thank you, Tom. Will you be a-" He cuts me off mid-sentence once again reading my mind. "No need to thank me, brother, you two making each other happy is all I need and I've got the kids don't worry, you get going."
I nod him my thanks and haul my ass to my truck. Please god, let her still be there. I have a feeling that Tom is right and that she'll leave tonight instead of tomorrow, I just pray that she's still there when I get there.
Molly
I feel like such a shitty person right now and an even worse best friend. I’ve lied to Tom yet again and I know he’ll forgive me because it’s just who he is but still, I honestly hate lying to him but I had no choice. I have to get out of Huston and If I wait until tomorrow and then he comes here and tries to stop me well, I don’t think I’ll be strong enough to say no to him again.
Everything that I was needed for has been done now and Tom has the last fifty thousand dollars ready for Amy so I’m no longer needed here and may as well get started on my new life. Right? I have so many emotions running through me about going that it’s giving me a headache. I feel bad for leaving Tom, I don’t want to leave him. We’ve lived together since we were 18 and I can’t imagine not seeing him every day.
I also can’t deny the part of me that doesn’t want to leave Christian and the kids. I know nothing is going on between us but I don’t know… these last few days… it just feels like something has changed with us and as much as part of me wants to stay and find out what it is or if I'm just imagining it, there’s a bigger part of me that can’t handle the idea of staying and facing his anger or rejection so it’s just easier if I go.
New York is a great place to start, it’s the home base for my business and I have several friends there so I will have plenty to do to help me keep my mind off of Christian and the kids… Shit, I’m gonna miss those kids. I'm going to miss everyone including Penny but I can’t keep living like I have been. Yes, I’m scared about leaving. Scared and anxious about where my future will lead and how I’ll manage without Tom by my side daily but everything will work out. I'm sure of it.
I finish packing up the last of my stuff before having a quick glance around the hotel room as I try to stop myself from thinking about what I’m leaving behind. If Tom knew that I was leaving tonight instead of tomorrow and that I kept it from him he’d not be happy but I know that he would assume that it was because of the situation with Christian and while a big part of it is because of that the biggest part is leaving Tom.
He wants to come to the airport to say goodbye to me tomorrow but I can’t do it. I know I won’t leave if he’s there but I have to do the right thing for all of us. He doesn’t want his best friend and his brother constantly bickering like we have been and I don’t want to come in between their relationship. So I’m going to leave now and I’ll call him once I’m in New York.
I push back the tears that are trying to break free as I check the room one more time in case I've missed anything. I’ve only been here a few hours so there wasn’t much removed from my bag plus I don't own much at the moment so there's not much to forget. Once I know I have everything I head for the door to my room with my backpack thrown over my back.
I pull the door open sticking out my foot to hold it open and a little squeal leaves my mouth when I almost run into someone standing right outside my door. I look up and feel like I’m in complete shock when I see Christian standing in my doorway giving me a strange look. “Christian. What are you doing here?” He doesn’t say a word instead he steps inside of my hotel room while continuing to give me that strange look.
“Chris? Is everything ok?” He still doesn’t say a word instead he kicks the door closed and takes fast firm steps towards me backing me into the wall behind me. A gasp leaves my mouth as he pulls my backpack off my back and has me pressed up again the wall so quickly I feel like my head is spinning. He puts one of his hands behind my head just seconds before it collides with the wall and then he steals my breath away as he leans down and kisses me with the most neediest passionate kiss that I have ever experienced in my entire life.