“Listen to him, Sadie. I don’t think you realize what you are deciding here,” my dad responds.

“Do you really blame me?” I ask. “You think I killed Theo,” I state, my voice shaking. My mom and grandma gasp between us.

“Of course he doesn’t, darling,” my grandma speaks up.

“Do you?” I demand and my dad remains silent, standing in the headlights of the cab. “Take it, take everything. I don’t care,” I yell and get in the waiting car.

“Sadie…just so we are clear. Your car, your credit cards, your tuition. All of it, gone.” My dad stands outside the cab door now as Brady stands in limbo between us.

“I don’t want anything from you,” I tell him, looking straight ahead.

“No, Sadie please, don’t do this.” My mom comes around the other side of the car, begging me through the window.

“We can deal with this darling, come in the house,” my grandma begs.

“I’m sorry, Mom…Grandma. I love you. Good-bye,” I say and Brady enters the cab in silence.

Brady tells the cab driver to pull away and I curl into his chest, not looking back. I sob into his shirt, hearing my mom’s screams get fainter with every minute.

Chapter 21

My dad kept his word. My car was towed this morning and my credit cards were cut off. I know my tuition is paid up through the semester, and hopefully I will be able to get a loan or assistance to pay for my last semester. As I look up financial aid information on my laptop, Brady comes into his room. I see the guilt in his eyes; he blames himself.

“Baby, don’t worry about this now. I will help you figure it out,” he says and closes the laptop, which technically belongs to my dad.

“Okay,” I agree and curl back up in a ball on the bed.

“Stay with me, Sadie?” he requests.

“I am staying with you,” I respond.

“No, move in here with me. I’ll take care of you,” he kindly offers.

“No, Brady, but thank you. You and the guys have your place. I still have the dorm until Christmas break.”

“I want you here…with me. I want to wake up to you every morning and kiss you goodnight before I fall asleep,” he says, kissing my neck.

“I can’t ask you to do that, Brady.” I move my hands to the back of his head, holding his lips to the back of my neck.

“Please, Sadie. Just think about it?” he asks and moves his lips behind my ear.

“Okay…I’ll think about it,” I finally concede. It takes everything inside of me not to agree to move in with him.

Brady is lightly snoring next to me, while all of the things I will have to do consume my mind. Get a job, get a loan, and find a place to live. The list is unending and suddenly I feel very overwhelmed and unable to sleep. I get up out of bed, tiptoe out of the room, and begin making my way downstairs. The door to my right catches my eye and I walk over, slowly turning the knob. It’s locked. Was Brady telling me the truth about it just being storage stuff? Before we can continue moving forward, he has to trust me with his secrets. I recall the exchange he had with Jessa before we left for Niagara Falls, when he told her to take care of his house.

Curiosity overcomes me and I travel down the hall to the other bedrooms. With the boys out of town, I peruse their rooms. Rob’s is a disaster with clothes strewn on top of a chair and guitar picks in every nook and cranny. Dex is fairly neat, although his bed isn’t made and there is an inch of dust on every piece of furniture. Trey’s seems to be in the best shape. His bed is made, but there are numerous water and beer bottles on his dresser and nightstand. I walk down the hallway, and after checking to see that Brady is still snoring, I decide to make my way downstairs.

I never noticed all of the nice, older furniture before. The house isn’t filled with mismatched items from thrift stores or garage sales. Even the carpet is void of stains. Deciding to get a bottle of water, I dig my phone out of my purse and take a seat on one of the nice couches in the living room.

Scrolling through my phone, I see the missed calls from my mom and grandma. My mom sent me a few texts. She tells me not to worry about my dad, that it will work out and I won’t be cut off. I guess this was before he took my car this morning. I don’t bother to listen to the voicemails; nothing will change my mind.

They fail to understand that after Theo’s death, those things aren’t important to me anymore. I don’t want a slew of houses with large walk-in closets. I want to love my children and know their likes and dislikes. I want to be the one who tucks them in at night and wishes them good morning with kisses and hugs. The day I buried Theo, I promised myself I would live for happiness and love, not money and prestige.

I flip through the pictures on my phone. The urge today is greater than previous days. I need to see his face. My lips curl up as soon as I see that smirk of a smile. I snapped the picture a few days before the incident, when he was sprawled out on my bed complaining about some course. I wish I could remember the conversation, but I was too preoccupied with what I was going to wear to that formal. The feeling of failing him overpowers me and one tear drops down, resting on the edge of my nose. Then another one. Soon my face is drenched with wetness as I stare at those emerald eyes staring back at me, not unlike my own. I almost feel his arms around my shoulders, telling me he’s with me. That he will always be there for me. Even now I feel him watching over me, protecting me.

I wake up in Brady’s bed. I assume he found me downstairs and brought me up to his room. I grab one of his sweatshirts and make my way to the kitchen, where I hear music. Brady sits at the kitchen table, reading the newspaper and tapping his fingers on the table to the beat of the music.

“Good morning, beautiful,” he says, smiling when his eyes find me in the doorway.

“Thanks for bringing me upstairs,” I reply, sitting across from him.

“I prefer you in bed with me,” he grins. “Coffee?”

“I can get it.” I stand up and walk toward the counter but Brady cuts me off, chuckling to himself. “Really, babe, let me get it.”

“Here you go,” he turns around, holding my cup.

“Thank you,” I say and rise to my tip toes to give him a kiss.

“Always,” he responds and walks back over to his seat. “So, we have about four hours before the roommates start coming back. What do you want to do?”

“Hmm…” I put my finger up to my lips, jokingly contemplating.

“Me too. Come on over here,” he instructs. I walk over and straddle him on the kitchen chair. We haven’t had sex since before we left for my parents. I appreciate Brady giving me the space after we got back, but there is nothing I want more than to be with him.

“Lose the shirt,” I command.

Brady’s eyes sparkle as he hurriedly takes his shirt off and tosses it to the floor.

“What next?” he asks eagerly, clearly enjoying my assertiveness.

“Take my shirt off.” He happily takes the hem of my shirt and tears it over my head.

“No bra.” He smiles widely. “Could this morning get any better?” he comments. “Next, baby?”

“Please touch me,” I beg and lean down to kiss him. His hands go right to my breasts, kneading and pushing them as I moan into his mouth.

“Do you want me to suck them?” he asks. I nod my head and he ducks his head down, wrapping his mouth around one of my nipples, sucking it into his mouth.

“God, Brady, more. I need more,” I pant.

“Like?” he questions, taking a break from my breasts. He peeks up at me through his eyelashes.

“I need you…inside of me,” I confess.

“What do you need inside of you, baby?” he asks, with his hands already on their way up my thighs, venturing to the inside of my boxers.

“Your…” I trail off, too embarrassed to finish.

“Say it, baby, and it’s yours.” Brady’s fingers peek through my shorts and now graze over my clit before he inserts one finger in. When I still don’t answer, he inserts a second one, making me buck into his hand.