Consequences

⟡ nine ⟡

The first time Brinley visited her father since the divorce was finalized could have been classified as "the worst day of her life." The day started out with an emotional goodbye from Connie. She was always anxious whenever her children were on their own, which stemmed from a haunting childhood memory of her own brother.
"You look so much like your father? You know that right, Brin?" Connie whispered with tears brimming her eyes.
"Mom," Brinley rolled her eyes at her mother's wavering emotions, "you say that all the time. I know! Don't worry about us. We'll be fine. Go over to grandma and grandpa's house and have a nice weekend. I love you."
"Sweetheart..." Connie pulled Brinley into a tearful hug, and then picked Carter up and gave him a hug as well.
-
Once Carter and Brinley were in the car, which took about five minutes because Carter's car seat took Brinley forever to figure out, Brinley thought about her mother's nervous wave as they left, and pulled out of the motel's parking lot.
It was the first weekend in October, and the weather had drastically changed from summer to autumn. The leaves had begun to transition colors and the air had begun to smell like crisp wind.
By the time the Jacobs children got to their old house in Monroeville, Carter had fallen asleep in his car seat. His cheeks were bright red and his hidden blue eyes fluttered slightly. Brinley could only imagine what that little boy was dreaming of, but she knew for a fact that it was happier than anything Brinley was imagining.
As Brinley lifted up the blonde boy, who remained asleep during the entire process, her father greeted her from after. Will walked out of his front door, carefully closing it behind him so that the surprise waiting behind the door wasn't revealed too soon. Brinley smiled at the man she had once had the greatest relationship with.
Thoughts of Brinley's childhood flooded into her racing mind. Stray images of the back of Will's head as he held Brinley on his shoulders caught her off guard. She remembered feeling so empowered and unstoppable around her father, but now she just felt weak.
"Hi Brinley." Will said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. The man was worried about how his daughter would take the surprise that laid behind closed doors for so many months.
"Hi Dad." Brinley said just as awkwardly, holding her toddler brother on her left hip, running her hand up and down Carter's back, providing comfort to the both of them.
"I, uh, I have something to show you both, but I guess I'll just be showing you." He gestured at his sleeping son.
William opened his front door to his daughter for possibly the last time. Behind it stood a tall woman with flowing, brown hair, and artificially tanned skin. She wore a seemingly fake smile with her too perfect teeth. She put her arms out to give Brinley a hug, but quickly receded after seeing her boyfriend's daughter's expression.
Brinley was much less excited to see this mysterious woman. She looked at her father, and then back to the woman. To be honest, Brinley was more confused than anything. But the confusion quickly faded into anger as she realized what was happening.
"Excuse me," Brinley walked back to the car and set her brother down as not to disturb him, then promptly walked back to the two eager adults, "Who is that?"
"Brinley Cornelia," Will reprimanded her disrespectful tone. "This is my girlfriend. I wanted you to meet her and without that attitude of yours."
"How long have you two been...dating." Brinley hesitated speaking about her father moving on.
"Three months!"
"Three weeks."
Both of the adults responded, but Brinley knew that the cheery brunette was speaking the truth.
"Catherine!" Will whisper-shouted at his girlfriend.
"You... Dad?" Brinley hesitated once again, not wanted to speak the inevitable truth.
"Yes." Will knew exactly what his daughter was going to say. "I was dating Catherine while I was with your mother."
"You're sick." Brinley yelled at her father, then turned to Catherine. "And you knew?"
Catherine had no words.
"How could you?" Angry tears streamed down the teenager's face. Her worst fears were quickly approaching.
"Brinley, I loved your mother, but, well now I love Catherine. You'll understand when you learn to love someone. You just don't understand now."
    "You're right, William." Brinley used her father's name, which was possibly the most disrespectful thing to do in the Jacobs family. "I don't understand how you could cheat on mom, the woman you were with for nearly twenty years, with this, this skank!"
"Brinley!" William shouted at his daughter.
"Mom still talks about you like she loves you. Did you ever actually love her? Or us for that matter?"
    "Brinley you know the answer to that!"
"Obviously I don't." Brinley replied, storming back to her car and driving away swiftly before more tears could fall onto her flushed cheeks.
-
    Brinley began the drive back softly crying so that her brother didn't wake up. She didn't know what to do with the new, devastating information that was giving to her. She didn't want to tell her mother about it, because although Connie knew about the affair, Connie thought the two had broken up, and the last thing Brinley wanted to do on this terrible day, was break her mother's heart for the second time. So she did what any normal teenager would do, and she called her best friends.
    But before Gina could answer the phone, she hung up and made a U-turn at the closest intersection. Brinley had some unfinished business back in Monroeville, and she didn't know the next time she would willingly make the drive back.
-
    Brinley rang the familiar doorbell, and pounded the oak door with the knocker, just to be sure. She was now balancing an awake, and very hyper boy on one hip, while fiddling with her "lucky" ring on the opposite hand. The ring didn't seem as lucky as she had thought. Maybe it needed to be cleaned. Brinley made a mental note to polish the ring as soon as she got home.
    After a few seconds, a beautiful blonde woman answered the door. She was the drop-dead-gorgeous model type, but the middle aged version with kids and a lot of money, enough money for a few plastic surgery operations.
    "Brinley?" The sweet woman smiled, showing her perfect teeth, which were inviting to Brinley, unlike Catherine's, which were more of a razor sharp warning. Something wasn't right about that woman. "Sweetheart I thought I'd never see you again."
    "I'm just back for the day, Karen. I have some, uh, unfinished business." Brinley laughed. "Is Brenden around?"
    "In his room. I'll take my little friend into the kitchen, where I might just have a few cookies with his name on them." She stuck out her arms to take Carter from Brinley. That woman always loved children. It's a shame she was only able to have one of her own.
    Brinley walked up the stairs to her ex boyfriend's room. She was unreasonably quiet, which made no sense to her because she used to be so comfortable in this house.
     Before she could change her mind, Brinley's knuckles rapped across the wooden door. There was shuffling on the inside, it sounded like he was putting things away. Then the door swung open.
     "Oh. It's you." The boy towered over her, but he was still a few inches shorter than Holden.
     "I thought you'd be more excited..." Brinley laughed awkwardly.
     "No, babe. I am excited to see you! I thought you were my mom." Brenden rushed his words, pointing back at his half cleaned room. "Can I call you babe? Is that weird?"
     "You broke up with me. I think it's your call." Brinley laughed to fill the silence. "You called me babe before we dated, I'm alright if you call me it after."
     "Alright, babe." He emphasized. "Wanna come in?"
     "I can't stay for long. Your mother is trying to give my brother diabetes." Brinley was smacked with the strong scent of Brenden's cologne. The same cologne he had been using for years.
     "You know her, always looking for a child to love." He smiled sweetly, and Brinley did the same. The awkwardness nearly melted, but it quickly returned when Brinley noticed something on top of Brenden's bedside table.
     "You take pictures?" Brinley picked up one of the small polaroid pictures, examining it, and then looking at the next. But as quickly as she picked the second polaroid up, she let it flutter out of her hand. "What the hell..."
     "I didn't know you'd be here." Brenden quickly took the pictures, stuffing them into the drawer.
     "When did you take those?" Brinley took out another polaroid, which depicted her sleeping on Brenden's bed, the morning sun hitting her face just enough to give her a golden glow. Brenden thought she looked heavenly.
     "Whenever you weren't looking. I wanted to see you whenever you were gone. I never thought it would be all I had left if you. I've just been looking through them since the day you left."
     "That's-" Brinley began.
     "Creepy, I know..."
     "Sweet." She corrected him. "I thought you hated me after you broke up me with me."
     "I could never hate you, Brin. I love you, however you want to take that." Brinley's heart melted and Brenden pulled her into a tight, desperate hug.
     Brinley couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the day, and that's why she allowed herself to melt into his arms and even tip her head up, allowing a kiss on her forehead.
     After they broke away from their much needed physical contact, Brenden asked the question that had weighed heavy on his heart for the past month. "So, did you find someone new?"
     "No." Holden popped into Brinley's mind, which made her not so sure whether it was a relationship or not.
     "Good. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you for good, and I won't be sharing my girl with anyone." Brenden played with the ends of Brinley's dark hair.
-
     Within the next fifteen minutes, Brinley had coaxed Karen into giving Carter back to her, and they were once again on the road back to Fairborn. Feeling defeated by her father, but loved by Brenden, her mixed emotions conflicted in her mind and her heart the entire drive home.