325 First Fights

by E. L. Todd

  He stared out the window, his fingers resting on the table.

  I expected more of a reaction than that. “You deserve better. I deserve better. I think we should get a divorce and be friends. Maybe, in time, things will change, but they aren’t going to change when it’s being forced.”

  Still, nothing.

  “Cypress?”

  He slowly turned his head my way, the look in his eyes maniacal. “What do you expect me to say?”

  “I just…I want you to understand.”

  “Well, I’m not an idiot, and I can understand English pretty well,” he snapped.

  “You know that’s not what I meant.”

  “I don’t give a shit what you meant.”

  I wasn’t gonna put up with that tone. “Excuse me?”

  He straightened in his chair and leaned forward, looking like a monster rather than a man. “I’ve been through hell for the past two years. I’ve had to put up with your memory impairment every single goddamn day. I’ve paid your bills, made sure you were safe, took care of your business, and took care of your sister when she was losing her sanity. I did all of that—for you. This is how you repay me?” He threw his arms up. “The doctors told me you were never going to get better. Our friends said you weren’t going to get better, and I should move on. But did I do that? No. Because I promised to love you no matter what, and I kept my word. When it’s your turn to uphold the promise, you turn your back. That’s unacceptable to me. Yes, I cheated on you one time with a woman I don’t even care about, but when it really mattered, I was there.” He slammed his fist on the table. “I was there every fucking day. I get that you can’t remember anything that happened, but you did marry me. You did promise to love me for the rest of your life. You should trust your instructs and give this a real effort. From day one, you’ve never really tried.”

  I felt the tears burn in my eyes, preparing to drip down my face.

  “Get over it, Bree.” He slammed his fist down again. “I fucked up one time three years ago. But ever since then, I’ve been the best damn husband in the world. You wanna get divorced and call it quits? Fine by me. I’m sick of this bullshit.” He grabbed the table and flipped it over, making it clatter on the stone floor. “Get out.”

  The table didn’t touch me as it fell to the ground. It lay at my feet, the vase that had been sitting on top shattered to pieces. His back was to me, so I finally let the tears stream down my cheeks. Before he could see my face, I walked out of his house and slammed the door behind me.

  I felt sick.

  I felt hurt.

  And I felt lost.

  4

  Amelia

  When I walked in, Ace and Blade were already there.

  “What’s up?” Blade asked. “How was your weekend?”

  “Good. The girls and I hung low,” I answered. “What about you?”

  “Nothing,” Blade said.

  “Morning,” Ace said, looking sexy in his t-shirt. Even when he didn’t say much, his presence was calming. There was nowhere else in the world I’d rather be than by his side.

  I sat at my desk and tried not to stare at him. Anytime we were in the same room together, it got my blood going. “Morning. What are the zones?”

  Cypress burst through the door and nearly dented the wall because he swung it so hard. Without saying a word, he told everyone he was psychotically pissed, and it would be stupid to mess with him that morning. “I’ll take care of Amelia’s Place.” He unzipped his jacket and hung it on the back of the chair. “Anything before I go?”

  Blade eyed Ace, silently asking him what we should do.

  Ace shrugged in response.

  I took the reins. “Everything alright, Cypress?”

  “Definitely.” He walked back to the door. “Bree and I are getting a divorce, and I’m moving on with my life. Couldn’t be fucking happier.” He slammed the door even harder on his way out, making the whole floor shake with the force.

  “What did he just say?” Blade asked.

  “Divorce?” Ace asked.

  So Bree actually went through with it. “Bree mentioned this to me a few nights ago. I figured Cypress would have talked her out of it…”

  “No, it looks like she just pissed him off instead,” Blade said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him that angry.”

  “Me neither,” Ace said.

  “What do we do?” Blade said.

  “I don’t think there’s anything we can do,” I whispered. “I tried to talk Bree out of it, but she wouldn’t listen to me.”

  “Jesus.” Blade rubbed his temple. “I suspect we’re gonna be hearing a lot of yelling and screaming for the next few weeks.”

  “We should invest in a pair of earplugs,” Ace said.

  I wished Bree hadn’t done this. I understood the way she felt, but I really did believe Cypress was the best guy for her.

  A minute later, Bree walked inside. She wasn’t angry like Cypress. In fact, she was completely the opposite. With a pale face and sad lips, she took a seat at her desk without looking at any of us. “I know what you guys are gonna say, and I really don’t want to talk about it right now.”

  “No problem,” Ace said. “You know we’re here if you need us.”

  “Yeah,” Blade added.

  Bree nodded and stared at her laptop, closing off from us.

  I suspected she would talk to me but not in front of everyone else. That would have to wait until later. “Well, I should get to work.”

  “Me too,” Blade said. “Let’s go.”

  Ace got out of his chair and walked with us to the door.

  Bree remained at her desk, and it didn’t seem like she was going to move.

  “You gonna be okay, Bree?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” she whispered. “I just need a few minutes.”

  I shut the door and walked downstairs with the guys. Instead of going to work like they said, they walked into the diner, which hadn’t opened just yet. “What are you guys doing?”

  “Talking to Cypress,” Blade said. “I have to know what happened.”

  “Me too,” Ace said.

  Cypress was standing at the counter getting the register ready for the morning. When he looked at us, he still had that ferocious gleam in his eyes. “What?”

  Ace leaned against the counter. “Bree just came into the office. Seems pretty down.”

  “Yeah.” Blade rested his arms on the wood. “Thought you might want to talk about it.”

  “I’m on your side as much as hers,” I added, not wanting him to think I would turn on him now that my sister wanted nothing to do with him.

  Cypress unrolled the cash and put it in the register. “There’s not much to share. She asked for a divorce, and I’m giving it to her.” He wasn’t wearing his wedding ring like he usually did either. It was weird to see him without it.

  “Then why are you so angry?” Blade asked.

  Cypress slammed the drawer shut. The workers in the kitchen were stacking plates and firing up the grill, getting ready to serve breakfast to the customers that would show up the second the doors were open. “Because I was there for her when the shit hit the fan. I was there for her when she needed me most. I didn’t turn my back on her.” He looked at me. “I took care of you when you went through the biggest depression of your life.” He turned back to the guys. “Most people wouldn’t have stuck it out. Most guys would have moved on and gotten remarried by now. But I didn’t do that. I stayed. And she can’t give me a chance? She can’t keep her own promise—after everything I did for her? I cheated on her one time, I didn’t try to murder her. I’m sick of being patient with her. The first time around, it wasn’t this bad. She’s too stubborn, and frankly, too selfish. It’s not gonna work, and I’m not gonna waste my time anymore.”

  My heart broke as I listened to Cypress. I knew he was angry right now, but underneath that rage, he was devastated. When Bree got her memory back, he was happy to the point of tears. But now his resolve had wan
ed. He’d given up. “Cypress, I know you’re upset right now—”

  “We spent the day together on Saturday,” he continued. “We went to the beach, had some lunch…it wasn’t perfect. She got jealous a few times, and the past came up. Whatever. I’m okay with those bumps. I’m okay with her fears. Then we ended up in bed together for most of the day, making love and talking…and then she leaves me. She walks out, and the next day she says she wants a divorce.” He stared at the register and shook his head. “I can’t keep getting hurt like this. She’s not the only one going through a hard time. The world doesn’t revolve around her.”

  Blade nodded in understand. “I’m sorry, man…”

  “Me too,” Ace said. “I wish there were something we could do.”

  Cypress shook his head. “I wish there were something you could do too.”

  “What are you going to do, then?” I asked.

  “I’m putting the house back on the market,” Cypress said. “I’m getting a divorce. And I’m gonna move on with my life. Maybe in a few years, I can fall in love again and start a family. But right now, I’m just focusing on the house and the divorce.”

  I couldn’t believe this was happening. I knew Bree and Cypress would struggle, but I believed they would make it work in the end. Looked like I was wrong. “We’re here if you need anything.”

  “Yeah,” Blade whispered.

  “Always,” Ace said.

  “I know,” Cypress whispered.

  “Maybe you should take the day off,” Ace said. “If you don’t want to be next door to Bree, you could always crash at my place. Not a big deal.”

  “Yeah, maybe you should go home,” Blade said. “We can manage without you.”

  Cypress hesitated, like he was really thinking about it. But then he picked up the wad of cash again and returned to setting up the register. “No. I’ve gotta move on. And this is the beginning of that.”

  Ace came into Amelia’s Place for lunch. I was sitting at the counter on my break, and he took the seat beside me. One of the waitresses came over and took his order before she walked away.

  “How’s it going?” I asked.

  He pulled out his phone and set it on the counter. “Good. I’m starving.” He peeked over his shoulder and saw Cypress still busy at the counter, ringing up customers and taking them to their seats. “How’s he been?”

  I took a bite of my turkey sandwich then wiped my lips with a napkin. “He’s kept to himself all morning. Not in the mood to talk.”

  “Hope he’s not screaming at the customers.”

  “No, he’s put on a pretty good front.”

  “Have you talked to Bree?”

  “No. I’m gonna swing by the café when I’m off and have a little talk with her.” I didn’t want my sister to make the biggest mistake of her life, and I had to try to talk some sense into her one more time.

  “I wish you the best of luck.”

  “Thanks.”

  The waitress set his food in front of him, and Ace immediately began to eat. “Heard from Evan?”

  “Not since that one day.”

  “I hope it wasn’t a fluke.”

  I hoped the same thing. I’d be even more devastated if I didn’t hear from him again. “I told him the girls love spending time with him and I’d like it if we could be friends. I was really nice to him, nicer than I should have been. I made sure he felt welcomed as much as possible. So I don’t think that was a one-time thing.”

  “Hope you’re right.” He took another bite of his sandwich, and his phone lit up with a message from Lady.

  I purposely looked at the clock, not wanting to read what she had to say. I was definitely jealous of her. She got to sleep in Ace’s bed whenever she wanted. She got to have him in a way I never could, even if they weren’t serious.

  Ace locked his phone and didn’t respond to what she said. “If Evan is difficult, I can handle it.”

  “That won’t be necessary. I want us to be parents together. I don’t want him to be there because he feels obligated.”

  Ace nodded. “It’s gonna be weird working with Cypress and Bree without them being together.”

  “We don’t know that,” I said. “Things can change.”

  He took another bite then wiped his fingers on his napkin. “I’ve never seen Cypress ever give up. The fact that he says he’s gonna get the divorce tells me it’s really over…even if Bree wanted to make it work.”

  That was my worst fear, and Ace just confirmed it. I’d never seen Cypress let the struggle get him down. But now, he was officially defeated. He’d thrown in the towel, and he was concentrating on the future. It probably was over. “I wish it didn’t turn out this way.”

  “Me too. I just hope they can learn to be friends and get along for the business. Because if one of them leaves, it’ll really make things messy for all of us.”

  “True.” I hadn’t thought of that. Hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that.

  Ace checked the time on his watch. “I should get going. I barely had time to eat, but the restaurant was packed.”

  “Then why did you waste time coming down here?” I popped a fry into my mouth.

  He shrugged as he got out of the swivel chair. “I was craving a sandwich.” He slipped his phone into his pocket then adjusted the sleeves of his collared shirt. Even when he was fully dressed, his beautiful physique was obvious to anyone who wasn’t blind. “I’ll see you later.”

  “Bye.” I stared at his ass when he turned around and walked away. I remembered the last time he slept over and the vicious way I grabbed his ass and pulled him into me when he came. If I could have that every night, I’d be a happy woman.

  I called Ace when I was off work.

  He answered on the first ring. “Hey. What’s up?”

  “I’m going to talk to Bree right now. I hate to ask but—”

  “I’ll pick up the girls. Don’t worry about it.”

  He was an angel on earth. “Thank you so much.”

  “No problem. I’ll take them to the Rio Grill for a snack.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

  “Just buy me a beer or something.”

  I chuckled. “I’ll buy you a whole case. How about that?”

  “Sounds good.”

  I got off the phone and walked into the café. Bree was behind the register, looking as miserable as she did earlier that morning. The place had just closed, and she was finishing clearing the tables and closing up the café.

  Most of her employees were already gone, so we had some privacy when I walked up to the register. “Hey.”

  She looked up, and it was one of the few times in our lives when she was disappointed to see me. “Hey…I said I didn’t want to talk about it right now. Maybe tomorrow.”

  “You don’t have until tomorrow, Bree.”

  “Sorry?” Her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, and I could tell she hadn’t taken a shower that morning. She didn’t put on any makeup either, and I could see the bags under her eyes. She obviously didn’t get much sleep.

  “I understand the way you feel. Really, I do. But honestly…Cypress is right about everything.”

  She stared at me with no reaction.

  “I never want to influence your decisions, but I think you’re going to regret this. I know what Cypress did was wrong, but he’s so much more than that. He really did do everything he could to take care of you. Maybe he wasn’t loyal to you before, but he’s certainly committed to you now. You honestly can’t disagree with that.”

  She lowered her gaze before she nodded. “I know…”

  “I’ve never seen Cypress this angry before. He said he wants to move on with his life. He said he wants to fall in love again and start a family. You need to do something today. Not tomorrow. Tell him you’ve changed your mind before he won’t change his.”

  Bree took a deep breath before her eyes watered. “When he told me how he felt…I understood where he was coming from. I knew he was right. Bu
t I’m also right, you know?”

  “Yeah, I do,” I whispered.

  “I wish it weren’t so complicated…”

  “Love is always complicated, Bree.”

  “I wish I could get over it like the rest of you, but—”

  “Cypress never pressured you to get over it. He just asked for you to make things work. You never did that. You always had one foot in and one foot out.”

  She nodded in agreement.

  “Please go talk to him. Make this work while you still have a chance. He’s still at Amelia’s Place. I think he’s going to Ace’s afterward.”

  She nodded again.

  “I know you’re never gonna find a guy better than Cypress. He’s the most loving and loyal man I know. I would never tell you to be with someone unless I truly thought he was right for you.”

  “I know, sis…”

  “So, you’ll talk to him?”

  “Yeah, I will. If he really did all that stuff for me, I guess I owe it to him. I owe it to myself, considering I decided to marry him to begin with.”

  I nodded.

  “I just hope it’s not too late. I’ve never seen him that angry.”

  I wanted to tell her it wasn’t too late, but I really didn’t know this time. “Let’s hope he loves you as much as we know he does.”

  When I came home, the girls were sitting at the table in the living room working on their homework. Ace was a super parent, getting them to do things that took me twice as long to accomplish. “Thank you so much, Ace.” I placed the six-pack of beer on the table. “I owe you one.”

  “You don’t owe me anything.” He pulled a bottle out. “But I’ll definitely take one of these.” He was dressed down in jeans and a gray t-shirt, his body looking particularly fit that day. Or maybe it was just because I hadn’t gotten laid in a week.