The Brightness Duet: Complete Series Boxset

by Bri Stone

  “What’s your name?” His breath is in my ear and I shiver from the sudden proximity. I wish I knew how this generally went.

  “Perrie. Yours?” I shout back in his ear.

  “Eric.”

  I don’t know why I imagined him saying his name was Thom. That would only be if my life really were a shit movie.

  Eric licks his lips and dances a little closer. I feel surrounded, and I look around for Melinda, but she is nowhere to be found. I get out of my own head and tell myself to just enjoy myself. To just lose myself. I clutch the muscles of his arms and let him press himself against me. Two songs go by and my back starts sweating, but it still just feels wrong.

  “You want to get out of here?” He shouts in my ear, though it doesn’t feel like it because of how loud it is. But his lips linger by my ear and move to my neck, my heels make me taller, so he only has a few inches on me.

  I open my mouth to answer but nothing comes out. He seems like a nice guy, about my age with no red flags. It’s a win, but I don’t feel it. I take it as part of the healing process, that maybe this will help somehow...

  “Sure.” I swallow. Eric grins and takes my hand as he weaves through the crowd.

  I know I should tell Melinda I’m leaving, but my phone is so far down my bra it doesn’t register to me to take it out. Instead, he stops at a corner of the bar by one of the tables and presses me up against the wall. Is he trying me out before he takes me home? I only have a second to look in his eyes before his lips move to my neck.

  “You’re super-hot.” He nibbles at my neck just under my ear. I immediately think of how Thom would tell me I was beautiful, or gorgeous.

  Eric moves his hands up my thigh until he reaches my ass and squeezes, I again will my body to react. For something, but nothing happens. His hands move, his lips move. I breathe heavier...but there are no tingles and no hardening nipples or throbbing between my legs...nothing.

  It’s like I’m broken.

  Before his lips cover mine, I stop him, “excuse me.” I wiggle away from him and hear him call after me once, but I keep going.

  I stop at the bar for a drink and find Melinda by the table we shagged.

  “What the hell? I was waiting on an ‘I’m leaving’ text.” She shouts.

  I shake my head. “Me too.” I drink down my Moscato. I ordered the first thing that came to mind.

  “He was hot though...did he have bad breath?”

  I laugh. “No just...we got handsy but there was just nothing.” I shrug.

  Melinda rolls her eyes.

  “You didn’t have to enjoy it—you just had to do it!” She scolds me, nudging my arm.

  “Ow. And how was I supposed to know?” I shake my head. If only.

  “Well. Let’s dance the night away and then eat ourselves out of these dresses at Ihop.”

  “Deal.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four: Perrie

  I spent the past few weeks on the phone with almost every hospital on the east coast. I almost got tired of the search, but finally the phone calls and emails were over, and I ended with an ‘I’ll be in touch’ message. I knew I had a little time, well, about a week to decide.

  Clem is home for Christmas, so I hope that helps me decide. There were just so many choices and decisions. I couldn’t keep up. I knew what I wanted but too many people were offering it to me. I knew it was a blessed problem to have, but still.

  “Baby girl, you have been in here all day. What are you doing?” Dad knocks on my door before he comes bursting in. He is just as tall, and his hair is just as red, but his beard is a little thicker

  “Hey daddy. I was just reading.” I set my latest paperback down.

  I was all into the young adult dystopian world for some reason. Probably because it had the least romance. That night at the club did more harm than good, besides having fun with Melinda, it just confirmed I was pretty much ruined by Thom.

  “Well, Clem is here. I figured we could go get a tree. I know it’s Christmas Eve, but it’s never too late.” He smiles.

  His red sweater and white jeans are festive and in no way age appropriate, but they work.

  “Yeah, I want to go. Is Declan here?”

  He manages to not roll his eyes. “Yeah.”

  “Dad, why don’t you like him? Seriously.” I sit up, tossing my blanket aside. He sits on the edge of my bed and looks at me.

  “Because, he’s a tough guy. Clementine is a sweet girl. I worry about her. Some guys I work with that used to serve...they just aren’t the same.”

  I nod. It makes more sense now. “You liked Thom.”

  “Before he broke your heart. Now he’s dead to me. But yeah, I did.”

  I told him the full story a few years ago. He wasn’t happy, but he was at sea, so he couldn’t really do anything.

  “Well...thanks for telling me.”

  I get up and he leaves me to change. I find jeans and a red sweater to match my dad and meet the rest of my family down stairs.

  We take Declan’s suburban to the tree farm, and it’s funny watching dad sit up front while he drives. Clem and I exchange glances to communicate. Dad has warmed up to him, but he hasn’t fully started liking him yet, even though it’s been years. When we get back, we all decorate the tree and they both manage to be friendly enough.

  “We can go out to dinner, or we can make something.” Clem suggests as we clean up around the tree. It isn’t too big, and the decorations are decades old. But it’s tradition and we love it.

  “I can make some Shepperd’s pie. You girls used to love it.” Dad gets up and chides over to the kitchen.

  Clem nudges Declan and they share a look before he gets up to follow him.

  “Hopefully they don’t burn it.” I joke as I sit next to Clem on the couch.

  I flip the channel to find a holiday movie, skipping the romances.

  “Still?” Clem says softly.

  I sigh, “yeah. It’s not that I can’t watch it...I just don’t want to. Because I used to have that and now I don’t. Even though it was almost three years ago.” I scoff at the facts. Three years... it nearly seems impossible. I was engaged, happy, starting my career, in love...

  “I get it. I’m just worried about you. I mean, you seem fine. But I feel like you haven’t really acknowledged it yet. That worries me.” Her face softens.

  “I have. I told you about it that day with Marcus. I really... he cheated on me.” I swallow, but I don’t freeze. “He didn’t—doesn’t love me anymore. But I’m not jumping at the opportunity to go through that again or watch romance movies. But I’m fine, I promise. If I wasn’t, I would tell you.” I exhale and give her my best smile.

  She seems to accept it as she smiles back and rests her head on my shoulder. We watch a bit more of the movie, smells from the kitchen start to flow through to us and it reminds me of my childhood. Dad used to make it a lot when mom was around, the last time he made it was just before I left for Paris, and I stopped home first.

  “I’m retiring.” Clem says suddenly.

  “Really?” I look down at her. She glances up at me and nods. I pull away from her in surprise. “I had no idea you were so old.” I joke.

  “Very funny. We both knew I never really wanted to be in the Air Force.”

  I nod. “Yeah. I always wondered why you joined up before college.” I say.

  “Well, they paid for college. It was a good idea, and I did enjoy it.” She shrugs, but I know she is still hiding something. I sit up on the couch and give her a funny look.

  “Why did you need them to pay for college? I thought you went on a scholarship or something.”

  She twists her lip. “I didn’t want to tell you back then because I knew what you would do, but mom and dad couldn’t exactly pay for much more school after mom, and then pay for your schooling too. So I just decided to join in college.”

  I gasp, “what?”

  “Even when you were fifteen we knew you’d be super smart and get into a good school. I
wanted you to go, and financial aid was complicated back then. If you made too much, they didn’t give you shit.”

  “But...I can’t believe you did that for me.”

  She shrugs like it was nothing. Like she didn’t make sacrifices for the past decade for me. “That’s what big sisters do. Besides, I got to meet Declan because of it. Which is a win.” She giggles.

  “Wow...” my voice cracks as I reach out to hug her. She laughs as she squeezes me back. “Thank you.”

  “Sure thing. So, where are you going to work?”

  “I don’t know. New York is looking really good.”

  “Pft. You have to go there, it’s so Law and Order.” She jokes, knowing how much I hate when people compare the profession to what’s on television.

  “Maybe. They also want to pay me the most, with promotion evaluation in under a year.”

  “See? I think it’s the best choice. The city might be good for you. I want you to meet new people.”

  “I can meet people at work... but it is good for the end goal being chief.” I tell her.

  “Yeah, it is. I’m excited for you. And since I’ll be out of work soon, I can come and visit you.”

  “You won’t find a job somewhere else?” I ask her.

  “I might open a practice. Or work from home. Honestly, I’m taking time off because Declan and I want to try for a baby.”

  I gasp with a smile, “really? That’s great!” I squeeze her leg.

  “Yeah, and nerve wracking. I could be considered geriatric.”

  We laugh. “But it will be fine. And if you need a surrogate, I’ll do it.”

  “Really? Won’t it get too Lifetime-y?”

  We both pause and then erupt in laughter as we agree. By the time the movie ends, I invite Melinda over for dinner for Christmas, knowing she doesn’t have any family here. She doesn’t have any family anywhere. Once dinner is ready, we eat over casual conversation until Clem breaks her news at the end about her retiring, leaving out the part about trying for a baby. Dad is supportive of all our decisions, so he just congratulates her. I’m just happy he has come to an understanding with Declan, and everything between them is less tense. Even though I imagined things different at this point, that Thom would be here, and we would be married; maybe even pregnant or already have a child... I don’t give it a second thought.

  Regardless of the holiday, I accept the position with New York and start looking forward to the rest of my life.

  Chapter Twenty-Five: Perrie

  The pressure to do well was higher than ever. The pathologist before me was a tough guy, and very well respected in the hospital. He went off to open his own practice, so it was just me and another guy who technically worked under me as a fellow, though that would only last a year. His name is Mark Dawson, and he is only a year younger than me. He is married with two kids, both girls age six and seven. He talks about them all the time and has pictures of his family all over his office. I couldn’t lie and say I didn’t want to be in the same place he was.

  “Do you want a tour of the hospital?”

  “Wouldn’t that take days?” I am sitting in my office, that after three months of working here, I haven’t bothered to decorate.

  I have two framed photos of Clem and I, but that’s about it. I knew I had to do something with it, but it wasn’t the top of my list. As soon as I got here, there were three rushed autopsies from a house fire, that the authorities thought was just a cover up to another crime. They were right, and I have been up to my ass in paperwork and court appearances since.

  Mark has been very helpful, sort of a perfect understudy.

  “No, we can do the important parts like pathology, radiology...” he shrugs and leans in my doorframe.

  His brown hair and blue eyes give him the ‘sweet guy’ look, and everyone who works with him agrees. Our staff down here is small, but effective, and we get pretty close working together.

  “Uh...sure.”

  “Oh, and the cafeteria of course. It’s Taco Tuesday.” He laughs.

  “We have that?” I manage a small smile.

  “Yeah, we have good shit here.”

  I nod and close my computer and files. I always wear my white coat and gray scrubs if I leave the pathology wing. We work in the basement, and my office is off on a sublevel next to Mark’s. The rest of the wing is where the forensic scientists and pathology researchers work.

  “You’ve been here since residency, right?” I check. It takes a short time to ride up to the main level in the elevator.

  “Yeah, five years.”

  “You didn’t want to go somewhere else?” I ask him.

  We didn’t exactly have time to get acquainted when I first arrived with that trial going on. It was still a pain in the ass, one the police and detectives weren’t being honest about at all. Just asking me to rush through samples and case reports, and demand I show up to certain hearings. An indictment hasn’t even happened yet, but it is that part of the job that we weren’t schooled for. I’m learning along the way.

  “Not really. The girls like the city, and Lauren had just started working again, so it wouldn’t make much sense to move.”

  “Oh. Makes sense.”

  “So, this is radiology. You can take either elevator, but this one is fastest. Always ask for Cate, she’s the nicest.” Mark says.

  “Okay.” The room looks just like any other radiology unit. With the scan walls, and machines, then the people guarding the files. But everything is state of the art.

  He leads me down a long hallway and then balcony leading through the hospital on the other end. We take another elevator to get to oncology and path. Sometimes we had to run samples ourselves or check on them if they needed a rush; but usually the forensics team did that. We went through pretty much everything; the orthopedics lounge, pediatrics, cardio... I immediately think of Thom. Once again. I would never stop thinking of him, would I?

  “Simmons?”

  “What?” Oh, he asked me something...

  “We can head to the café now, before the line gets crazy. What have you been doing for lunch anyway?”

  I looked over my shoulder as we left the cardio wing. “Um, snack bars. I didn’t want to get lost.” I answer honestly.

  “I got lost a lot when I first got here.” He chuckles.

  We have to take the skywalk back across the hospital to get to the café, and I know I’ll get lost if I try and come on my own. We wait in the short line and I pack a shrimp taco with my favorites, then we find a seat amidst everyone else. I see so many different color scrubs, people young and old in different parts of their careers, and I finally realize I’m in a different place. A new beginning. I would feel better if I wasn’t under so much pressure with the triple homicide right off the bat, but it’s good to immerse myself in work.

  “So, I read your bio.” Mark says. I sip my smoothie suspiciously.

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Yeah. It’s impressive... I was a little scared about working with you, to be honest.”

  I let out a feminine chuckle. “I don’t believe it. You’re good at your job though.”

  “I know.” He smirks, and I manage a small laugh.

  “If it makes you feel any better, I’m worried about this case. I know I have to do more than a good job, I have to do my job right. Every time I talk to a detective or make a statement, I worry about what I’m going to say. The dead don’t have a voice anymore, so it’s up to us to speak for them.” I sigh.

  “Yeah. It makes the job rewarding, in a weird way. Because...well, they’re dead.”

  We nod in agreement. I finish the tacos, which are amazing, and we sit for a while. Our days were pretty flexible if there weren’t any cases on our desk by morning, and there weren’t today. It’s why I came to like Tuesdays the most. Everything from the weekend got taken care of on Monday.

  But like everything in life, something must come and ruin it. And you don’t know whether the disruption is good or bad in the begin
ning, just like that day ten years ago, when I was sitting alone in the cafeteria and nothing could have prepared me for what I was faced with. My nerve finding its connection again, the end to its beginning. The deep flush of my gut is what gets me to look up, and the anchor of everything behind us is what doesn’t let me look away. It is a vice I will never be free of, an addiction I never even tasted.

  Mark says something to me, asks me something...but I don’t hear him. All I see ahead of me, is a tall and handsome dirty blonde with a stature that seems to be forged from the great mountains themselves. I become paralyzed to the effect of him once again, the solidity of him...and I can hardly bare it. Just as I can hardly breathe.

  “Perrie? Hello? You look like you’ve seen a ghost...” Mark is in the background, I hear him, but I am not listening.

  Only watching. Watching him walk across the room like nothing ever happened. Because he’s fine, and nothing ever happened to him.

  “Are you looking at Dr. Edwards? Yeah, all the women here have a thing for him.” Mark laughs like he has no idea—well, he doesn’t.

  He doesn’t know that Thom Edwards was once mine and he let me go. He doesn’t know that he is my other piece, my pair in humanity. He doesn’t know he is... he shouldn’t be here. I must be dreaming, I must just be coming down from a long night in the office... but I know I’m not. I’m so awake, and seeing Thom again should make me feel alive, but it doesn’t

  It reminds me how dead I’ve been.