The Reality of Wright and Wrong

by Leddy Harper

  I must’ve called Mercy a hundred times, yet she refused to pick up the phone.

  However, I wouldn’t give up.

  When I couldn’t get ahold of Mercy, I tracked down her best friend and tried that route. “So you have no idea where she went?” I didn’t bother to hide just how frantic I was while speaking to Stella over the phone.

  At the time, Stella wasn’t home. But after I had explained it all to her, she left work and headed back to her apartment—the last place Mercy had been. When that proved fruitless, she tried Mercy’s parents’ house. Again, no sign of my wife.

  I didn’t hesitate. Instead, I quickly packed a bag and got on the road, heading to Ohio. My only hope was that Stella would find Mercy before I got there. Even if she didn’t, nothing would stop me from tracking her down and assuring her that there was no one I wanted more than her.

  “She could’ve gone to the store or any number of people’s houses. I mean, I’m not her only friend in town. But I wouldn’t even know where to start. I think it might be best if I just stay at my apartment and wait for her. Maybe have her parents call if she shows up—although, from what they said, they had no idea she had even come back to town. So that might be a dead end.”

  “I know she’s upset, but if she would answer my calls, I could explain it to her.”

  “Listen, I love my best friend, but she’s so damn stubborn when she wants to be. Mercy’s the type of person who needs to look at all the facts before coming to a conclusion. The one thing that keeps her from reaching that point sooner is fear. What I can tell you is she always comes around. It may be on her own time, but she will eventually see the truth. We just have to wait for her to find her strength, because once she does that, she’ll push past the worry of getting hurt and stop avoiding the situation.”

  While I understood what she was telling me, and it made sense, I refused to sit back and wait. Not when it came to Mercy. “Well, let’s hope she reaches that point soon, because I’ll be there in about ten hours. And I won’t stop until I find her and make her listen to me.”

  “At least you have one thing on your side,” she said, humor peeking out in her voice.

  “And what would that be?”

  “If there’s anyone who can make her do what they want, it’s you.”

  I couldn’t fight off the need to smile. Right now, that was the only thing getting me through. It was my ray of hope. There was no way this was the end of us. I told her I wouldn’t chase after her, but fuck that. I’d never stop going after the woman I loved.

  “Just do me a favor, will you, Stella? If you find her, please don’t let her out of your sight. And no matter what you do, do not tell her I’m on my way. I don’t need to chance her taking off again.” If I wasn’t in such a panicked mood, I might’ve made a joke about how I felt like a bounty hunter. “You know her better than anyone, so if you think trying to talk to her might help, then I’d appreciate that, too.”

  “Mercy’s one lucky lady, Wrong.”

  “Thanks, Stella.”

  I disconnected the call and then continued my long drive in silence. Nothing but the whine of the tires on the road and the wind filling the cab. Trees passing in a blur. The only thing playing in my mind was the thought of getting Mercy back.

  And I would get her back.

  25

  Mercy

  I couldn’t hide forever…no matter how badly I wanted to.

  At some point, I had to go back to Stella’s place, even though the thought of it gave me anxiety. It wasn’t Stella I dreaded; it was the lecture I knew she’d give. Once I finally turned my phone back on, I had more than a dozen messages from her—as well as from Brogan. His were the hardest to read. They may have been written words, but I could feel his pain. Hear his brokenness. And it killed me inside. Whereas Stella’s texts pretty much told me how dumb I was.

  Which, to be fair, I was.

  But that’s just it… Doubt had taken over, and he was a relentless asshole. Self-preservation had taken the front lines, building a wall around my shattered heart. Guarding me against the inevitable pain doubt had convinced me of.

  And that wall was so tall and impenetrable that the sliver of truth playing in my mind couldn’t gain traction. That voice was so soft, filled with honesty and warmth, heavy with promises that could never be broken. She spoke with such a soothing, poetic cadence that her confident wisdom was nothing more than a whisper. Unfortunately, that gentle, whistling breeze was no match against the solid fortress doubt had erected around me.

  So, it didn’t matter what Stella had to say, because my fear about everything going on seemed to be rather stubborn. There wasn’t anything she could say that I hadn’t already thought of. And so far, nothing had quieted the apprehension that blared in my head.

  What I didn’t expect, though, was to walk into a quiet, empty apartment.

  “Stella?” I called out, wondering if she might’ve been hiding in a closet or tucked away in a cabinet. While I understood how preposterous that was, it was the only thing that would explain why her car was in the parking lot and all the lights inside were on, but I didn’t see her anywhere.

  After checking every room—it was a small space, which meant it hadn’t taken me but ten seconds to affirm she wasn’t here—I sat at the small kitchen table and called her phone. When she didn’t answer, I sent a text. And then another. Followed by one more call that went unanswered.

  I grew worried; it was almost eleven at night, and she was nowhere to be found. Granted, I had never lived with her to know if this was something she did often, but she was my best friend, so I would’ve known if she led a double life where she’d vanish into the night like Batman.

  I figured I’d give her a little more time to either return my call or show up before I sent out a search party. And, while I waited, I thought it would be best to respond to Brogan. No matter how I felt, he didn’t deserve to be ignored.

  However, my texts went unread.

  And my calls went unanswered.

  At some point, I must’ve fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, Brogan stood in front of me. It felt like a dream. There was no way he was in Ohio. In Stella’s living room. At… I glanced at the clock on the wall. Almost midnight.

  I jumped up and turned in circles like a ballerina. Still no sign of Stella. When I faced him again, the agony that lived in his soul seeped out through his pores. It broke my heart.

  “What are you doing here, Brogan? Where’s Stella?”

  “She said she’d stay away for the night…unless you need her to come back.”

  I began to think this was, in fact, a dream, since nothing made sense. “So you’ve seen her?”

  “Yeah. She went with me to see your parents.”

  This was definitely a dream.

  He moved closer, took my hands in his, and guided me to take a seat on the couch while assuming the cushion next to me. “I realized I need to do things right this time. And that started with your parents. Now…it’s time to make it right with you.”

  All I could do was shake my head, still not understanding what was going on.

  “What’s the story behind your name? Why Mercy?”

  “You came all this way for that?” I stared unblinkingly at him, knowing I was missing something. “I’ve already told you, it’s lame. It’s stupid. You’ve built it up to be this big deal, and it’s not.”

  Brogan squeezed my hands and scooted as close to me as he could without sitting on my lap. “I don’t care about the story. I don’t care how big or small it is, or how stupid you think the reason was. I keep asking because I want to know everything about you. Your name—how you got it, the meaning behind it—is part of who you are. The story itself isn’t important to me. What I care about is the part that makes it you.”

  Well, if he had said that a month ago, he would’ve already had his answer.

  I cleared my throat and glanced around the room, suddenly feeling silly. “My parents wanted to name me
Marcy, but the name was spelled wrong on the birth certificate and no one caught it in time. And rather than change it, they decided they liked it and kept it.”

  The faintest smile crept across his lips. “Mercy suits you better anyway.”

  “Is that really why you came here?”

  “Fuck no. I came to make you listen to me. To make you understand a few things. And then to take you home.” He waited a moment, and when he didn’t get any response from me, he carried on. “Jess was in town this past weekend for a wedding, and the night before filming began, she saw my Jeep at the bar and stopped in to see me.”

  I wanted to tell him I knew, that I had seen her there and watched them walk outside together, though I kept that to myself. I needed to hear what all he would say before admitting anything.

  “She heard that I had gotten married. So while she was in town, she figured she would take the opportunity to congratulate me. That way, we could finally get closure on the disaster that was the end of our marriage. We didn’t get to say much before Indi told me you were sick.”

  If only he knew the reason for my illness was because I’d seen him with his ex…

  “Since we didn’t get a chance to really talk, she stopped by the shop the next morning, on her way to the wedding. She was there for ten minutes, at most, but I guess it was long enough for someone to snap a photo.”

  “What about the other pictures? The ones of you two having lunch or holding hands in a parking lot? When were those taken?”

  His weak smile might as well have been a knife in my chest.

  “Babe, those are old. Those were all taken while we were married. I have no idea why anyone would choose to use them—other than to create drama surrounding the show. But the only one that’s new is the one from the shop on Saturday.” His eyes told the truth.

  And I hated myself for not giving him that chance earlier.

  “I thought I was doing you a favor by letting you see if she was the one you wanted.” A tear slipped free, and Brogan cleared it away before it reached my chin. “I guess I needed to know, too. For my own sanity. I’ve done nothing but feel inferior to her ever since I watched the first season of the show. And you’ve referred to her as the one who got away. I needed to make sure you truly wanted to be with me…and not because she was gone.”

  He appeared baffled. Truly baffled. “How in the world could you possibly question my feelings for you? Or doubt that I would’ve wanted her instead?”

  “You can’t even say you love me,” I whispered with a shrug. “And based on the piece of a poem I found in your nightstand, what we have is purely physical. At least, that’s how your words made it sound.”

  He moved to the floor, where he sat on his knees with his hands on my hips, eyes blazing into mine. “I know what poem you’re talking about, because I wrote it as part of a surprise—something I wanted to do for you the day you had your meeting at the school. And when I was packing my stuff to come get you, I noticed it was gone. But no, Mercy…that’s not what I was trying to say. That wasn’t what those words meant to me.”

  “Lust. Ecstasy. Writhing in the lovers’ dance?”

  He nodded, eyes set on mine like they had nowhere to go and nothing to see but the depths of my soul. “I believe the very last line was, as I bared my all to Mercy. I was trying to say that, even though we’ve explored every inch of each other’s bodies, I’ve never felt more naked, more bare, than at the thought of telling you how much I love you.”

  The power of interpretation was a bitch.

  He scooted closer and held himself to me with a firm grip on my thighs. “I do love you, Mercy. I’m sorry I haven’t said it before now. I felt it. I knew it. But I guess I was too scared to admit it. Too scared you’d run. I’ve been living these past several weeks terrified that you’ll leave. But I do love you. All of you. Always have and always will.”

  Even though I couldn’t see him past the blur of tears that filled my eyes, I was able to notice something on his hand. On his left ring finger to be precise. I grabbed his wrist and pulled the fresh tattoo closer so I could see it better.

  Along the top of his finger, where a wedding band would rest, was my name. Permanently marked into his skin with black ink. I found his stare and gawked for a moment before asking, “What’s this? When did you do this?”

  “Saturday morning.”

  I wasn’t sure why, but knowing he’d done this prior to me taking off, before hearing my reasons for leaving…made me love him even more. Which I didn’t think was possible. “But why?”

  “Babe, how many different ways do I have to tell you that you’re it for me before you finally accept it? You’re not just my wife, you’re the other half of my soul. The reason I’m here.”

  And because I couldn’t just accept that—still unable to believe the truth that stared at me—I muttered, “You said you wouldn’t chase me.”

  “That was until I realized I didn’t want to wait. I need you with me, Mercy. Please, come home and be with me. For real this time.” He reached to the side, next to the end table, and grabbed a backpack I hadn’t noticed until now. From the inside, he pulled out a jewelry box and held up it up for me.

  When he lifted the lid, a ballerina twirled, and piano music played. Which only made me cry harder. Through the tears, I noticed a gold band at the dancer’s feet. He picked it up and held it out in front of me.

  “I had planned to give this to you when you came back from your meeting with the school. But things didn’t go the way I’d hoped, and after everything that happened that day, I forgot about it. Then I decided to wait. And now, I refuse to wait any longer before putting this on your finger. I said I needed to do things right this time, so when I spoke to your parents, I told them how much I love you. How I’ll do everything in my power to make sure you’re taken care of. And then I asked them…”

  I gasped and covered my gaping mouth with my hand.

  There was no doubt in my mind that this was a dream. One I never wanted to wake from.

  “I asked them for permission to love you for the rest of my life. So, with that…” He took my hand in his and poised the band an inch away from my finger. “Mercy Wright, will you marry me? Will you have the real wedding you deserve and be my wife?” A smile broke free on his face. “Well, technically you already are.”

  “Yes.” No word had ever felt more right on my lips. “Yes, Brogan…I’ll come home. I’ll be your wife. I’ll love you forever—but, we need a plan. We need to discuss what’s going to happen when we get back home. I still don’t have a job, and your show has done nothing but interfere with my plans. Well, your show and Jordan.”

  “Don’t worry about him. He won’t bother us again.”

  That shocked me. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “Let’s just say his job has moved him out of the area.” The sly smile on his lips made my heart skip a beat. “And as for the show, I’ll quit. I’ll break the contract and end it right now. It’s not important if it means I’ll lose you. The money doesn’t matter to me. You matter to me.”

  “You can’t quit, baby.”

  “Sure I can.” He was serious, which warmed my heart.

  I playfully rolled my eyes and huffed. “Fine. Technically you can. But you shouldn’t. We’ll get through this last season, but to do so, we need to figure out a few things. Like how we’ll deal with the media and gossip. I didn’t handle it properly this last time. And for that, I’m sorry. But I honestly don’t know how much more of it I can go through. How much more of my life I can allow it to destroy.”

  “Then we’ll figure it out together. I’ll follow your lead, Mercy. As long as I have you by my side, I’ll follow you anywhere.” Truth sang in his words, while sincerity blazed in his eyes. “And we can figure out what we’ll do about your job. You wouldn’t let me try to fix it before, but I’m sure I can do something to change their minds. Let me. Please. If it doesn’t work, then we can look at other options. Together.”

&nb
sp; I nodded, giving in. Because there was nothing else in the world I wanted to do.

  Happiness dripped from his smile when he pushed the ring over my knuckle. “This was Nonna’s wedding band. I’ve always had it, but I’ve never thought about giving it to anyone before. Until you. Like it was meant to be on your finger. I realize you don’t have an engagement ring, but I plan to get you one when—”

  “Kiss me,” I interjected, not caring about a diamond. “Fucking kiss me already.”

  He pulled me into his lap, arms around me, jewelry box on the floor next to us.

  “I love you, Brogan,” I whispered against his lips. “Thank you for coming back.”

  “The rare ones are always worth coming back for.”

  My chest ached from being so tight, but there was no way I’d chicken out of this—even though Brogan had assured me that he wouldn’t be upset if I changed my mind. I loved him. And he loved me. So there was no way I’d back out now.

  The door to the shop had never felt as heavy as it did right now. Cameramen stood in various corners, mics on long sticks filling the space above their heads, while other video equipment hung from the ceiling to catch all angles. And all at once, every pair of eyes turned to me.

  But I never looked away from Brogan.

  The smile on my face burned my cheeks, and suddenly, no one else existed in the small space just inside the front door. All I could see was him. And all he could focus on was me. No matter how many times I had played this out in my mind, it never felt as good as this did.

  “Morning, baby,” I practically sang as I moved toward him.

  Brogan leaned over the front desk and kissed my lips, longer than I’d expected. Oddly enough, not once did I believe it was for show, either. This was simply his way of loving me, with or without an audience.

  “So this is the wife?” one of the men with a handheld camera over his shoulder asked.

  Brogan turned toward him, his smile no longer brightening his face. “From now on, if my wife is in the shop, there will be no prompts. You can try to direct our conversation all you want, but we aren’t actors. This isn’t an act, and we won’t play into it. So, if you want to film us, you’ll have to take what we give you.”