Impossibly True (Impossibly Duology) (13 page)

CHAPTER
NINETEEN

Branden

  
Slipping out of bed
, I wiped my face in the palm of my hands then walked
over to the windows to pull away the drapes. Moya made me feel positive, like I
shouldn’t waste away the day.

  
Turning from the window, I headed over to the bathroom, glimpsing the bag she’d
given me last night. It was on the chair in the corner of the room. I walked
over and snatched it up, sitting down with it on my lap.

  
I couldn’t hold back my grin as I reached inside and took out the box. Eagerly,
I ripped off the wrapping and opened it up. The combination of red, white and blue
had me awestruck. Not only had my girlfriend gotten me a Washington Capitals
hockey jersey of my favorite player, she managed to get one with Alex
Ovechkin’s autograph as well.

  
I shot up from the chair, excited, looking over the jersey as if it wasn’t
real. I bustled over to the table by my bed and picked up my phone, wanting to
call her back and thank her for such a brilliant gift, only to remember she was
helping her mom. I didn’t want to disrupt so I decided to wait and call her
later as planned. This was definitely the best gift though.

  
My excitement ceased with a rap at my room door. Mom’s voice resounded from
outside. “Branden, are you up?”

  
“Yeah,” I answered, placing the jersey on my bed. “Come in.”

  
“Merry Christmas,” she chuckled, reaching a small box out to me the second she
entered.

  
“Thank you,” I muttered. Sitting on the edge of my bed, I opened the box and
saw it was a sleek, black Movado watch.

  
“Do you like it?” Mom sat down next to me, resting her hand on my shoulder.

  
Gazing over at her, I nodded. “Yeah, it’s nice. Thank you.” I kissed her on the
cheek. It was half-assed, and by the expression on her face when I pulled away,
I could tell she knew.

  
“You think it’s too much,” she said, covering the box and taking it out of my
hand. She glanced behind at the jersey. “I should have gotten you something
like that.”

  
“Mom, stop.” I stood. “It’s a nice gift.”

  
Slowly, she rose to her feet and leaned in for a hug. “You’re welcome. Your
brother didn’t have the same reaction though.”

  
“Ashton’s home?”
I asked as she backed away and
started for the door.

  
“Surprisingly, he came home last night. It’s the first Christmas in three years
that he’s spent at home. Isn’t that something?” She smiled as she turned and
opened the door, stepping outside. “I guess I have to make my sons Christmas
dinner later.”

  
She closed my room door and I heard her steps going down the stairs. There was
something about her sentence that didn’t sit well with me.
Have to?
It
wasn’t an obligation, so if it inconvenienced her too much she didn’t have to
make us dinner on Christmas.

  
Shortly after taking a shower, I walked across the hall to Ashton’s room,
knocking once on the door. He mumbled for me to enter. Ashton was sitting in
the chair by his bed. The curtains were drawn; the room was dark as night.

  
“Geez, I’m surprised Mom didn’t bug you about this room?” I joked, leaning
against the wall with my arms folded.

  
His face remained serious, staring at the carpet, toying around with the watch
Mom gave him. It was an exact replica of the one she gave me.

  
“You all right?”

  
He snorted, sat up straight, and eyed me intently. “Define all right, Branden.
How exactly is all this,” he waved his hand about, “all right?”

  
“Ash, chill out.
You’re acting as if you’re the only
one dealing with shit—”

  
“I know I’m not. At least I’m not pretending everything’s fine like you and
mom.”

  
“Whoa! No one’s pretending—”

  
“Of course you are! What the hell is this then?” he tossed the watch onto his
bed.

  
“She just wanted to get you something for Christmas. What’s wrong with that?” I
didn’t get his burst of anger now.

  
Ashton grunted and laughed sarcastically. “Oh come on, Branden. It’s what she
does whenever we have problems in our family. She buys expensive gifts to try
to make us not think about it. Doesn’t matter if it’s the holiday, that stupid
watch is the first of many to come ’cause she wants me to feel sorry for her
and not go to Spain.”

  
Slouching, I stuck my hands inside the pockets of my sweatpants. “I doubt she’d
use expensive watches to persuade you to stay in Maryland, bro.”

  
He sank down on the edge of the bed. “Oh yeah, where’s your black Movado watch,
Branden? I’m sure she got you the same thing.” He paused for a moment then
released a husky laugh. “She knows we never liked having the same things, ever
since we were kids. Why’d she go out and buy us the same watches?”

  
I stood quiet, sorting out everything inside my head. Maybe Ashton was right.
Mom did have a tendency to get us gifts when things were bad. For some strange
reason, she had this mentality that she needed to buy our love.

  
Ashton got up and strolled over to his walk-in closet, taking out suitcases.

  
“Wow,” I straightened, easing off the wall. “You can’t wait to get out of here,
huh?”

  
“No. I cannot.” He stopped and pointed a look over his shoulder at me. “Sorry,
little bro. Hate to bail on you with our crazy parents, but I want to start
living my own life without them trying to control it.”

  
He started to go through his closet again, deciding what he wanted to take with
him, and what to leave behind. There was no doubt he’d disregard all the stuff
Mom and Dad got him, skimming through most of what he bought for himself.

  
I left him to it, not uttering another word. There was good logic in what he’d
said, about living his own life. I’d have to do the same soon…very soon.

  
After our silent Christmas dinner ended, I went to visit Dad at his new
apartment in Pasadena. He’d called me earlier so I decided to bring him his
present instead of waiting for him to stop by. It must be a horrible feeling,
showing up at the house he helped design and not being able to step inside it.

  
Dad lived only five minutes away. His condo overlooked Severn River and
Harrington. You’d think some people going through a divorce would live in more
of a subtle manner, not my father. Luxury was a way of life since birth.

  
 “Bran,” he laughed, giving me a hug the second he opened the door and
invited me in.

  
I entered the open area and glanced around, it looked as if he was living here
by himself, as opposed to what Mom might believe.

  
“This is for you,” I said, turning to face him.

  
A genuine smile crossed his lips. “Thanks, son, I really appreciate it.” He
didn’t even open my gift, settling it on a table next to the large white sofa.
 

  
He gestured with his hand, “Sit down. Let’s talk a bit.”

  
“What do you want to talk about?” I urged, sitting out on the sofa.

  
Dad appeared nervous, fearful to tell me what was on his mind. He’d never been
this way before.

  
“Branden, you have to know that regardless of all the crap your mother had to
endure with me, along with what I’ve caused you and your brother, that I’ll
always love you both no matter what.”

  
“I know, Dad. What’s going on?”

  
Exhaling deeply, he folded his hands and said, “I’m going to marry Karen.”

  
My brows shot up, surprised. “The woman you left mom for?”

  
He bobbed his head, “Yes.”

  
“Ashton and I haven’t even met her…” I drifted, realizing it didn’t even
matter. I had no interest in meeting her, or any other woman he’d cheated on my
mother with. They couldn’t get my respect for sleeping around with a married
man.

  
“I was hoping you and your brother would have dinner with us, tomorrow night?”
he sounded hopeful.

  
I looked him straight in the eye and said, “No.”

  
“No?” Dad wrinkled his brows, perplexed. “But, I thought you understood that
your mother and I don’t—”

  
“That’s not why.” I got up. “Look, I know you and mom are over. I get it. I
just can’t believe how quickly you want to go and marry someone else. Your
divorce isn’t even final. You only moved out two days ago.”

  
He rose to his feet as well. “Branden…Karen and I got engaged a few weeks ago.
I’ve been waiting for the right time to tell—”

  
“What?” I combed back my hair abruptly. “Geez, Dad.”

  
“I know it makes me seem like an even bigger jerk, but I want to be honest with
you. Branden, I love Karen. I’ve even hurt her before by breaking things off to
work on my marriage.”

  
“Why did you even bother?”

  
“Because I wanted to keep our family together,” he walked over to the sliding
glass door and stared at the darkening sky.

  
“After you got sick again it scared the crap outta me. I started to think about
my actions and the kind of man I was. I had a wake-up call so to speak.” Dad
spun to face me. “I tried to find the feelings I had for Deb, to save what was
left of our marriage. But I couldn’t. And then one day I finally realized that
it was over. There was nothing more I could do. Your mother hated me for my
past infidelities, and I was angry with her for hers. That’s not the kind of
marriage any couple should have. I don’t know if we’ll ever be friends again
either.”

  
Walking back towards me, he squeezed my shoulder as he continued, “Branden, you
and your brother aren’t kids anymore. There’s no point in me staying for you
two. We all need to move on from this. For me, that means moving on with Karen.
She’s a wonderful woman; kind and passionate. I’ve been nothing but happy since
re-connecting with her.”

  
I didn’t know how to react to this. Obviously, my father was in love again. He
appeared much more at peace and less miserable than when he was at home.

  
“I’m…” I cleared my throat. “I’m happy for you.”

  
“Really?”

  
“Yeah, it’s all I can be.”

  
Dad opened his arms and gave me a quick hug, patting my back.

  
“There’s something I want to tell you, since we’re confessing our feelings,” I
snorted.

  
“Sure, go ahead. I’m all ears.”

  
Swallowing the lump that had suddenly formed in my throat, I built up the nerve
to say, “I feel the same about Moya, and I want to marry her.”

  
He froze for a moment, not making a sound. Then he broke through the silence,
“It’s normal to love someone so strongly when you first start dating, but
marriage…Branden…” he shook his head. “That’s a huge step and something you
shouldn’t be impulsive about—”

  
“This coming from you—”

  
“I was with Karen for two years, son. Whether or not what we were doing was
right, I’ve still been with her for that long.”