Chapter 3

Alexia’s POV

I opened the door to my apartment, knowing that my mother would already be inside waiting for me. The last person I expected to see sitting in my living room with her was Brandon’s mother, Helen. As our gazes met, the onslaught of emotions that rushed to the surface overwhelmed me once again. I could no longer hold back the sobs that I had been fighting from the moment that I laid my eyes on Brandon.

My mother and Helen both got up from where they were seated on my couch to rush to my side. They both radiated love and concern.

“Come sit down, dear.” I heard Helen say in such a way that made me sob even harder, but I followed her and my mother to my couch and sat down between them.

I sat there and cried until I couldn’t cry any longer. My mom was the first one to break the silence.

“Alexia, I need you to tell us what happened? Did you not get the job?”

“No. I got the job.” I mumbled while I fiddled with my hands.

Helen and my mother looked at each other quizzically before turning their gazes on me.

“We don’t understand, dear. If you got the job, then what has gotten you so upset.” Helen asked the question that they both had.

I took a deep breath as I decided how much I wanted to tell the two women that have always been there for me through life. I decided to tell them everything.

“The interview that I had today,” I paused before continuing, “was for a position at Advancing Life, Inc.”

Nobody said anything for a few minutes. I honestly think that they were trying to make sure that I wasn’t going to fall apart again. I could tell that they felt guilty for not telling me that Brandon owned a research lab, but it wasn’t really their fault. I would have refused to listen to them.

“Are you still going to take the job?” Came my mother’s straight-forward question.

I thought about my answer for a moment. “I am going to look over the contract when I receive it and go from there.”

I grabbed Helen’s hand before continuing telling them what happened.

“Helen, you know that I love you immensely, and think the world of both you and Dale. So, when I tell you this next part, I don’t want you to think any less of me.”

“I could never think any less of you, dear. Dale and I consider you to be one of ours, and we couldn’t be any prouder of the woman that you have become.” The look she gave me at that moment was one of those looks that only a mother can give.

That was all the encouragement that I needed to tell them everything that happened this morning. They both listened to me quietly, neither one making a sound. There was only the occasional nod of acknowledgement to let me know that they were still paying attention.

“Do you think you will be able to work with Brandon, given the history between the two of you?” My mother’s tone was gentle as she asked me the question.

I didn’t hesitate for one moment with my answer.

“Yes. I know I can, because I’m not going to be doing this for me. I’m going to be doing this for all the men and women out there like dad and for the families that are left devastated and hopeless.

Helen asked me the next question, and this question left me at a loss, because I honestly didn’t know the answer to it.

“Will you ever be able to forgive him?” She paused for a moment and grabbed my hand before parting with some knowledge that I had no idea about.

“I know it may not seem like it, but Brandon wasn’t the same person that you knew when he got back home. I’m not trying to make excuses for him, but he lost himself somewhere in that war. He let his fear of failing you push you away, and then by the time that he realized he made a huge mistake, his pride wouldn’t let him come to you to fix it.” She patted the hand that she held in hers.

“If there is some part of you that still cares about my son, don’t make the same mistake that he did all those years ago. The ones that matter the most in life are the ones worth fighting the hardest for.” She gave me one last smile before standing up and heading towards my kitchen. I was hoping that she was going to make one of her delicious pies.

“You know Helen’s right about fighting for the people that matter most.” She said before getting this faraway look in her eyes.

She continued on with her train of thought, “Your dad and I didn’t have the best start. He was actually dating Helen when we met.” She chuckled a little at the memory.

“Mitch, Helen’s step-brother, Dale, and your dad were all best friends. They all met in college, but you would have thought that they had been friends forever. I was dating Mitch when I met your dad.” I could tell that the memories were bittersweet by the sad smile on her face.

“Life happened and Mitch moved away, but I stayed in touch with Helen. We became like sisters almost immediately. When I found out that her and your dad had split up, and she had started dating Dale, I asked her if she would have a problem with me getting with David.”

She stopped her story as Helen walked back in with a timer in her hand.

“I, of course, told her that I didn’t care who they dated. The rest was history.” Helen chuckled recalling the start of a relationship that would have ended most friendships.

Even though I tried to pay attention to what they were saying to me, I couldn’t keep myself from reliving that day from so long ago. It was the day that I stopped being a believer that fairytales existed. That was the day that the once hopeful and naïve girl died and the realist who doesn’t believe in happily-ever-after was born.

I tried to push past the pain that those memories brought back up, because I didn’t want to go back there again. When my dad died, I was still trying to get over the heartbreak that Brandon caused me. My mom wasn’t really in a place to be there for me during it all, she lost so much of herself. We all did really, but I had refused to burden her with my pain.

Seeing how she was so broken and lost, it made me fortify the wall that I built around my heart. I was never going to let someone that close to me ever again. I would never allow myself to feel the hurt that I felt at Brandon’s abandonment, or the pain that I saw my mom go through with my dad. Never again would I be that vulnerable because of someone else. Well, that was my plan, at least. Plans never go the way that you want them to, though.

I was pulled back to the present when my mom covered my hand with hers.

“I know this isn’t going to be easy for you, baby girl, but you are strong. You are not the same girl that you used to be. I know that you can handle everything that comes your way in life. You just have to have the same confidence in yourself that I do.” Mom smiled at me, doing her best to be as supportive as she could.

Helen gave me a knowing look and sighed. “If my dimwitted son gives you any kind of issues,” she paused to make sure that she had my attention, “you just let me know. I would be more than happy to tell him how dumb I think he is.”

I chuckled at her comment. Helen had always had a way of breaking me out of the darkness. She wasn’t my mom, but I have always considered her to be a close second. She and Dale held such a special place in my heart and I don’t think that I would ever be able to express to them just how much they mean to me. Even when their own son left me, they never did. They always treated me like the daughter that they never had, and I would forever be grateful to them for everything that they have done and continue to do for me.

Just then, Helen’s phone rang. The look on her face told me exactly who was on the other end of the phone. I smiled at her and got up so that she wouldn’t feel bad for answering it. He was after all, still her son, and I was never going to make her feel like she had to choose between the two of us.

“Go ahead and talk to him. I’m gonna go to my office and read over the contract that he emailed me.”

With that, I headed down the hallway to my office. I shut the door behind me just as a tear fell down my cheek. I wiped it away and took a deep breath. I wasn’t going to let myself go down that road ever again. Not for anybody.

I sat down in my chair and turned on my laptop. I found the email that Brandon had sent me with the contract attachment in it. I opened it and started reading. I couldn’t wrap my mind around everything that I was seeing. I had to read it three times before I was even able to start forming thoughts that made any sense.

This contract was insane. There was no way that I could accept it. He was offering me a three-year contract at over a quarter of a million a year, with paid time off, paid vacations, the ability to travel on company money for any kind of research that I wanted to do, and I was able to break the contract before the end of the three years with no consequence if I felt the work conditions weren’t satisfactory.

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn’t that. Could I accept it? Was he doing this because of our history or would have everyone gotten the same deal? I wasn’t sure and there was no way that I could sign this unless I was.

I clicked back over to the original email that Brandon had sent me. I was going to send him an email back asking him about it, but I saw that he gave me a contact number to call if I had any questions.

Could I do it? Could I build up the courage to call him? I mean, if I couldn’t even call him, then how was I supposed to work with him? So, I picked up my cell and entered the numbers in front of me. I took a deep breath and hit dial. I let it ring three times and was about to hang up when I heard the voice on the other end.

“Johnson. Who is this?” the sound of his voice made a feeling of sadness and longing wash over me, and I didn’t know if I was going to be able to make the words come out of my mouth.