Therapy

“You really think he knows something?” Brian asked, taking another slice of pizza from the box that sat on the coffee table.

“That, or he was just fishing, I can’t be sure,” Erin admitted, having explained to Brian how her lunch with Zacky had gone. “Then he got a call from Matt and once he sat back down, he didn’t mention it again. Actually, he was kinda quiet after that, as though something was bothering him.”

Brian continued to eat, the concentration on his face telling Erin that he was giving the situation some thought. As he finished, he wiped his hands on a paper napkin before moving so that he lay on the couch, his head in Erin’s lap.

“That’s fucking odd, because Matt was meant to stop by today and collect the stuff that Chelle had left behind. He called around the time you would have been at lunch with Zack and cancelled. He sounded a little edgy.”

Absentmindedly running her fingers through his hair, Erin mused over Brian’s words. There was definitely something amiss when it came to their friends, and she wished she could pinpoint exactly what the issue was. There was still the nagging feeling inside her that maybe Zacky possibly knew more about just who Brian and Michelle had been seeing with regard to their marriage issues, but how was the burning question.

Brian had already assured her he hadn’t mentioned it, fearing the objections he would have met from the others, even if he had been clueless as to who they had turned to for help until he had walked through her office door. The only other explaination was that Michelle had mentioned her name to one of the girls, and they had in turn told the guys. It couldn’t have been Val, because if there was one thing Erin was certain of, she would have had a visit by now. She put the idea to Brian.

“It’s possible I guess,” he began, taking hold of her hand, lacing their fingers together. “But she really doesn’t see that much of the others aside from if we all get together, they’ve had a tendency to keep their distance from her. And if anything, she kept kinda quiet about this. She may be vocal about a lot of things, but her marriage falling apart wasn’t one of them.”

“Understandable,” Erin murmured in answer.

“Maybe you coming on Saturday isn’t such a good idea,” Brian stated quietly..

Erin looked down at him, slightly confused. She had explained that she had told Zacky no even though she had promised to think about it, so where his sudden statement had come from was a little surprising.

“I wasn’t going anyway, Bri, I thought you would have realized that.”

“I know,” Brian sighed. “I kinda hoped that maybe if I asked you to, then you would give it some consideration. I just wanted you to be there with me.”

Erin smiled, loving how he wanted for her to be places with him, even though they had agreed that they would wait a while to come clean about what was happening between them.

“I may have,” she confessed softly. “But I kinda like this whole secrecy thing right now, it means they’re keeping their noses out of it for once, and we get each other all to ourselves.”

Brian grinned at her before moving a little.

“Lay with me,” he murmured, taking her in his arms as Erin made herself comfortable next to him. “I promise not to stay so long tonight,” he added before kissing her gently. “Unless I stay the whole night…”

Erin laughed at the way his voice trailed off and the playful look on his face.

“The couch is very comfy, so sure, if you want to spend the night on it, knock yourself out,” she teased.

“Rin!” Brian groaned, smiling as he saw her reach for the comforter that hung on the back of the couch.

“I’ll stay with you ya big baby,” she assured him, rolling her eyes.

Brian flashed her a grin and winked.

“See, I knew you’d come round to my way of thinking.”

***************

Valary Sanders stood in her lounge casting a watchful eye over those she had summounds to her home. She was still trying to figure out how all of them had managed to pull the wool over her eyes and get away with what they had for the past few months. If she hadn’t of spotted the business card amongst Michelle’s belongings when she had been helping her settle back into a room at their parents home, Val would have still been none the wiser.

Not wanting to alarm or enrage her sister any, Val had simply enquired just who had suggested the marriage counsellor she and Brian had been seeing. Once Michelle had told her, Val had taken it from there and decided to dig a little further. What had transpired was not what she had been expecting at all. She had even tried to deny that all those involved, including her husband, would have actually gone as far as they had, but once she had questioned Matt, he had crumpled all too easily and told her everything.

“What on Earth possessed you all to think that you could do something like this and even get away with it?” she questioned, tapping her foot impatiently.

Val watched on as each of them looked at one another, all clearly afraid to be the first one to answer.

“He’s been miserable for months Val,” Zacky finally mumbled. “We just wanted to help.”

“Help? You call what you did help? No Zachary, it was meddling in people’s lives, and it was wrong!” Val cried.

“They sought help. Not our fault it didn’t quite work out,” Johnny protested, earning a glare from Val.

“You sent them to the one person who was never going to patch that relationship back together, and you knew it! I’m shocked she even went along with it.”

Matt looked at his wife, understanding her anger at the situation, but feeling frustrated at the same time. Yes they had maybe gone about things the wrong way, but deep down their intentions had been good ones. They had all wanted to see Brian back to his old self, and each of them had known there was only one person that could ever make that a possibility.

“Rin had no idea, still doesn’t,” he told her. “And we all know that she would have been as professional as possible and try to help them all she could.”

“But she didn’t help though did she, because she got Michelle to confront Brian about the past, and now they’re no longer together!”

“Hey, you love Rin as much as we all do,” Gena pointed out. “You’ve said it yourself time and again that she and Brian were perfect together.”

“As for you,” Val jabbed a finger in Gena’s direction, ignoring her words,”actually going along with it and giving Calista the card to give to Michelle, telling her that you‘d do it, but you didn‘t want to appear as though you were interfering…how could you? I thought Michelle was your friend!”

“We’ve not been close for a long time Val, and honestly, I’d rather see Brian happy than how he has been ever since he put that ring on your sister’s finger. So when Zack told me about the idea they’d had, I offered to be the one to do it,” Gena told her honestly, no signs of regret at her part in it all. “The fact that Michelle didn’t even realize who the woman trying to help them was just goes to show just how much she cares or even takes notice of others around her,” she added.

Val remained silent, knowing that was something she couldn’t argue against. Erin hadn’t changed that much over the years, anyone who hadn’t seen her in a long while would still know it was her when they saw her, which proved how little notice her sister had even taken of the girl who had been Brian’s life all those years before.

“And Brian’s clearly not bothered by it all, “ Lacey piped up. “Else he would have said something.”

“Only because he’s unaware that you bunch of fools set him up!” Val exclaimed. “Plus all he’s ever wanted is the chance to see and speak to Rin again, he’s always regretted that damn pact they made when they broke up. I don’t think he’ll be too happy when he finds out just how this came about.”

“You’re gonna tell him?” Matt asked.

“Mmhmm, him and Rin both, they have a right to know.”

“I’m so fucking dead,” Zacky groaned, knowing Erin was quite possibly going to kill him