Getting Back Up

Meg followed Scott down the hallway, trying to get him to go back to Brad's room. "It's not too late. She needs to know," she said as he pushed the button for the elevator.

"She's gone through with it. He's never going to let her go, even if we confront him. I...I...I can't be here right now.," he said as he stepped into the elevator.

"What do you want me to do?" Meg asked.

"Nothing," Scott said as the doors slid shut.

Scott sent Rebecca a text when he got to his SUV.

Won't be able to see you tonight. Leaving for west coast road trip in a few hours. Will return in two weeks. I love you.

He waited for a response for five minutes before turning the key in the ignition and shifting the truck into gear. He drove back to his apartment, waiting for his phone to ring. He wouldn't get a response until two hours later.

Just saw your message. Sorry I couldn't see you before you left. Good luck. Call when you land. Love you too.

A few hours later, Scott and the rest of the team were an hour into their flight to Edmonton when Scott finally managed to tell Kimmo about the morning's events.

"And you just left?" Kimmo asked.

"Yeah....I couldn't deal. I've lost another one. I tried to get her to change her mind. I told her that I'm in love with her. I told her I want to spend the rest of my life with her" Scott paused before finishing, "I asked her to marry me instead."

"You didn't...." Kimmo’s eyes widened with shock.

"I did. I had to make her see how serious I am about her. But it didn't matter. She said if I were serious then she'd marry me after Brad passes. But what she doesn't realize is that he's not going to. She's trapped. And not just her....Tyler as well. That poor kid isn't going to know what hit him," Scott said as he hung his head.

"Look, nothing is permanant. You know that. If he's faking, she'll know it soon enough. And then she can get the marriage annulled," Kimmo tried to assure his friend.

"I didn't want this for her. I didn't want her to have to go through something like this. I've been through enough for the both of us. But that sonofabitch couldn't just leave her alone. He had to come back and play with her emotions again," Scott's jaw clenched as he wished he could get Brad on the ice to beat the shit out of him.

"You're just going to have to help her deal with all of this when we get back and she figures out that you and whatsherface were right," Kimmo said.

"I know. Thanks for letting me vent," Scott said apologetically.

"That's what I'm here for," Kimmo said as he extended his hand for Scott to shake, "anytime."

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

Meg had waited until Rebecca left Brad's room before confronting her brother. "I don't believe you...moving up the time...why did you do that?" she questioned him.

"Because I didn't want there to be any interruptions," he said with a snarle. "I knew that your conscience would start eating at you and you'd want to stop us."

"And why shouldn't I? She has no idea what kind of person you really are."

"And she's not going to find out...." Brad said as he leered at his sister.

"She'll figure it out. When you start getting better...She's not stupid. She'll know what you did." Meg said as she walked out of the room.

"Don't do anything stupid Meg!" Brad shouted after her.

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

Rebecca and Tyler were having dinner discussing Tyler's weekend plans when he asked, "Where's Scott tonight?"

"He left on a road trip. I don't know where they're at now," she said.

"Oh yeah. Edmonton is first. When's he come back?" Tyler asked.

"Two weeks," Rebecca responded.

"Wow. Will you be able to survive that long without him?" Tyler joked.

"Ha ha. Yes. Will you?" she chided back. "You guys have quite a bromance going on when I'm not around."

"We do not. I just like him. For you. He's cool to me, but he's perfect for you."

"You think so?" she smiled at her son.

"Yeah. He really likes you. He's always here when he doesn't have a game or something. If he didn't, he wouldn't be here so much."

Rebecca thought about telling Tyler about Scott’s proposal, but then she'd have to tell him about marrying Brad. There was no reason to tell him, it wouldn't be for that long. Why make him upset or worried about it.

She wished she could have accepted the proposal, but he had only asked so that she wouldn't marry Brad. He wasn't serious, he couldn't have been. He had told her that he didn't want to get married again, she couldn't let him foresake himself for her, no matter how much she wanted him.

"You know...you’ve been zoning out alot lately," Tyler laughed.

"I'm sorry, I was just thinking about something," she said.

"About what?" Tyler asked as he finished his meal.

"Nothing...just wondering when Scott is going to call. I hope it's not too late," she avoided the real reason she spaced out.

"Well they are three hours behind us," Tyler reminded her.

Rebecca sighed, "Maybe I should take a nap in case he calls later."

"Good luck with that," Tyler laughed. He got up from the table and took both dishes into the kitchen and loaded them into the dishwasher. Rebecca brought the glasses into the kitchen, put them into the dishwasher and headed up to her room.

He didn't call.