Best of Me

There was a deafening silence throughout the entire house as Brian stared at Michelle with anger. He couldn’t believe that Michelle would stoop so low. She hadn’t always been like this; she was usually very sweet, but she had a mean streak and it seemed to come out whenever Kat was involved in the scenario.

Everyone decided they should leave the room and let Brian and Michelle hash out their problems. They filed through the sliding door, Val the last one out.

“You wanna tell me what the hell that was all about?” Brian asked as soon as the door clicked. His ex-girlfriend sighed as she braced herself against the island.

“What else am I supposed to think?”

Brian rolled his eyes, his anger still high. He could use a smoke, but he wasn’t going to back away from the discussion just yet. “Nobody is out to get you, Michelle; this just happened. But Kat was right, it’s not any of your business, not anymore.”

Michelle felt like she had just been slapped in the face. His words suddenly made everything feel real. For years, everything that involved Brian had involved her too. This was a culture shock for her. One minute she was okay with everything and the next she was angry and upset. Nobody blamed her for that; everyone understood, and so did Kat.

“Well, by that logic, the shit Kat and I talk about is none of your business.” Michelle fired back, desperately clinging on to some sort of control in this situation. Brian nodded her head in thought.

“Yeah, you’re right. However, it becomes my business when you insult her and call her names. That’s the mother of my child, first and foremost. She deserves at least that much respect.”

“You’re really doing this, aren’t you?”

“What else am I supposed to do, ditch her, get back together with you, and act like I’m not about to be a dad?” Brian demanded, but the question was rhetorical. Michelle dropped her head, a bitter chuckle slipping through her lips.

“Why did you have to get her pregnant?”

“Fucking Christ, Michelle.” Brian groaned, fingers combing through his hair and tugging at the dark strands. “None of this was planned. None of it. But it happened. You just gotta deal with that.”

The conversation was cut short by Val popping back into the kitchen. She explained that Kat’s phone had been left out on the table and that they weren’t able to find her. Brian cursed loudly, abruptly leaving the kitchen in search of his keys.

“You okay to drive, man?” Matt asked, ready to offer to drive Brian around.

“I’m good, don’t worry. I didn’t have that much to drink.” Brian explained. Any buzz that he had before was long gone now. He had sobered up pretty quick when things blew up between Michelle and Kat. When he found his keys, he told everyone goodbye and left the driveway.

Panic was starting to settle in the back of his mind. Kat leaving like that bothered in. She should have told somebody where she was going. Being pregnant and no car at that moment, she had no business walking around at night. However, Brian wasn’t allowing himself to panic because he knew Kat. She more than likely went home.

And so that’s where Brian went.

***

The television played in the background; old reruns of House displayed on the screen. Kat was curled up on the couch sound asleep. After she got home, she felt exhausted. So, she settled down on her couch to watch some television and then fell asleep shortly after.

The doorbell rang repeatedly, accompanied by a loud banging against the door. It startled Kat out of sleep and it felt like her heart had stopped. She almost didn’t answer the door until she heard Brian calling her name. Rolling off the couch, she stumbled her way to the door and flipped the lock.

Brian practically barreled through it. He pulled her to him, his arms damn near swallowing her small form. He backed away from her just enough so that he could see her, hands gently grabbing her face.

“Are you crazy? You don’t just leave like that without telling someone.” He scolded, but Kat could tell that he wasn’t angry, he was just worried.

“I’m sorry, I was just mad and wanted to come home.” Kat explained; sincerity was thick in her voice. Brian simply smiled and then quickly kissed her.

“What happened after I left?” Kat asked as she unwound herself from him so she could sit back down on the couch. Brian followed her, sitting down next to her.

“Nothing much. I just told her that she needs to have more respect for you.” Brian shrugged. He didn’t want to get into the specific details; Kat didn’t need that, and it ultimately wasn’t important.

“I’m sorry…about everything.” Kat said softly, her fingers nervously twisting together. Brian shook his head, brushing off her apology.

“You have nothing to apologize for, babe. You didn’t ruin my life.”

Kat’s lips pressed together in a thin line. “You heard that huh?”

“It was hard not to.” Brian laughed as he fingers wound through her hair, fingertips gently scratching her scalp. “You’ve got a set of lungs on you when you’re mad.”

“I’m not saying I ruined your life, but I don’t want you to feel like you’re being held back. I know that music is important to you and I don’t want you to feel like you have to choose between us and your music.”

“Stop. I’m not worried about any of that because I know that you wouldn’t put me in the position where I have to choose. Yeah, my music is important, but so are you and my kid. We’ll find a balance that works for us.”

Kat smiled and leaned into Brian’s shoulder. She knew that he was an amazing person, but she never expected him to take this as well as he did. He was being an adult about it, not running from the responsibility like some guys do.

“I know we will.” Kat agreed. “But what about Michelle? I don’t want this shit to happen every time we’re thrown into a room together. And I don’t expect her to stay away for obvious reasons.”

“Michelle is spiraling right now. She’s not in control of this and it’s driving her insane. She’s still upset, and I get that, not that I’m justifying anything. She’ll eventually get over it and then things won’t be like this.”

Kat understood what he was saying. She knew that Michelle was still upset, and she didn’t expect anything less. She just wanted things to smooth out and remain civil. Maybe at some point she and Michelle could even be friends.

Shortly after their talk, Kat fell back asleep. Brian carefully picked her up and carried her upstairs. He tucked her into her bed and switched off the lights. He wanted to stay with her, but he needed to get back home and let Pinkly out for a bathroom break.

Before he left, he placed her phone on the bedside table so that she didn’t have to worry about driving back to Val’s to pick it up. As he was leaving the room, he noticed the picture frame on her entertainment center. He must have seen it a dozen times, but it never registered what it was.

The picture was the two of them when they were kids; eight and ten. After all this time, she still had that picture. Brian smiled softly as he realized just how amazing Kat was.