Chapter 6 - HIS VERSION OF ME
I read Kelly’s message three times.
Then I answered.
What has he been saying?
She called.
I almost didn’t answer.
Dad was feeding June.
I stepped onto the back porch.
“Hello?”
“Audrey?”
“Yes.”
“This is Kelly. Mason’s wife.”
“I know.”
“I feel horrible.”
My stomach tightened.
“Why?”
She hesitated.
“Because I thought you knew about the trip.”
“I knew Brandon was going.”
“No. I mean everybody coming.”
I gripped the porch railing.
“What did Brandon tell you?”
Another pause.
“He said you didn’t want to come.”
I actually looked around like somebody else might explain the sentence.
“I have six-month-old twins.”
“I know.”
“He told you I chose to stay home?”
“He said you hate these trips.”
“I’ve never been on one.”
Silence.
“Oh my God.”
I stared at our backyard.
Kelly continued carefully.
“He said you told him to go. That you wanted a quiet weekend with the babies.”
I laughed once.
It sounded ugly.
“Quiet.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What else?”
“Audrey—”
“What else did he say?”
Kelly exhaled.
“That things have been bad between you since the twins.”
My throat tightened.
“What does bad mean?”
“That you’re angry all the time. That you don’t want him touching you. That you use the babies as an excuse not to go anywhere.”
I closed my eyes.
I hadn’t slept more than three consecutive hours in six months.
I still had pain from the delivery.
My hair was falling out.
Some days I forgot whether I had brushed my teeth.
And somewhere in Tennessee, my husband had reduced all of that to:
Audrey is angry.
Audrey doesn’t want sex.
Audrey uses the babies as an excuse.
Kelly lowered her voice.
“I shouldn’t be telling you this.”
“Yes, you should.”
“Mason got into it with him last night.”
“About what?”
“You calling.”
I straightened.
“What?”
“Brandon told everybody you were blowing up his phone because you wanted him to come home.”
My face burned.
“I called twice because June choked.”
Silence.
Then Kelly whispered, “He didn’t tell us that.”
Of course he didn’t.
“He said you were having a meltdown.”
I couldn’t speak.
Kelly continued.
“Mason told him he should call you. Brandon said if he responded every time you panicked, you’d never learn how to handle the girls alone.”
My grip on the railing tightened until my fingers hurt.
Inside, Dad walked past the window carrying Sadie.
I remembered Brandon standing beside the front door.
Start acting like a mother and figure it out.
Apparently it wasn’t one cruel sentence.
It was a philosophy.
“Was Leah there?” I asked.
“Yes.”
My voice came out quiet.
“What did she say?”
Kelly didn’t answer immediately.
“Audrey…”
“What did she say?”
“She told Brandon maybe he needed someone who actually appreciated him.”
My stomach turned.
“And Brandon?”
“He didn’t defend you.”
That was all I needed.
I thanked Kelly.
Before hanging up, she said, “There’s something else.”
I waited.
“The trip wasn’t nonrefundable.”
I stopped breathing.
“What?”
“Mason told me Brandon said you would make him cancel if you knew he could get the money back.”
The porch suddenly felt too small.
“He could have canceled?”
“Yes.”
“Until when?”
“Wednesday night.”
The night before he left.
He could have stayed.
The money had never mattered.
The reservation had never trapped him.
He simply wanted me to believe it did.
I ended the call.
When I came inside, Dad took one look at me.
“What happened?”
I sat at the kitchen table.
“My husband didn’t leave because he couldn’t cancel.”
Dad said nothing.
“He left because he wanted to.”
Then my phone buzzed again.
Kelly had sent a screenshot.
It was from the group chat planning the trip.
Brandon’s message sat right in the center.
Trust me. Audrey will complain, but she’ll survive. Four days away from diapers and drama might be the only thing keeping me sane.
Below it was another message.
From Leah.
Then I definitely need to see you. 😉
May you like
Brandon had replied with one word.
Absolutely.
