I blinked a few times, watching the trail of smoke fly around my face. The girl beside me brought the stick to her lips and inhaled deeply, smirking at my raised eyebrows as she blew another cloud in front of us. She licked her lips and flicked ashes on the street, pulling her jacket a bit closer to her skin as it was a chilly day and the ground was wet from rain that had fallen earlier that day.


"You smoke?"


"There's a lot you don't know about me, Mr. Barakat. Never took the time."


"I'm aware of that. I'm starting to realize there's a lot I don't know about most of my friends. Speaking of," I sighed, attempting to avoid her gaze, though her eyes were making my skin crawl. "That night.. I just need to know.."


"Yes, Jack-y boy, we slept together, if that's what you want to call it. You don't remember much about that night, do you?"


"Honestly," I let my eyes flicker back to her, a wave of guilt coming over my body. Fuck, it was hard to hear that. "I don't remember a fucking thing."


"Well let me fill you in before you get all love-sick on me," she chuckled, sucking on the filter once more. "Before you came along I kind of had a thing for douche bags. My ex, who had dumped me earlier that week, was abusive. So when you staggered in with a 'give 'em Hell' attitude, I knew you had my attention. We talked about our bitchy ex's," she paused, blowing out more smoke with a frown on her lips, "or at the time what we both thought were bitchy ex's, we hooked up. But it only lasted about five minutes before you passed out from the booze."


Well, at least she'd managed to make me feel a little better. Even fucked up and pissed I wasn't able to fully go through with it.


"What I'm trying to say, Jack, is that I understand that night was a mistake on your end. Plus, you helped me out. You made me realize I don't always fall for dicks.. You turned out great."


"You fell for me?"


"Sadly," she laughed sadly, tossing some of her red hair behind her shoulder just before she tossed her butt on the ground. "But it's okay. I get it. You're getting married, Jack!"


I tossed her a smile and she gladly returned it. By this point, we were coming up on mine and Ember's apartment building, where my lovely lady was waiting outside. She knew I'd gone to the airport to meet up with Bri and she knew I was bringing her back so they could meet.


What she didn't know was that, this day wasn't for her to get a feel for the girl so she could come to our wedding. There was no special date involved, no wedding plans, just a friendly meeting.. And a sad goodbye. Since Ember had gone out of her way to bring Bri up, even after I'd offered to let her go, I figured she should at least get to meet the girl that helped me out but fucked us over. At the very least, maybe it'll give her some peace of mind.


I had a small flame of hope that if Ember got to do this, to see that Bri wasn't a horrible person, that it'd be easier for her to trust me again. Bri, on the other hand, knew perfectly well that this was our goodbye. It broke my heart, honestly, it did. But at least I'd get to bid her farewell in person. At least I'd get one last hug. At least she know I wasn't just tossing her away like used goods. There was a reason for my actions and she was about to come face-to-face with them.


"Are you sure about this, Jack? I mean, she has every right in the world to hate me, even if she doesn't know the whole story. Fuck, she'll be even more awkward thinking you're actually bringing me here so I can come to your wedding."


"What she doesn't know won't hurt her.. And I mean that purely on the wedding thing, not the 'I'm a dick,' thing."


"It will hurt her. You two are doing this thing where you're trying to be more understanding of one another, right? What do you think meeting me is going to do?"


"Lay some of her demons to rest," I sighed, stopping by the building. Ember was sitting on a bench with her back faced to us. She didn't even know we were there. She looked beautiful, with her hair blowing in the wind and Bailey playing beside her, but I knew she was nervous as fuck. "She sees you as a monster, I guess. The girl who took me away, but you didn't. I admit, you helped save me from myself, but I still belong to Ember and I always will. Maybe if she hears that coming from your lips she won't be so insecure."


"And she's voiced these opinions to you?"


"She doesn't have to. I can see it in her eyes. Bri, I've filled you in on everything. You know I've been through a lot of shit and I've put Ember through just as much, if not more. We're doing great, I admit that, but I have hope that this'll help us do better."


"Mr. Barakat, you are a strange man and your mind works in crazy ways," Bri smiled, her teeth digging into her bottom lip as she did so. I couldn't help but imagine how much lip gloss she was swallowing from that. "But if this is what you want, I'll do it. Just know it isn't easy."


"You think it is for me? You think I want to give up one of my closest friends? Of course not, but Bri, I have to do this. I love you, obviously, but Ember has my heart. There is not length I wouldn't go to in order to make her happy."


"I sure wish we would have met at a different time, Jack," Bri frowned, though her eyes had a glint of joy in them, "that way I could have you to myself."


"Maybe keep talking like that to a.. Just don't do it."


"I'm not trying to steal you away. I never would. I just wish I had a guy like you."


"You'll find one, Bri, I swear you will."


"You and your empty promises. Let's do this, shall we?"


I nodded my head, feeling bad for the girl with the shining red hair, but I was more concerned with my anxious brunette to really think much else of it. We slowly started moving forward, closing in on the bench, but it was Bailey's barking that alerted Ember that we were there.
She spun around slowly, her eyes darting from me, to Bri. I could tell she was uncomfortable and I couldn't blame her. If she knew the truth, maybe she'd feel different. Maybe she'd know this was my way of letting my past go entirely, no matter how badly it hurt.


Just because she means more to me than anyone else on the planet.


I sucked in a sharp breath and put on my best smile, stepping closer to Ember in hopes to comfort her.


"Ember, I'd like you to meet Bri."

Notes

Oh snap! Bri is in the flesh!