Chapter 18
Brandon woke up early the next day. He knew that there was a chance that Jo was gone already, but it was 7:30 in the morning and maybe she hadn’t…
He went downstairs and found the place empty, except for Alice who was asleep on the couch of the living room. She had an arm dangling off the edge, while the room was in a complete mess. Brandon couldn’t imagine living like this. He felt a sudden urge to just leave for Florida and never return.
Instead, he knelt down in front of his wife and stared at her open mouth while she snored.
“Alice,” he said her name loudly and tapped her arm, but she kept sleeping.
“Alice!” he barked at her and this time, he shook her by the shoulders.
With bloodshot eyes and drool dripping down the side of her mouth, Alice finally managed to blink her eyes open. She stared at him in a daze, like she was confused about where she was.
“What? What do you want?” she snapped at him, with her words slurring. Her brows were crossed and her face had taken on an orange-ish hue. Brandon realized that he had never seen Alice like this before. He had never woken up beside her.
“I want you to sit up for this,” he said, in a deep commanding voice and she clucked her tongue, before pulling herself up on the couch. Her hair was matted and stuck to one side of her face and the front of her dress was damp from the alcohol…or worse still, puke. Brandon straightened himself up and glared down at the woman he had married.
“This can never happen again. Not in any of my homes,” he said and folded his arms over his chest.
Alice rubbed her eyes with her knuckles, trying to register what she was hearing.
“Do you hear me, Alice?” he spoke in a stronger voice and she let out a groan.
“It was just a party. Just relax, Bran. Can’t you allow your wife a bit of fun?” she said in a creaky voice and Brandon took in a deep breath.
“This is not the kind of fun anyone should be having. There is broken glass on the floor everywhere, our backyard is littered with cans and food. We are not teenagers anymore, Alice,” he was firm, but not rude with her as he spoke and she rolled her eyes.
“I’m leaving now,” Jo’s voice snapped them out of their conversation and Brandon turned to her.
She was dressed smartly in dark jeans and a ruffled white blouse. She had tied her red hair back in a slick ponytail and she looked fresh and casual. Her bag was on her shoulder. Brandon felt a tug in his gut when he saw her, but he had no choice but to keep it to himself.
“Sure, whatever,” Alice mumbled and staggered up on her feet.
“I don’t know when I’ll see you again, mom,” Jo said as she watched her mother shuffling her feet towards the living room door. Alice waved her hand in the air, without giving her daughter a second look.
“Let’s just keep it that way. It’s better if we stop stepping on each other’s toes,” Alice said and passed Jo as she went towards the stairs to her bedroom.
“Alice, I believe you owe your daughter an apology,” Brandon called after her, but Alice only mumbled something under her breath as she tried to get herself up the stairs.
“Let her go. She’s never apologized to me before and she’s not going to start now,” Jo said and they looked at each other. That same floral perfume filled Brandon’s nostrils, making him giddy but they were keeping their distance from each other.
“I hope you have a safe flight, Jo,” he said, as she shifted the strap of her bag on her shoulder.
“Thank you, and best of luck,” she replied and a weak smile flickered on her face. He wanted to say so much more. He wanted to tell her that he would miss her, that he had never felt this alive before he met her, that he wanted her to stay, that he hated Alice now…but instead, he nodded his head and waited for her to leave.
Jo turned from him and he watched her walk to the front door of the house.
Through the living room windows, he saw her walk down the driveway, get the gates open and then step into the cab she had ordered.
He thought he saw her look in his direction through the window of the cab, but she was gone in a flash and he couldn’t be sure. Now she was gone, and if they both knew what was good for them, they would make sure to stay out of each other’s way. Sleeping with his stepdaughter was not an option. Being unfaithful to his wife was bad enough and he wanted to remove all possibility of temptation. And nobody had been able to tempt him, the way Jo had. She was irresistible to him, but hopefully, not anymore.
Brandon took in a deep breath as he tried to tell himself that it was time to move on. That he needed to accept the decisions he had made and just get on with it. Things wouldn’t be as bad with Alice now that Jo was gone, could they?
“Bran! I’m going to be sick!” he heard Alice’s screech from upstairs and he took in a deep breath. Slowly, he made his way up the stairs towards her bedroom. This was supposed to be their honeymoon period. Holding Alice’s hair back as she threw up in the toilet was not a part of his plan. And then there was the matter of bringing up the topic of babies with her.