If I Ever Fall In Love Again

《chapter 12》

"Lay down and tell me what's on your mind
What exactly did he do to make you cry this time?" Comforter- Shai

Bruno laid flat on his back on the overly soft bed, staring at the ceiling sadly. He didn't know how long he had been in that room for, but it must've been a while because the sun was setting and the children's voices gradually grew quieter as the time went by.

He was sent upstairs by Jaime after accidentally revealing that he was light headed. Now he was here, stuck in bed, when he was supposed to be spending time with his kids before they were snatched away from him.

He knew that they were probably talking about him downstairs while he rested. He had heard Tahiti and Presley on the phone earlier, and something told him that their conversation was about him.

Him, the brokenhearted brother who had lost his wife. Him, the depressed son who tried to kill himself. Him, the frail father who spent an entire week in the hospital and had lost a lot of weight. He looked as if the life was drained out of him, his eyes so empty and dark that it looked as if the color was sucked out of them. 

He stared blankly at the ceiling. Was he going to cry? No, he didn't have the strength. Emotion felt like a foreign thing to him, he felt numb. 

He noticed that the numbness wore off when he saw his children again, after a week of not seeing them. It was as if the numbness was melted away. It was as if the colour in his eyes returned. They sparkled like a star on a clear night. The life slowly returned to them, like a tree in the spring time. 

All that quickly disappeared when he was sent upstairs.

What was Jaime's plan, he wondered. She couldn't possibly take away his kids after seeing them interact with each other earlier. It was an easy scenario- the kids needed Bruno, and Bruno needed the kids.

Yet, Jaime was so set on temporarily separating them. Why?

She was scared.

Scared of the thought of losing her brother. After all, she walked in on him, she saw the blood on the ground, the rope in the corner. She analyzed it like a crime scene. 

She never wanted to see her brother like that again.

And so, she was stuck in a confusing predicament. 

Bruno couldn't live without his kids. But on the same hand, the kids shouldn't have to see him like this, weak and stressed. 

So what exactly was she supposed to do?

He didn't know. And he was too tired to care.

A knock was heard.

Bruno didn't react. He silently continued to stare mindlessly at the ceiling. 

"Bruno? Can I come in?" Jaime asked.

"Mhm." He answered flatly. The door opened and Jaime stepped in, trying her hardest to smile at him. He didn't return it.

"How you feeling? Better?" She asked, sitting st the edge of the bed.

"I'm aight." Was his short answer.