To Have, To Hold, and To Leave: A Bryce Hall FanFiction «completed»

83

-Jaden's POV-

Shit. "Um, you found a letter?" I asked Cade, still keeping Kate on the line. 
"Yeah. She, uh, she changed her mind, I think. I can't find her, and she won't answer her phone," Cade explained. I could see the look of exasperation on his face. 
"Tell him. You can tell him," Kate was saying. 

I hung up the phone, shoving it into my pocket. "Cade, I think that maybe you should sit down. It looks like you're freaking out. I want you to just sit down, okay?" 
"Sit down? The woman that I am supposed to be marrying in just a few hours is missing, and I can't get ahold of her. I'm terrified. What if something's wrong?" 

I led him back through the parking lot and sat him down in the church's lobby. "Cade, tell me what the letter said," I said, looking at him. 
He sighed. "Want me to read it word for word?" 
"If you're comfortable with that, man. Just tell me what's going on so that we can figure this out."

He pulled the crumpled paper out of his pants pocket and he began to read. "'I could only wish that there was a better way to do this.' I've got one: don't do it at all. 'When I met you, the only thought that ran through my head was how lucky I was. It was like Jaden had thrown a little bit of happiness directly in my lap, and I could never know if I was ever going to find someone that me as happy as you did ever again.' Let's unpack that one, shall we? 'Did?' That's past tense. Why is that past tense, Jaden?" Cade asked, looking up from the paper at me. 
"Just, um, keep reading. I'm not sure what's going on until I've got all of the information, okay?" 
"'You saved me in a time where I didn't even really know that I needed saving. The way that you accepted me, as well as my children, was the most beautiful thing that I had ever seen, and I need you. I was glad to have you, Cade,'" he read his voice catching in his throat. "'I have baggage. Bryce was the first love of my life, and when he destroyed me, I never thought that I would be capable of love again. The fact that I fell in love with you so easily amazed me, but more than anything, it scared me.'"

We sat in silence for a few minutes, and I cleared my throat to speak. "I, uh, I'm sorry, Cade. I think that she, uh, I think that she left."
"Really? No shit, Jaden. The next fucking sentence is 'unfortunately, Cade, this isn't something that I can go through with.' I thought that this might be some kind of sick, disgusting joke, but now, I can't find her. I need to find her, Jay. Where is she? Have you talked to her?"
I nodded. "I have, but I don't know much more than you do. Give her a call. See if she picks up this time. She can explain all of this better to you than I can," I said, standing up and patting him on the shoulder. "I'll leave you to it."

I met Nessa at the door, and she looked concerned. "Why was Cade freaking out? I'm almost positive that Kate will be here. I know that she's late, but she's probably just nervous."
I shook my head. "No, ma'am. Kate told me that she's not even in California right now."
"What the fuck do you mean she's not even in California right now? Her wedding is in a few hours. Where is she?" Nessa exclaimed. She had kept a tight grip on Kate at her and Bryce's wedding, so this was obviously a change for her. 
I shrugged. "No fucking clue. I had to hang up before she had a chance to tell me where she was. I'm guessing that she's talking to Cade right now. I think that she's with Bryce, though. He was supposed to be here with the kids right about now."

Cade began yelling, and Nessa and I turned to look at him. "Bryce? Are you serious? Why didn't you tell me if you thought that we were rushing into this? We could've waited. Where are you? Where did he take you, Kate?" 
"Oh, shit. This doesn't look like this is going well. Maybe one of us should step into that phone call," Nessa whispered, nudging me. 
"Absolutely not. That's a disaster waiting to happen. Let them battle it out," I whispered back. 
"We didn't let Bryce and Kate battle it out, and they were literally married for almost two decades. They're screaming at each other, and we're literally inside of a church."
I decided to mock her. "It's literally none of our business. Kate is literally our family, and we can literally just stay out of it, okay?" 
She shoved me playfully. "You know, sometimes I think that if you weren't basically Josh's best friend, I would never ever talk to you again."
"You love me," I teased, wrapping an arm around her. We watched as Cade continued his phone conversation. 

"You could have told me if you were into being a little skank, Kate. I'm sure that we could've worked something out where you could have had both of us."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I interjected, stepping closer to him. "You don't get to talk to her like that."
"Fuck you," Cade spat through clenched teeth. "You probably knew about this, you asshole."
"Cade! Cade! Calm down!" I could hear Kate yelling through the phone. 
"She's right," I agreed. "You need to cool it, right now. This is a woman that you love. Besides that, there are children running around, and they aren't just your own children."
"Don't pretend that you guys don't talk worse than this in front of your damn kids."
"We're in a church," Nessa interjected. "Lose your attitude, please. Kate decided not to marry you. You don't get to call her a skank for that."
The anger and pain in Cade's eyes almost made me hate Kate, but I swallowed it. "I think it's time for you to go home."