Chapter 33 Tabitha's Help
Brielle's POV
I was happy that Tim and I got what we said out of the way. He will keep his distance and I will keep mine. That is all that matters to me, that I will not see him ever again. There may be times that we run into each other in the street, but as long as we don't approach each other, then everything will be fine.
I showered and got dressed in shorts and a tank top. There was a knock on the front door. Who could show up at this time? Don't tell me that it's Tim again. I let out a breath as I walked all the way to the front door. I looked through the peephole, it was Tabitha. I opened the door.
"Hi," I smiled as I stepped aside so that she could enter.
"I just came to check up on you, Rick told me what happened." her eyes were a bit huge as she looked at my bruised face. I gestured with my hand for her to step inside, and then she snapped out of it and entered. I closed the door behind her.
"I'm okay," I turned around to face her. "Thank you for checking up on me," I smiled.
"Well, I'm worried about you. That bastard is still out there, and you need to report him, Brie," she pushed.
"Tabitha, I know you mean well, but I went to confront him earlier, and we came to an understanding to stay away from each other. There is nothing to report because he has a life. As long as we stay out of each other's way, nothing will happen. He has a fiancé and a baby on the way. I am giving him that opportunity to change into a better man for the sake of his new life. I know the reasons why he lashed out at me all these years. He was angry because he had lost a mother. My mother and I ruined his picture-perfect life with his father. We were like replacements, so I get his anger. His baby needs a good father and if he is willing to change and work on that anger, he will be even greater. I will not report anything." I walked towards the kitchen.
"You cannot do this to yourself. So, you want a man like that to get away with sh^t? It would've been different if it was years ago, but to show up at your apartment and hit you, that is the problem for someone who has a new life and wants to change." she said as she followed after me into the kitchen.
"Would you like coffee?" I asked, turning to face her.
"No, thanks. I want to talk about this." she said as she pulled a chair from the table and sat down. I let out a sigh and did the same, sitting down on the chair across from her.
"If this is about my stepbrother, I don't want to talk about it. I've handled it. So, please let it go." I was not going to allow anyone to tell me what I should do about this situation and I think that I've handled it great with Tim. It went better than what I had expected.
"I'm just worried about you. I know what happened between you and Daylan, he told me. I want you to be happy, and please choose the right man. I'm sorry that Rick wasn't the one. I raised him to be better, but I guess we cannot always see the perfect in someone, there is always that possibility of them turning out a certain way based on situations and friends. Being too easily influenced. I have to admit that I felt a pang of jealousy when Daylan told me that you both were thinking about having a family. He seemed so genuine about it. But he changed his mind, right?" she asked.
I swallowed and then nodded, "Yes."
"Well, I wanted to expand our family, I would speak to Daylan about giving Rick a sibling, but all he said was that he would think about it, he would brush the topic off and bury himself in work, but then those nights became longer and his work became a demand. It kept us apart. I missed having him at home, but he was always at that hospital. It had been like that for a few months and then one day I caught him and Abby f^cking in his office. That broke my heart because he was everything to me and I didn't expect that from him. It all started with expanding our family. He didn't want to expand. That is when he got the new job offer in London and he left. He still asked me if I wanted to join, but in return we focused on our marriage, careers and Rick, instead of having more kids. That added to the heartache that I was going through. I just couldn't be with him and give him what he wanted when I couldn't even have what I wanted. I never trusted a man after him. He ruined everything and my dream." her eyes glazed over.
"I'm sorry and that I... was with him, and you had to find out about us." I felt guilty.
"Don't apologize. Rick was also ruined when his father had left. He was so young, and they had a bond. It was very good. But when Daylan left, he never called for Rick, he never showed interest and that is what hurt my son. He thought he wasn't good enough, he thought that he had done something wrong that pushed Daylan away. I spend nights by my son's side when he would cry for his father. I would try calling Daylan, but there was never an answer and there was a point where he changed his number. I had to be a single parent. I tried my best," she gave a weak smile.
"That was cruel of him to do something like that. I guess it was the right thing that we parted way before it got messy." I said.
"I'm glad about it too. That is what I was afraid of, that he would hurt you."
"Thank you for looking out for me. You don't need to, but you are always here for me," I smiled as I reached out to her, placing my hand on hers, squeezing it gently.
"I will always treat you like the daughter I never had." she smiled as I pulled my hand away. She was in thought, "It reminds me that when I was pregnant, I wished that I had a daughter. Someone that I could dress up and have tea parties with. I used to sit in the garden and just stare at the roses. I wanted to name her Rose. Daylan was very overprotective while I was pregnant, trust me, he is great. He shared in the excitement of having a baby, and he wanted that girl too. We would speak about our plans if we had a daughter. Those were our happiest moments. It was a bit disappointing to us when we found out that we were expecting a boy, but that didn't stop us from loving him. It all changed when I wanted to add to the family. But I'm happy that you dodged that bullet."
"It all makes sense to me now. On that note, would you like to stay for dinner? I have lasagna that is leftovers from the cafeteria. I didn't cook anything," I said.
"You know what? I will cook dinner, and we can catch up on lighter things. I think we had enough of the serious things for tonight," she smiled as she stood up.
I loved this about her. She will take on anything as a mother. She never threw me away, despite what Rick had done to me. But this just makes me think about my mother more. That was still something that I needed to see to. "I think I may need your help on something." I said as I turned in my chair to face Tabitha, who was standing at the sink.
"What can I help with?" She asked as she faced me with a plate in her hand.
"My mother ran away and left me with my stepfather. She promised that she would come back for me, but she never did. I want to know if you have someone that can help with looking for her? Her name is Bernadine Marcus. I still think about her. If she is alive or dead, what if she changed her identity?" I said.
She sat down across from me again, placing the plate on the table, holding my gaze, "I will help you, don't worry. I have your back on this. I can understand how you feel about not seeing your mother after so long and wondering what happened to her and if she is still out there, but I will do everything that I can to help." she smiled at me sympathetically.
"Thank you," I returned the smile.
This was it...the beginning of searching for my mother. I just hope that it's a great outcome and not a tragedy. If she is alive, I hope that she has a great life, better than what she had even at the cost of my happiness because of her abandonment. That is all that matters to me, that she is living her best life. I do hope she remembers me after all these years. So, all I can do for now, is hope.