Remembering His Name: Book 3

Reminisced

8 Months Earlier

A week had gone by and Brandy hasn't left her soon-to-be ex-martial bed and when she did she was left crying on the cold bathroom floor begging and praying for something or someone to save her from her neverending agony. "...just make it stop, please. Please I hate it. I hate it!" Brandy sobbed uncontrollably. Her fist gently hit the ground out of frustration.

Like a zombie, she had pushed herself off the ground and crawled back into bed in which she continuously cried.

He barely got any sleep in the past week. Denim was too busy spending countless hours standing outside of the bedroom making sure Brandy is okay. He waits patiently until she cries herself to sleep to slip to plant a soft kiss on her forehead. And like always, he holds her knowing she'll sleep through the night. Which only makes her wonder why she always smells like him in the morning.

"You should get some sleep," Julian suggests as he comes up behind Denim. He glances over at Julian and then looks away. Denim closes his eyes, just listening. Like the big brother he is, Julian still attempts to take care of his younger sibling. "I don't mind-"

Denim clears his throat. "-She's still my wife. I still have to protect her and watch her over her no matter what." His voice is so cold and tired. He rubs the side of his chin feeling his beard slowly start to come in. "I don't care if it kills me."

"I thought you don't love her."

Denim opens his eyes and moves off the wall. Something about those words made him turn his back and disappear into the other room. That feeling he tried to keep hidden emerged. Denim focuses that into multiple pushups trying to shake that feeling. Counting, "17...18...19..." he keeps hearing her voice. The way she laughed, how she smiled. Her small habits drove him crazy. "...so you don't love me at all." Denim stops. Frozen like a statue, he breathes out. He shakes his head and gets off the ground.

"I do love her! Just not in the way she needs to be loved!" He turned that feeling into rage as he pinned Julian against the wall.

Julian doesn't fight back. He can see in his brother's eyes that, just like Brandy, he's torn. That he is hurting differently that Denim himself can't figure out.

"Okay?" Denim releases him.

Julian nods. "Okay."

Hesitating for a second, Denim walks into the cold, darkroom. He opens the curtains to let in some light then slightly cracks the window open. In the bathroom, he turns on the shower to let the hot water run.

"What are you doing? Get out." She doesn't even have the energy to lift herself up. Brandy turns her head to watch him walk over to her side. "I want you to leave."

"I don't care what you want right now."

To her,  he suddenly sounds like the Denim when they first met. The Denim she hated and vowed to never fall in love with. Now when she looks at him, Brandy can't decide if it's hatred or unconditional love. "Please leave," Brandy says, her voice groggy and empty.

Frustrated, he takes the blanket off her. "Get up. Go shower. Then come downstairs and eat something."

"No." Said so simply. "Leave me alone!"

"If you aren't going to listen to me, I'm not going to listen to you."

Picking her up out of the bed, he walks her into the bathroom. She fought as she screamed at him. Useless against his strength Denim, with her clothes on, puts her under the running water. "Shower." He demands her. "Take off your clothes and give them to me."