Into Your Arms

Movin' On

Life in Oregon has been nothing short of amazing. It was priceless being around my family again. My brother and his wife, Melanie, had come down once they heard I had been staying here for a while. I never knew how much I needed them surrounding me, until I returned to my roots.

We enjoyed a nice family dinner at my grandparents house. It was warm and safe, as all of us sat around the big table, just like we always used to growing up. Nothing in this world tasted like Nana's cooking.

I had stepped outside to the deck to get some fresh air. Their house was almost right on the coastline. I could see and hear the beach from their deck; it was my favorite spot as a little girl.

I noticed a pair of broad shoulders at my side, beer in hand. My sisters husband, Nick, had joined me on the deck. He was always so goofy and lighthearted. God, I missed him. He was the best brother in law that I could have ever asked for. We rarely had serious moments, so this moment was a little unusual for us.

"I'm here, you know, if you need to vent." He said, not making eye contact, and sipping his beer. "As your brother, I don't like seeing you upset."

"I'm okay, Nick. I'm actually a lot better now than I was when I first arrived." You spoke. Noticing that suddenly, you weren't feeling the sadness course over your every word like it used to.

"You pretend to be okay. Deep down we know you're hurting." Sadness laced his voice. You two had developed a strong relationship once he and your baby sister got together.

"Am I hurt? Yes. Am I going to dwell on this for the rest of my life? No. I'm moving on, Nick. It's time. It's not like we were together for years like Pete and I had been."

"True, but you didn't even care this much when you and Pete ended things. I don't know this dude, but he's got a hold on you. If you love him, fix it. If your sister and I had given up all those times when things got rough, we wouldn't be here today." He turned around and walked inside. You stood outside a little longer, soaking in all of the words that you knew were true. Yet, you were sure Bradley was home now, and you still hadn't heard from him.

You picked up your phone and dialed the number you knew by heart, hoping for an answer.

"Elena?"

"Pete? How are you?" Pete muted you really quick on his end, and told the other two that you were on the phone. Bradley pulled off to the side of the road. They had only been driving for about an hour or so, and still had probably 12 more hours to go.

He unmuted you as he spoke. "I'm good. The mission was successful. We all made it home safely. Speaking of all of us, have you heard from Bradley?" You didn't know it, but Bradley gave Pete a death glare, mostly because he was afraid of your response.

You sighed. "Nah. I'm to the point though where I've kind of stopped expecting it. I don't know, I feel like I'm moving on, Pete." Pete's face fell. He had turned down the volume on his phone, not wanting Bradley or Hangman to hear your side of the conversation. What worried him the most was that when you were done, you were really done. He had seen it and gone through it himself with your divorce.

"It's a bit soon to say that, no? It's been a week and a half. Maybe give it some more time, he might surprise you."

"I know it's only been a little under two weeks. But he's had plenty of opportunity to call or even text. Or, hell, send a letter by carrier pigeon at this point." He heard your chuckle on the other end of the line. "Maybe it was just a fling, and I kept wanting it to turn into something more. I guess we'll never know now. I just wanted to say that I was sorry for everything we put you and Pen through. I bet you're glad it's over."