Shattered Hearts

Chapter Five

That afternoon Stu set up a huge white screen in the den and told them they were going to watch some old home movies. He was hoping they would help jog Bret's memory a little. His son had gone up to bed for a bit as the morning went on; his pain meds were quite strong and left him feeling sleepy. When he was in the room he was silent and a little intimidating for both his wife and child Stu had observed. His behaviour didn't phase Stu though; he'd seen enough concussions to know that it would soon pass. Bret just needed to heal was all and once he did things would be back to normal. At least he hoped that would be the case.

Eva opted to sit with her mommy, her little eyes turning towards Bret looking puzzled every now and again,  but she was excited for the movies. She clapped her hands when the projector came on and laughed out loud when Helen told her the little boy building a snowman was her daddy.

"Daddy I like your snowsuit," she said. "Was it a pink one?" The photograph was black and white and Rain laughed at her daughter's question. Bret just shrugged and Helen answered for him.

" No honey. Daddy's snowsuit was a grey one I think. It served all eight of our boys if I remember rightly."

"Yeah no such thing as new clothes in Hart House unless you were the eldest," Bret muttered. His tone was a little resentful to Rain's surprise and she glanced across at him. He was staring moodily at the photos as they came up one after another. Helen gave a running commentary for Eva ostensibly though it was clearly for Bret's benefit, but then he suddenly got to his feet. "I'm going back to bed," he announced.

"Oh honey, you want anything? I thought you'd enjoy looking through the old photos..."

"No I don't want anything, just sleep," he cut in shortly and she nodded, looking a little crestfallen. Rain handed Eva across to her and followed Bret up the stairs. She could hear Helen continuing to tell Eva about each of the photos, trying to maintain a semblance of normal for the little girl. Bret glared at her as she followed him into the bedroom. "Fuck do you want? I said I didn't need anything."

She flinched a little at his tone and forced a smile.

"I just wanted to make sure you're settled ok, Bret. The doctor said I need to keep an eye on you, especially if you're sleeping."

He glared at her but then yanked the curtains shut and started to strip out of his jeans, clearly irritated she was in the room with him. Rain closed the door softly and sat down on the edge of the armchair in his room.

"How the fuck am I supposed to sleep with you sitting there watching me?" he snarled, climbing into the bed. Rain's eyes widened a little but she forced her tone to remain even when she responded.

"You managed this morning,"she said. "I'm afraid you'll have to put up with it for the next couple of days, Bret. You were released to my care and I'm going to care for you."

He huffed and then turned his back on her. Despite his words he soon fell into a deep sleep. She sank back against the cushions and sighed. How long would he be like this for? She'd never known him so disrespectful and angry all the time. Pulling out her phone she went to the page she'd found about post concussion and re read what she already knew; days or weeks for recovery in some cases. She prayed it would be days, unsure she could cope with this version of her husband for much longer than that.

Rain sat up abruptly when she heard movement in the room, realising that she had dozed off. She blinked hard and then saw that Eva had come into the room and put herself on the bed next to her daddy. The little girl had her thumb in her mouth and was staring at her daddy's sleeping face.  Bret stirred a little and Rain held her breath as he opened his eyes and looked straight into those of his daughter. She went to stand but then Bret smiled sleepily.