The Bully

Chapter Nine

I waited outside while he went to get changed, not wanting to have a forced conversation with Stu or any of the other Hart brothers I had seen hanging around the venue after I'd finished taking all of the photographs. Bret had said I could leave my camera and lenses locked in the safe in Stu's office while we were out and fetch them before I went back to the hotel. Sitting on a low wall, I looked straight ahead not seeing anything, trying to quell my nerves. I wasn't sure I wanted to go for a drink but knew I'd regret it if I didn't.

Bret came out a moment later in jeans and a white button down shirt, his hair now tied in a ponytail. He smiled across at me a little shyly and I stood up to follow him. Shoving his hands in his pockets, Bret led the way down the street to a bar. He found us a quiet booth to sit in at the back of the bar and then went to order our drinks. He came back with a beer for himself and a coke for me after I'd told him I didn't drink. I watched as he tilted the neck of the bottle to his lips and drank, his eyes fixed on me the whole time and then picked up my coke, sipping it nervously. He replaced his bottle on the table and then a look of determination came across his face and I swallowed as he started to talk.

"Now I've got you here I don't really know what to say," he confessed, giving me a small smile. I couldn't help but smile back; a Bret who didn't have something to say was an unusual thing. But it didn't last long. "I guess I should start by saying I never cheated on you. That night you turned up at Stampede, my cousin Anna had just arrived. Her flight had been delayed, so she got a taxi to Stampede, arriving after everyone was gone. I'd said I'd meet her there and take her back to the house. When you saw her, I'd just put her bags in my car and had told her to go wait while I locked up. She was fourteen Angel; fourteen! Maybe I should have just told you but you were standing there bleeding all over the place and I couldn't think straight. Then you just disappeared and I couldn't tell you."

"You could have told me when you saw me at the school," I said softly. His expression darkened a little and he shook his head.

"I was so angry with you. You wouldn't listen to me when I said I wasn't cheating and then you told me you were leaving after you'd finished cussing me out. Next thing I knew you were slapping me and I just kind of lost it."

"I remember," I said, a little faintly as I recalled his hand striking my cheek hard. I'd taken much worse blows from my mom and from Tom but it had hurt so much more coming from Bret. He looked away from me, picking up his bottle and drinking from it again.

"Took me a while to calm down and by the time I had you were gone. I went round to Jackie and asked her where you were but she wouldn't tell me, said I needed to leave you alone for a while. Guess I thought if I left it a few weeks you'd be in touch, that you'd miss me but I didn't hear a word. So I focussed on school and wrestling, tried to forget about you.  But then Jackie told me she was inviting you to her wedding and I guess I just thought maybe after all that time had passed maybe you'd talk to me, maybe we could try to sort things out." He paused and looked directly at me. "I never stopped loving you Angel. And then yesterday when I saw you in that pretty dress, your hair all curled and those big green eyes of yours... all I wanted was to hold you in my arms again. When we kissed on the dancefloor I thought we'd be ok..."

"No," I said softly. "We're not ok, Bret."

He finished his beer and set the bottle on the table.

"I realise that," he said, with a little bite. He got to his feet. "You want another coke?"

"No thank you. I'm not done with this one." I watched as he went to get himself another beer and sighed. If he thought that getting drunk around me would help any he was wrong. He sat back down, nursing the bottle in his hands.

"You said last night I tried to control you when we were together. I don't know what you meant by that."

I gave him a wary look and he kind of shrugged at me, as if telling me to just say it.