On A Thread

Chapter 20

The room was silent.

Just the damn clock ticking.

Brie shoved her hand in her jacket squeezing the paper.
She spent days thinking of what he'd write, what she'd failed at while she pointed fingers. She had completely forgotten that love made a team.

She greeted the receptionist with a barely there smile and walked in. Her stomach dropped the moment she stepped in.

He wasn't there.

She thought he'd be there.
Her hands fell at her side with the same weight her expectations fell with.
She hooked her bag higher on her arm before stepping in.
Linda was brewing coffee.

Brie sighed. "Morning, Linda."

Rose turned, smiling. "Your husband said you wouldn't like this coffee and I was shocked."

Brie corked her head.

Linda took her coffee to her chair as she stirred it.

"You drank this coffee more times than I can remember and you never truly liked it?" She rested a hand on her hip.
"You liar!"

Brie winced.
"It's stale coffee. You bought it when? 2010?"

Linda nodded in an exaggerated manner, Brie laughed then stopped abruptly like something struck her on the face.

"Wait he's here?"

Linda sent a pointed glance to his briefcase on the lounge chair.

Her eyes softened and guilt instantly gripped her throat. She looked up at Linda.

She nodded, "yep, he got here before I did. You're late today."

God!
Her chest was supposed to feel lighter but that boulder weighed heavier.
Always thinking the worst of him.

Linda observed her with a smile curling her lips. "Did something happen?"

"Hm... What?"

Linda's question caught her off guard. Who said something had to happen. What could've possibly happen?
What happened between man and wife, that's what happened.

She placed her coffee down. "Between you two?"

Heat rose to her cheeks.
It was bad enough I have to fix them with another person's assistance and then there's this, being questioned for being intimate with her own husband, she had to answer that too?

"Nevermind I asked. I don't even want to know. Your face is as red as a tomato."

Brie touched her face. It was truly warm.

"Brielle."

Like warm butter on silk, her name touched her skin and set her on fire. Only he called out her name in that tone all the time. Her mom didn't even say her name so beautifully.

She turned to see him.

He didn't have his tie on. He wasn't wearing his regular dress shirt. He was wearing the ribbed knit T-shirt I gifted him at the inauguration and heaven knew  this man looked divine with wine color pressed against his skin. She looked at him like a delicious glass of rare wine.
His hair was tousled, dark and perfectly erratic in very constructive areas.

"Hey," she gasped, nearly out of breath.

He smiled at her, holding up two cups of coffee as he approached her.
Subconsciously she brought her head forward to allow him press a kiss to her head.

Linda cleared her throat and then clapped. "Okay! Let's begin, shall we?" Her eyes bounced between the couple.

They handed their notes to her. She simply swapped it and gave it back to them, not a single peak into it.

"Brielle let's start with you."

She widened her eyes, her throat suddenly felt scorched. She reached for the coffee and took her first sip.

She turned to him the moment she tasted the coffee. Her heart swelled, too wide to stay within her rib cage.
He looked at her with that same softness. His eyes opened  a fraction wider.

She nodded with a smile in response to that.

Moderate sweetness, more cream than coffee . Vanilla and it tasted like it was exactly two pumps. He knew it. He still knew it.

She realized then that he never stopped showing up with her coffee.
She had stopped giving him the chance to grab her coffee.

She looked down into the notes to keep her tears to her self.  Her restraint dwindled when she read the first words.

I miss you.

Those were the first words on his note.
She looked towards the window, a few tears dropped. She couldn't breathe but this wasn't why they were here. She still has to go through the letter. She still had to face it.

She sniffed and then chuckled.

"I miss the big hug and sweet smile that welcomed me and sent me off. You haven't smiled  at me like that in forever."

She slapped her hand against her mouth. "Oh God." Brie reached for him and he grabbed her hand, his throat bobbed up and down. He cast his glance to the opposite window.

Linda  perched on her sit, hands joined on her desk. A wistful smile spread across her face. She liked where this was going. She wanted to know where it started .
You needed to know the start to be able to finish.

"Go on." She urged on.
Brie nodded.

"You offered to wash my hair and I swear I never had  a headache and my hair stayed softer. Now it's as hoarse as a sand board."

They chuckled. Brie jutted out her bottom lip like a kid. "Really?"
He nodded.

"I want to hear you. I miss that. You stopped talking to me like I was your bestie. We didn't gossip about gossip girls or Gareth and Yennefer.
You popped in at work once in a while and you'd smile at me through the door, that gave me a boost caffeine never did.
I miss you Brielle. I miss the way you snuggle into me at night, now there's an ocean wide distance even in the same bed. I miss your little notes, stolen glances and touches, our late night talks and drives. I miss watching you take your time in the mirror. I miss warming up your car, picking up your coffee and you reminding me it's just two pumps of vanilla.
I miss you . I miss hearing you say you love me. I miss being the one you vent and cry to, now you just do it all alone, I want you to tell me about the rude client, about the teenage girl at the store and how cold the weather is. I miss those little sweet bites and a sweet note that always gets to me when I'm having a bad day. Like a psychic, you always knew.
Brielle I just miss you. I miss everything and I can't say where it went awry."

By the time she was done. She was heaving and her face snotty. He was holding her, tending to her as if he was not breaking apart himself.

Linda handed them a box of tissue.

"Let's hear you Josh."

***
Playlist for this chapter:

"Say you won't let go"- James Arthur

"Falling like the stars "- James Arthur

Trust me it hits harder❤️