The Hook-up

Chapter 219

The next day Bruno sat at the airport playing with his phone tapping his feet waiting for the plane to arrive. He sat in between Eric and Phred glancing up ocassionaly to make sure that he wasn't noticed. Eric knew that he and Lauren had gotten in another fight, but wasn't sure if he knew exactly what the fight was about. Instead of explaining he just blurted out, "Damaris is coming."

"What?" Eric asked. "Damaris?"

"Yeah. Laur and I need a break from each other for a little bit." he told his brother.

"And your break includes Damaris?" Eric asked. Bruno stood up eyeing the corner of the terminal near the flight attendents.

"I want to talk to you." he told his brother. A

"What the fuck are you doing?" Eric asked him.

"I don't love her anymore." Bruno told his brother. "No. I'm not in love with her anymore."

"And you're in love with Damaris?" Eric asked his brother.

"I don't know." he shrugged. "But I..."

"But nothing, Bruno. You're being a mindless asshole." Eric told him.

"I'm not happy with her, E. She nags me and wants to change me and yells and tells me what to do." Bruno told Eric.

"That sounds like a wife, bro. Not someone you aren't in love with." Eric told him.

"Mom said the same thing." he answered. "But she also said that I need to be happy. And Damaris makes me happy."

"Bruno?" he heard a soft voice behind him.

"Oh. Damaris." Eric said to her excusing himself without saying hello.

"Does he know?" she asked Bruno leaning in to hug him hello.

"Yeah. He knows. But no one else does." he told her taking her hand leading her over to the small group of his band that had gathered. "Damaris is going to come with us. Lauren didn't want to leave the babies for a week."

Everyone else nodded their heads in agreement except for Eric and Phil. Somehow, without even having a conversation, knew what he was doing. "Get up..." Phil told Bruno dragging him right back where he was standing before with Eric. "What are you doing?" he asked Bruno.

"I'm not in love with Lauren anymore. I can't handle it anymore. I just can't do it. Damaris makes me happy. I want to be with her. "

"I'm just waiting for the world to find out how fucked up you are, Bruno." Phil said shaking his head walking back to their group.

**

"Laur...is this the stuff you want to take?" Larissa asked.

"Yeah. That's the stuff. I have boxes over there..." she pointed to a pile of put together boxes that she had found in their garage. "All of it. I have people coming to get the cribs and stuff."

"What else of your stuff are you taking?" Larissa asked.

"All the clothes. And some of the dressers. The stuff on the walls...." she pointed to everything putting round stickers on everything she wanted to take. "I'm just going to have them take everything I put stickers on." she told her sister hearing her phone ring. "Oh, they're here!" she ran passed the babies who were with their cousins playing to get to the movers. She directed them to everything watching every single thing they did moving the babies around with her taking breaks to feed them and to make sure they were alright while he nieces and nephews helped move the small things in the boxes to her car. By seven in the evening she had finished moving everything and directed them to the movers to the storage facility where her things were going. She held onto Ezra and Everlee as she closed the door to the house. She held onto the key trying not to cry.

"You made the right decision, Lauren." Caitlin said standing next to her rubbing Ezra's head while he slept.

"I know I made the right decision." Lauren answered. "Just because it was the right thing to do doesn't make it easy, though."

**

"Damnit!" Dani exclaimed driving to Bruno's house to pick up some toys for Geronimo that Bruno had hastily forgotten to put in the dog's pile of things when he dropped Geronimo off with her. "You are a cute dog...but why can't your mom take care of you?" she asked the dog as she pulled into the driveway seeing several of the babies' toys missing. "Hmm..." she thought letting Geronimo out of the car to run into the house with her. She followed the dog into the house seeing the gaping holes of furniture, toys and décor that Lauren had taken with her. "Oh god." she gasped not sure how to respond sitting on the couch to text Bruno.

She left.

She sent him a picture of his children's bedroom.

**

Bruno moved his head from Damaris's shoulder on the way to the Bahamas after hearing his phone buzz. He glanced at the text without a reaction to the empty bedroom. "Shit."