Winter in Spruceworth | Spruceworth 4.3 (Short Story)

22. Cleo

22. Cleo

       When I found out my ex-husband was in the hospital because of the explosion, I wasn't going to visit him at all. I was trying so hard to keep him out of my life, but I couldn't get my mind off of it.

       Even though he was a major douche and told me to get an abortion, I wouldn't have Celeste right now if it weren't for him, and I probably wouldn't have been so close to Josh either.

       So, I finally decided to go to the hospital anyway. I would have gotten Josh to watch Celeste, but he wasn't home right now so I had to bring her with me. As soon as we got to the hospital, I was the receptionist what room Brody was in. After she told us the room number, that was where we went.

       I knocked on the door and Brody looked over, his face painted with confusion when he saw me. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

       "I heard you were injured during the explosion," I said as I walked over, placing Celeste's stroller beside one of the chairs before I sat down. "I, surprisingly, wanted to see if you're okay. So, how are you?"

       Brody sighed. "Horrible. My head hurts majority of the time and I have no idea when I'll be released from the hospital." He then glanced at the stroller. "Is... is our daughter in there." I nodded. "Can... can I see her?"

       I hesitated before taking her out of the stroller and sitting her own my lap. 

       "She's so adorable," Brody said. "And I can't believe I wanted you to get an abortion. Cleo, I'm so sorry."

       "Well, thank you for apologizing, but I definitely don't forgive you," I said. "And I really hope you don't expect to automatically be in her life."

       "I don't, trust me," Brody said. "I may be her biological father, but that doesn't mean anything if another man is willing to take her in as his own. Josh is a lucky guy, having both you and Celeste."

      "Josh and I are just friends," I said. "And I don't think we'll be anything more with Cassidy in the picture."

       Brody furrowed his eyebrows. "Josh didn't tell you?"

       "Tell me what?" I asked.

       "Cassidy was the one who caused the explosion," Brody said. "And I should know. I was there when it happened. I even tried talking her out of it but she wouldn't listen."

       "Wait, Cassidy caused the explosion?" I asked. "Why on earth would she do that?"

       "Because for some sick reason, she wants to tear Josh's family apart," Brody said. "And she knew his brothers were going to be there. There's something off about her. I mean, what kind of person would fake their own death?"

       I didn't even know what was going on with Cassidy. If she really loved Josh, she wouldn't be trying to tear her family apart. And she definitely wouldn't have tried injuring, or even killing, Josh's brothers.

       "Cassidy took off," I said. "She hasn't been seen since before it happened when she dropped her daughter off with Josh. It all makes sense now. I just... I can't believe she would do something like."

       Actually, part of me could. After all, she did shoot someone not too long ago, and she even faked her own death. I definitely think there was a reason she was doing all of this, and I hoped she was caught soon.

       "Do the police know?" I asked.

       "I think Josh is at the police station telling them," Brody said. "He was here not too long ago and I told him."

       "Josh was here?" I asked.

       "Yeah," Brody said. "I asked to see him."

       "Why would you do that?" I asked. "I thought you didn't like him?"

       "Any guy would be upset if some other man was taking his role in his daughter's life," Brody said. "But I can't blame him. That's all on me, and I realized that, so I wanted to tell him to take good care of you and Celeste. And since you're here, I want you to do something."

       "What?" I asked.

       "Tell Josh how you feel," Brody said. "It's clear he's crazy about you and since Cassidy is clearly out of the picture, you don't have to worry about her being in the way."

       "I don't know," I said slowly. 

       "Cleo, come on," Brody said. "You deserve to be happy. Don't let what happened in your previous marriage stop you from dating again because none of that is your fault, and there is no way Josh would do anything close to what I did."

       "Wow, I never thought I'd see the day where my ex-husband gave me relationship advice," I said.

       "You deserve to be happy," Brody said. "And if it's not going to be with me, then it has to be with someone who puts both you and Celeste first, and that's clearly Josh."

       Brody was right, shockingly. Even after Cassidy showed up with Guinevere, Josh never stopped being there for Celeste. Josh didn't even mind when Celeste called him, "Da." He loved her like his own daughter, and that was all I wanted in a man.

       "Well, I should be heading out," I said. 

       "Okay," Brody said. "Thanks for visiting."

       "No problem," I said as I started placing Celeste back into her stroller. "I may not forgive you for why we got a divorce, and I may not be too fond of you, but you were my husband. Believe or not, a small part of me still cares about you."

       I still care about you too," Brody said. "Which is why I really want you to tell Josh how you feel."

       I didn't reply as I walked out of the hospital, mainly because I had no idea if I should even tell Josh. People were always saying that he did like me, but I didn't know for sure.

       Almost immediately after I walked out of the hospital, I saw Josh walking towards the hospital. He soon saw me and walked over. "Hey, what are you doing here?" he asked.

       "I went to go visit Brody, believe it or not," I said. "I'm still not fond of him, and I probably won't be for a while, but he was still a big part of my life. I wanted to make sure he was okay. He... He told me about Cassidy."

       Josh sighed. "Yeah. I just came from the police station and they're going to see if they can find Cassidy, and they're going to have to question Brody since he was a witness. I just... I can't believe Cassidy. I can't believe me."

       I furrowed my eyebrows. "Why you?"

       "Because..." he said, and then he stopped, hesitating for a bit before continuing. "Because I thought she changed and I thought I could have given her another chance, which was quite stupid of me considering how I feel for you."

      Did I just hear what I think he said? "What?"

      "Cleo, I have never felt this way about anyone before, not even Cassidy," I said. "You're so amazing, and kind, and beautiful. And I would really love it if you were to go out with me."

       I couldn't help but smile. I didn't even have to worry about telling Josh how I felt. He made the first move, and I couldn't be happier. 

       "I would love to," I said.

________________

Aww yay. <3 

BRODY IS MY CHILD NOW BTW DON'T @ ME

Speaking of child, go vote for Dylan Geick on MessyMonday's twitter page, because he's the real life Jerome, and Jerome is married to Nolan, and Nolan is my child. (and he's me. i am my own child LE GASP) He's in first place right now with 46% and the closest one behind him is at 25%. THERE'S STILL 20 HOURS LEFT SO VOTE PLEASE AND TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR NEIGHBOUR AND YOUR DOG.