When the Past Becomes the Future

Simple Bike Ride?

Brian woke up suddenly with a pounding headache. The light from outside was blinding and he hid his head underneath the pillow to shield himself from it.

"Good morning handsome." A woman's voice called out from the foot of the bed.

He jumped in surprise forgetting that he wasn't alone in this hotel room. "Oh hey sweetheart." He said with a forced smile.

"Last night was really fun." Another voice came from the bathroom.

Brian rolled over and was confused for a minute thinking he was seeing double but then started to quickly piece together the night. Taking a pair of sexy twins back to his room should be something he was patting himself on the back for but honestly he could care less.

Ever since he found out about Juliette's engagement he was drinking more and hooking up with more women to try and numb the pain. It had been a couple weeks and he had only talked to Levi once over FaceTime. He felt awful about it and he knew it probably made him a shitty person but having any contact with Jules was just too much at the moment.

He didn't really know why, they hadn't been together in years but thinking of her getting married was just unsettling.

Once he gave the twins his typical "had a great time but not looking to go past last night" speech he hopped in the shower and let the hot water wash over his body. He had no idea how his life turned upside down so quickly.

As he got himself dressed his phone alerted him of an incoming text.

Jules: Alright I've been quiet long enough. I've given you some space but I have no idea what your problem is lately! I warned you about entering Levi's life if you weren't gonna stick around. I get your busy with work but he's been very upset that he hasn't heard from you lately. A simple phone call would go a long way Quinn.

Brian thought for a minute before responding. He took a seat on the bed, water dripping off his hair and took a few deep breaths. Lately he felt like he was being pulled in a million directions. His family was pressuring him to bring Levi around, his friends were giving him so many different pieces of advice but if he was being honest, no one was in his situation so no one knew what to say to him. Juliette was pulling him in a different direction by keeping the truth from their son.

After their show last night Joe kept shooting him disapproving looks when he saw him flirting with the two girls. He kept pestering Brian that he needed to stop messing around and act the way he would want his son to act as a man. Although probably good advice, it was something he just didn't wanna hear right now. It wasn't even like his son knew who he was.

After collecting his thoughts he began to type a response.

If I'm being honest a I kinda don't know where I fit in with all this. You and your fiancé seem to have this perfect little family already in place. Guess I'm starting to think that Levi doesn't need me.

Juliette was sitting in her office reading Brian's text over and over again. She knew he was upset about the engagement; the look in his eyes when he saw the ring said it all. If she was being honest with herself she wasn't even sure how she felt about it. It was a complete shock to her since in the weeks leading up to it, there was a lot of tension between her and David. Now since the engagement, David had been nagging about when she wanted to get married. Juliette just needed to breathe for two seconds and focus on more important things, like her son and having him build a relationship with his father.

Juliette: If that's what you wanna believe that fine but you walk out of his life don't think you can come back in. I told you before you're either in or out. His emotions are not gonna be toyed with.