A Christmas With My Brother's Best Friend

HAILEY “Mummy,” Aiden tugged at the hem of my skirt. “When are we coming back?” I blinked hard to fight my tears back and turned to look at him. My little golden boy, ocean blue eyes, and a dirty blonde shade of hair that rivaled the beauty of both his father’s and mine combined. He was the proof of a love I once shared with Jared, my husband. However, as I hurriedly packed our clothes into two suitcases, fighting the tears that threatened to flood my cheeks, I wasn’t sure that love was there anymore. I forced a smile just to ease his mind. “Soon, baby. We just need to go somewhere for the holidays. We’ll be seeing Uncle Adrian. Don’t you want to meet Uncle Adrian?” He nodded, but the confusion lingered in his eyes. “Why can’t Daddy come with us then? Daddy loves these road trips.” God. It was getting harder not to cry in front of him. I went on my knees to cup his cheeks. “Sweetie, Daddy can’t come with us this time around, okay? We’re not going to be seeing Daddy for a while. So please, please understand.” “But mummy, I don’t…” I silenced him by pressing a long kiss on his forehead. Aiden’s muscles stilled, I could feel it from his shoulder. He was little, but he understood what the kiss meant. We needed to leave before Jared got back from whatever club he had squandered all the money in our joint account. That was the only way this wouldn’t be messy. Aiden didn't deserve to see the mess his beloved parents had become. “Wait here, okay?” I stood up and reached for the first suitcase. “I’ll go put this in the car.” My sweet boy didn’t utter another word. I hurried down the stairs, out of the house, and into the garage. Once Aiden’s bag was successfully stored in the trunk of my car, I ran to the room to get mine. I didn’t stop to look around the house. Five years ago, I moved into this home with my husband. I was 19 then, and he was…well, significantly older. I loved him, and he loved me too. We were the perfect couple and became the perfect family when Aiden came. It only took two years for everything to go sour, until I couldn’t take it anymore. With Aiden in my right hand and my suitcase in my left, I ran down the steps of the staircase, my heart beating loudly against the walls of my chest. It was only a matter of time before Jared returned, and I couldn’t face him. I didn’t want to. We were so close to our perfect escape when the door creaked open, and Jared peeled into the house. He often did that to make sure Aiden and I were asleep, but tonight, we were far from that. His brows furrowed into a frown once his gaze locked on the suitcase in my right hand. I stood, frozen in my tracks. I hated how terrified of him I had become. There was no telling how violent he could get these days. “Going somewhere, sweetie?” Sweetie. The word dripped from his tongue laced with a sarcasm that had me turning to Aiden with fear in my eyes. “The car, now.” Without any question, Aiden ran. I had half expected Jared to stop him, but he didn’t. He was too drunk to do so. “I asked you a question, Hailey. Are you…” The rest of his words disappeared into his throat as he hiccuped. I pressed my shaking hand to my side and held the suitcase even firmer. Straightened chin and head held high, I made myself believe I was ready to face him, ready to tell myself the truth, ready to leave. “I’m leaving, Jared. Aiden and I are leaving.” His right brow shot up, and my pulse quickened as he began to walk towards me. When he stopped in the middle of the room, I felt myself sigh with relief. “You didn’t tell me you were going away for the holidays. You’re never going anywhere without my permission, don’t you know that? Haven’t I taught you enough lessons?” His speech was slurred as he reached for his belt. I swallowed hard. Despite the cold, I found myself sweating profusely. I would normally be scared of the belt. It was responsible for most of the scars on my back where he liked to hit me. But not anymore. I was going to make it out of the house without a scratch, even if I had to hurt him to do that. “It’s not for the holidays, Jared. And I don’t need your permission anymore. You’ll be hearing from my lawyers in the morning. I’m done with this marriage, J. I’m done with you.” “Done with me?” He repeated the words as he threw his head back in laughter. “You can’t be done with me, sweetie. You have my son. I’m all you’ve got, and you’re all I’ve got. We’re in this together. You have nowhere to go.” “That’s not true.” I coughed out. It was breaking me to see him like this. Once upon a time, the drunk grey eyed mine standing in front of me was the perfect man, the perfect husband, a decorated doctor, and on the way to a big promotion. But after a lawsuit caused him to lose his license, he became a shadow of his former self. No. Not a shadow. A complete opposite. He started drinking, whoring around, stealing money from me to fund his new hobbies, and hitting me. The last was what hurt the most. He would always come home drunk after losing money he had stolen from me, and if I dared confront him, whatever belt he had worn that evening would leave marks on my back. He would sleep off and sober up the next morning, mouth filled with apologies, telling me how much he loved me, and how hard everything had become since he lost his license. For years, I tried to understand, tried to sympathize with him, but I couldn’t do it anymore. It was two days to Christmas and a week to New year’s. I deserved better. Aiden deserved a better father. “What?” He asked, staggering towards me. “Are you cheating on me, sweetie? Is that it? You’re taking my son to go be with another man?” Hot tears stung the back of my eyelids. I had told myself I wouldn’t give him the pleasure of seeing me cry, but I pitied him. “Jared, please. Just let us go. That way, you don’t have to worry about us anymore. Aren’t you tired of coming home to a nagging wife and a crying son? Look at you. You’re happy going from club to club every night. You could live like that without my son and I breathing down your neck. This is what you’ve wanted for the longest time, so please…please just let us go.” He scoffed bitterly and fell into the small couch beside him. “You’ll never make it without me. You know that, don’t you? You were just a little, naive girl when I met you. I made you what you are, who you are.” It was my turn to bite back a bitter laugh. “You mean the angry, bitter, guarded woman I am now?” Anger flashed in his eyes as he glared at me. “Don’t you dare blame your misery on me, Hailey!” He sprang up to his feet. “I risked everything to give you and your son everything! If you weren’t such a spoiled brat with an unnecessarily expensive taste, I would never have been pushed to do the things I did! I tried every day to give you the life your brother believed I couldn’t! I wanted to show him that I…that I was good for you too. You’re the reason my life is in this mess. It’s all you.” I covered the distance between us with five steps forward. He was far taller than me, but I was ready to stand on my tiptoes if that was what it’ll take to look him in the eyes. “You struggled with your inferiority for so long, Jared. You made the decisions you made because you were greedy. Not for me, and certainly not for my son. If you cared about me, you'd never hit me. If you cared about Aiden…” I was shaking now, trying so hard not to choke on the flood of tears brewing in my eyes, chest, and my stomach. How was that even possible? “You wouldn’t steal from the money we planned for his future to fund your gambling habits.” “I wanted to make some more money, sweetie? Why should it sit dormant in an account when we can double it? Triple it? I can’t get a job anymore. I needed to make some money to take care of you. Everything I do is for you.” He reached for my face, but I stepped away from him. I was silly and naive enough to believe his lies for three years, to believe he’ll change, but not anymore. “Goodbye, Jared.” That was all I said before turning my back to him. I kept my focus on the door, prepared my mind so I wouldn’t turn back no matter what he said. “You’re a good for nothing w***e, do you know that?! I regret the day I married you! It was a big mistake! You and your bastard son can leave. Leave and never return. I always knew he wasn’t mine any way. Go, you…” I slammed the door shut to drown the rest of his words.