Page 57 of Hard To Stay

Chapter Twenty-One

Brad

Everyone turnedtheir heads the second I approached the group. My old group. These were my friends at one time, but now they were looking at me like I had some type of catchy virus.

“What the fuck is he doing here?” Chase barked out, just as I had suspected.

There was no love lost between us, especially after what had happened last year. His reaction was understandable, seeing as I’d almost sent his ass to prison for something he didn’t do.

It had hurt like a bitch when I found out that Emily had played me. She’d thought it was me who had set Chase up, not knowing that I was being used as a pawn just like everyone else at the time. Not that any of that made a difference because her loyalties were with Chase. To say things did not end well between us would be an understatement.

Emily grabbed his arm, trying to calm him down. She knew he was a hot head and seeing me standing in his club only irritated him even more. “Chase, please don’t cause a scene.”

Jack, the one who you could always count on to restore peace and diffuse the tensest situations walked over and extended his hand. “Good to see you, bro.”

At least I still had one friend left. I shook his hand in return, glad that at least somebody was acting like an adult.

Emily avoided looking at me, which was probably for her husband’s benefit as much as anything else. I had been riding pretty high lately, but I was feeling a little off my game. I tried to block out all their bullshit and focused on saying what I had come to say. I was going to speak my mind whether they liked it or not.

It felt like the noise in the club went silent as I stepped up to her. There was no way I was leaving without talking to her. It wasn’t every day that I had the chance to come face to face with my ex. Her body tensed when she realized my intentions. She always knew me well. But I might as well have been looking at the face of a stranger. She was still just as beautiful as I remembered her to be. But as I stared at the woman I once loved, realization hit me—seeing her did nothing to me. Whatever lingering feelings I thought I’d had, were gone. Chase’s possessive arm was draped around her shoulder. Did he think he had to guard her from me? This conversation was happening whether he liked it or not.

“Hello, Emily. It’s good to see you.”

She looked conflicted. We didn’t end things on the best of terms. The last time I had seen her, she had practically shoved me out the door and told me to go to hell. Seeing her now didn’t bother me at all. If anything, the situation felt awkward as fuck. Based on the tension in the room, it was obviously mutual.

“You too, Brad.” was all she said, keeping her gaze fixed over my shoulder. It really was sad that this is what we had turned into. Two strangers, who felt uncomfortable around each other and didn’t know what to say. After everything we went through, it was just plain awkward.

I tried to soften my tone to ease some of the tension. “Congratulations on both your marriage and the birth of your little boy. It looks like life is treating you well. I just wanted to give you my best wishes.”

Even though Emily and I no longer spoke, our mutual friend Jack, and I kept in touch. We didn’t hang out like we used to, but we still met up every now and again. It was one of those occasions where Jack had told me about the birth of her son. Jack even showed me a picture. He was a cute kid, and I was happy for her.

“Thank you, Brad.”

I knew Emily. She was struggling with how to handle the conversation. She was concerned about her husband’s reaction, which she should’ve been. We stood inches apart and I could still read her like a book. There was a familiarity lingering between us, but it was strictly platonic. It was barely visible, but I could still feel it. Maybe it would always be there.

Chase glared at me. I could see his hold on her tightening. “Now that you have had your reunion, feel free to go back to your business.”

There was a time where his comment would have pissed me off and I probably would have had the urge to kick his ass. I actually flexed my hand on instinct ready to launch a punch to his pretty boy jaw. But then I remembered Lexi and unclenched my fist. Emily wasn’t my fight anymore. And Chase was no longer my public enemy number one. Colton was. I never thought I could ever loathe someone as much as Chase Newman, but considering recent events our past seemed irrelevant now.

Cassie, Emily’s closest friend came to stand beside her. “Brad, I’m sure you mean well, but it’s probably for the best if you just leave things alone.”

Cassie was always Emily’s biggest defender. It was no surprise that she’d try to step in and save the day. It just really pissed me off that all of them still saw me as the enemy. There was no denying it, her words stung.

“Christ, Cassie, you too? I didn’t come here looking for trouble. I’m just saying hello to my old friends.” I said, stressing the friend part. And then I gave her a smile that said you can go fuck yourself.

I plowed my hands through my hair, feeling the frustration start to build inside of me. They reacted to my presence like a bunch of immature high schoolers. I was so over it all and I planned to tell them as much.

My gaze connected with Emily. She was the only reason why I was standing here. “I just wanted to say hello. You look happy. I’m glad things are going well for you.”

Chase aimed a killing glare in my direction. His eyes blazed with rage. “My wife’s happiness is not your concern.”

I couldn’t help but shake my head, even though his reaction wasn’t too far over the top when I considered what I had almost done to Colton. Looking at the faces of the people I used to consider friends, made me realize how little I cared what they thought of me now. I was growing tired of the Mexican showdown. It was time to get back to Lexi.

“I will always care about Emily.”

Chase growled, his patience was obviously wearing thin. Tough shit. What the fuck did he think I was going to do? Out of the back of the crowd both Jack, and Cassie’s boyfriend Liam moved in-between the two of us. I cocked my head to the side and fought the urge to laugh. Did they really think I came up here to start some shit?

“Really guys? Are we still in Junior High?” I turned to Chase. “Like I said before, I’ll always care about her, but keeping her happy is your job now. She’s yours and I’m happy that she’s happy. That’s all.”

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