Brynn: You are much more silent than usual today-.. are you going to miss me?
Wyatt was going to miss Brynn a great deal, but telling her that seemed harder than it ought to be, so he said naught instead.
Brynn: You are not comfortable being happy?
Wyatt squinted, something Brynn had learnt he tended to do when she was on the right track.
Brynn: Maybe you should not fight yourself.
Wyatt: Maybe you only know I feel that way because youāre the same.
And as she tended to do when he was right, Brynn dodged Wyattās comment.
Brynn: Do you think I stay, if you asked me to?
Wyatt: I donāt think you want me to ask that.
Brynn: No, I donātā¦
Wyatt: Do you want to stay though..?
Brynn: I not sure itās a good idea to leave home-.. not for a man I spend only a few weeks with.
Wyattās brow creased, though he quickly rearranged his face; she had a point, whether he liked it or not.
Brynn: Does that hurt your feelings?
Wyatt: Noā¦
Brynn hummed and tugged on Wyattās hand, forcing him to stop and face her. It was obvious he was lying. He wanted to know whether this was just a holiday fling to her, or something more, but every time he even thought about doing so it felt like someone had rammed cotton wool down his throat. Heād promised himself heād be more honest, but it wasnāt going as well as heād hopedā¦
Wyatt: What exactly would you be leaving behind? I doubt youāve exactly made anything for yourself there-.. not with Gaelās arm to cling to.
Wyatt instantly regretted being so blunt as Brynn frowned slightly, a flash of sadness darting across her features.
Brynn: That is a cruel thing to say, no?
Wyatt: Maybe-.. though Iāve a feeling Iām right, so Iām not taking it back.
Brynn narrowed her eyes, he was right, of course. She had nothing of her own in San Myshuno. Everything she owned, down to the clothes on her back, had been paid for by Gael. Sheād never thought about leaving before, she had everything she ever needed, technically-.. but spending time with someone who wasnāt afraid to interrogate her about such matters finally made her question her innermost protests, rather than burying them.
She didnāt like Gael, she didnāt like his friends or his apartment, she didnāt want him to propose, didnāt want to marry him, didnāt want to carry his children. It wasnāt ever supposed to be permanent; she wanted a life of her ownā¦
Wyatt: Well?
Brynn: I not argue with you on my last day here.
Wyatt: Weāre not arguing, are we?
Brynn: Exactly!
Wyatt ran his hand through his hair and sighed, this wasnāt how it was supposed to go. He needed more. He was desperate to know how she felt before she left, desperate to know how sheād gotten herself into this situation, whether she wanted out or not. He thought she did, but for once, he wasnāt sure of himself.
Wyatt: I just meant-ā¦
He huffed as Brynn leapt on his back with a chuckle, that was the end of that then. Heād never realised until now how socially inept he was with women-.. no, intimacy; but Brynn didnāt seem to mind, maybe she could relate. He was willing to bet she knew what he was struggling with. It almost seemed as though she were goading him into being honest, like he craved to be.
Brynn: Letās find somewhere nice-.. if you tell me what you meant, maybe I tell you a story.
He shook his head and snorted, amused; that was definitely what she was doing, wasnāt it?
Wyatt had done a lot of terrible things over the years. Amongst countless other felonies heād taken more than a few lives - some with his bare hands - but no crime heād committed had ever caused his heart to beat as erratically as it did now. Against his ābetterā judgement and despite his pounding chest, heād held Brynn close and told her how he felt.
He told her how much heād enjoyed spending time with her, how pleased heād be if she stayed, and how curious he was about her situation back in San Myshuno. Brynn had softened upon hearing his words, appreciative of his honesty; and in return, sheād told him how she and Gael metā¦
Brynn hadnāt left Del Sol to begin with, choosing instead to remain employed by Varius, which had eventually been taken over by new management. Never embroiled in Ashtonās more nefarious business ventures, the casino and its franchise hadnāt suffered much, remaining completely operational as a result.
Gael was in town for family and work, hauled to the top floor by some of his rather more enthusiastic associates. Clearly uncomfortable, sheād taken him aside and entertained him in a different manner-.. sheād clocked him eyeing a handsome waiter surreptitiously, felt him recoil from her touch; he mightāve fooled his colleagues, but he hadnāt fooled her. Enjoying an easy night full of free drinks and cheesy jokes, sheād thought nothing of his proposition to attend an upcoming event with him the following weekend.
The event Gael had invited her to was a wedding ā his brotherās wedding ā and Brynn had suddenly found herself referred to as his girlfriend. Sheād thought it quite funny at the time, what an odd man, paying an erotic dancer to pose as oneās partner. The money was good though, and it was much more enjoyable than working in some stuffy club, even one as fancy as Varius.
But as things do, one thing led to another and before Brynn could second guess herself, sheād agreed to move to San Myshuno and stay with Gael permanently. Genesis had seen her arse about Brynnās newfound source of income, her friends Ace and Robert had moved away, Del Sol was smoggy and garish, held memories sheād rather forget; why wouldnāt she move back to San My? Sheād have her own room in a spacious apartment, she wouldnāt have to work, Gael said heād pay for her to finish school; it seemed like a good idea at the time, like she could have whatever she wanted.
Except she couldnāt. Gael was a controlling - albeit kind - man, terrified of being discovered by his peers. He told her where to go and when, what to wear, what to say, and how to act. Heād take her phone from her if sheād get distracted at one of his precious galas, force her to attend wellness retreats with his colleaguesā insipid girlfriends and wives whilst he and his friends smacked tiny balls with silly sticks, drag her on family vacations to hot countries where sheād get accosted by mosquitoes and prickly heat.
Heād bemoan her lack of enthusiasm when she wasnāt her usual self, but itād been so many years that Brynn didnāt even know who she was anymore. Heād felt guilty then, promising she could pick their next destination; that itād be just the two of them, no pretending.
Brynn had never imagined bumping into Wyatt again, but sheād often thought of him, wondering what heād done after that fateful phone call. Sheād almost felt proud of him, in a way-.. it wasnāt easy to turn against your upbringing like that, against your friends, against yourself. Sheād given him the benefit of the doubt and he hadnāt taken it for granted, which was more than could be said for a lot of men sheād trusted in the past.
Having landed herself in hot water more times than she could count over the years, Brynn had learnt to be wary of her gut, but she couldnāt deny being drawn to Wyatt; she admired the change in him, despite the fact he seemed unaware of it himself. It was freeing to spend time with someone who didnāt expect her to act a certain way, someone who knew where sheād come from and what sheād been through, yet didnāt appear to judge her poorly for it. Heād done terrible things and so had she; it was nice, being on an even playing field for once.
Brynn had subsequently returned home more disheartened than ever, completely uninterested in her so-called life with Gael. Sheād hoped Wyatt would call, hoped sheād get a taste of that freedom in her self-imposed cage, hoped something would magically change. But it hadnāt.
Wyatt: So, youāre not happy anymore?
Brynn: I am very happy here, with you-.. but that scares me.
Wyatt: Why?
Brynn: Because it means I have to confront the fact that I am not happy at home, and that is something I have never done before. I always find someone to take me in, but is always with conditions, I am never free-.. never happy.
Wyatt: Are you safe at least..?
Brynn: It is painfully boring, sharing a home with Gael, but he is not exactly aggressive.
Wyatt scowled; not exactly? That wasnāt what he wanted to hear, he ought to strangle-..
Brynn: I not want you to get involved, I think I would like to do something on my own for once.
Wyat: Okayā¦
Brynn: I put my foot down and leave, even if it means I have nothing. I not want to run to anyone else, including you.
Wyatt: Thatās why you donāt want to stay?
Brynn nodded, it wouldāve been easier to tell Gael to stuff it and stay here, but that was what she always did; fall into someone elseās hands. Being with Wyatt was different though, it made her want to choose him because she wanted to, because she could, not because she needed to. If that meant she had to throw everything away and strike out on her own first ā even though she had no idea how to ā then so be it.
Though he was glad to know the truth, Wyatt was less than thrilled with Brynnās plan; but she craved true freedom, and after everything sheād endured ā in part due to his own transgressions ā he figured he owed her as much.
Wyatt: I wonāt stop you thenā¦
Brynn: This is why I love you-.. you help set me free in the end, like I to you.
Wyatt: You love me?
Brynn: You love me too, no?
Wyatt dipped his head in agreement. He wasnāt sure how itād happened so quickly, but there wasnāt much point denying it any longer.
Brynn: Say itā¦
Wyatt: I love you too.
Brynn: Is not so hard, right?
Wyatt scoffed quietly and shook his head.
Wyatt: I donāt know-.. Iām sweating.
Brynn: [laughs] Ew-.. me too though.
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