Chapter Twenty Seven: A Ray of Sunshine: Bridge

****Star****

I looked down at the phone in my hand and fought with myself about what I should do. It had been three weeks since that morning and things couldn’t have been any more of a mess. Peter was furious with Jeff, something that I was still trying to understand; I was still jumping at every sound and finding it hard to focus, which wasn’t a good thing since school had started. But what had me the most concerned was Jeff. He had met with Rosamund’s parents a week after that morning and ever since then, he had hidden away in his room. The only time I had seen him was when he had gotten his stitches out. That had been a week ago and the only way I knew that he was still okay, was that Maggie wasn’t crying hysterically and every once in a while, I would hear him close his door or there would be evidence of him making a bottle in the kitchen.

I had tried several times to beg him to come out or to let me in but he never answered me. Part of me understood that maybe he needed time alone to sort out what had happened, but then there was a part of me that worried that for the better part of two weeks, he hadn’t really emerged from his bedroom. I knew he was hurting and he didn’t want to talk to me and I had tried to get Peter to talk to him but he had scoffed at the idea. 

As each day had passed, I worried more and more about him being locked in his room until I had finally reached the point where I was at that moment; holding my phone wondering if I should call the only person I could think of that could help him. I knew he would be mad at me for butting in, but I was to the point that my worry for him was greater than my concern about him getting mad.

I took a big breath and selected the number and as I listened to the ringing, I started to once again question if I was making the right decision.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Bridge?”

“Oh, hi Star!” She suddenly got quiet and very serious. “What’s wrong? Something’s wrong isn’t it? You wouldn’t be calling me if there wasn’t. . .”

I sighed. “He’s locked himself and Maggie in his room, Bridge. And I know that he’s upset and embarrassed, and who knows what else, but it’s been over three weeks. . .He came out to get his stiches removed and then he went right back to locking himself away.”

“Is he taking care of Maggie?” She wondered.

“That I can tell, yes. But I have to wonder about himself. I know he’s not eating much, there’s hardly any food missing from the fridge and he spends so little time outside the room, he doesn’t have time to make himself anything.”

“Shit.” She sighed. “I worried he’d do this, since he holds stuff in.” She paused for a moment. “And you’ve tried to talk to him?”

“Yes, repeatedly. I’ve begged him to come out. I just don’t know what else to do. . .”

“I’ll be there in the morning. I need to see if Mom can watch my four during the days while Carson’s at work. I’m sure she’ll agree, but I need to make sure everything’s in order here before I travel there.”

“Okay.”

“And Star?”

“Yeah?”

“No matter how upset you think he’ll get by you calling me, you did the right thing.” She reassured me and I felt a lump in my throat.

“Thanks.” I managed to get out.

We hung up and I decided to try one last time to see if I could convince Jeff to come out. I walked out of my room and down the stairs to his door and lightly knocked on it. “Jeff?” I put my ear to the door and I heard some movement, hoping that it was a sign that he might decide to open the door, or at least talk to me. “Will you please come out and talk to me, or even let me in?” I put my ear to the door again and heard Maggie gurgle. “Jeff, please; I’m worried about you. . .” I listened and hoped he’d respond but he didn’t. 

“Why bother?” Peter said as he entered the kitchen. I jumped what felt like five feet into the air and felt my heart stop. “Sorry.” He quietly said. “I forgot.” He sighed and walked to the fridge to grab a juice box. “I don’t know why you’re trying. He only cares about himself and doesn’t care that you’re out here worrying about him.”

“Shut up, Peter.” I said. I was so tired of hearing how he was acting; like all of this was Jeff’s fault.

“I’m just saying, if he really cared, he would have come out by now.” He finished his juice box and threw it away before walking back upstairs.

I shook my head and lightly touched Jeff’s door one last time, wishing that he would finally let me in. As I turned around I sighed and hoped that Bridge would figure out some way to get him to come back out.

The next morning I stayed home from classes to let Bridge into the house. She arrived shortly after ten and she hugged me the moment she walked in. “Go on to class.” She urged me.

I wasn’t sure if I could; not with worrying about what was happening at the house. “He wouldn’t want you here to hear this; and you probably don’t want to be here either.” I knew she was right. He would be completely embarrassed if he knew I had been there.  I walked upstairs and grabbed my bag, still not knowing how I would concentrate in class but not knowing what else to do. I made my way to the door but was stopped by Bridge. “Before you leave, where’s the master key for all the locks in the house?”

“There’s a master key?” I had never known such a thing existed.

She nodded. “Yeah, I used to keep it in one of the kitchen drawers. . .” She turned to walk into the kitchen and opened the second drawer. After rummaging around for a bit she smiled and pulled out a key. “There! This key will open any lock in the house.”

“Huh. . .That would have been good to know.”

“Well, now you do.” She said matter of factly before looking over at the bedroom door. “I’ll let you know when it’s okay to come back.”

I nodded and we hugged before I left the house. As I walked to the sidewalk, I hoped that she was able to get through to Jeff and that he wouldn’t be mad at me for being responsible for Bridge being there.

****Bridge****

After Star left, I looked back over at the bedroom door and let out a sigh. I knew what I was about to do was probably really going to piss Jeff off and could possibly cause him to stop talking me, at least until he was able to understand that what I was doing was for him and Maggie’s own good; but I was past the point of caring. He needed to snap out of this depression he was in. I had no doubt that he was heartbroken, embarrassed and many other things, and that was okay; locking yourself in your room for weeks, wasn’t. I looked down at the key in my hand and then once again at the door; it was time to be the annoying and stubborn sister. I took a big breath in and purposefully walked to the door and banged on it.

“Jeff, it’s Bridge. Open up.” I listened for any noise and didn’t hear any.

“Jeff, this is the last time I’m being nice about this. Open up.” I still didn’t hear any noise and I shook my head. The key slid into the lock and I had no trouble unlocking it. I pushed the door open and had to let my eyes adjust to the darkness. The curtains were completely drawn and it was almost impossible to see. After my eyes adjusted I walked over to one and pulled it back.

“Get out, Bridge.” He mumbled from the bed.

“You wouldn’t talk to me but now that you’re annoyed you will? You need to get up anyway; you’ve been in bed long enough.” I said as I opened up the other curtain. I turned around and looked at him. It was obvious he hadn’t shaven for a long while and guessing from the odor that filled the room, probably hadn’t bathed in at least several days. There were also a couple of bowls lying around on the dresser and side tables.

“Damn it, Bridge! Get out!!!

Maggie started to cry and I reached down into the crib to pick her up. “Hi, Maggie. You’re Daddy’s a little unhappy, isn’t he.” I felt her diaper. “Hmm. . .someone needs a diaper change.” I walked over to the changing table and got out a diaper.

“I can do that!” I heard him complain from the bed.

“I’m glad that you’ve at least been taking care of her, even if you haven’t been taking care of yourself.” I said as I finished changing her.

“Of course I’ve been taking care of her!”

“That seems to be all you’ve done. . .” I hinted and snuggled with Maggie for a couple minutes before placing her back in her crib.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“Trying to help you.”  I admitted.

“I don’t need help!” He grumbled.

“Really, Jeff? You think locking yourself in the bedroom for three weeks, not showering, shaving, hardly eating but when you do leaving the dirty bowls lying around, shutting out the people that care about you, and wallowing in your misery is you being okay? It’s not and it’s time for you to get off your ass and stop letting Rosamund win.” I flatly stated.

He stood up after I made the comment about Rosamund and looked like he was about to lose it. “What did you say. . .?” He asked as he narrowed his eyes.

“You heard me; you’re letting her win. She’d probably be congratulating herself right now if she could see the misery that she’s not only caused you, but also Star and Peter.”

“You think that having your wife lie to you about being pregnant, then faking a miscarriage, and then for the finale, pointing and shooting a gun at your best friend, and let’s not forget permanently scaring you isn’t worth getting upset over?!” He screamed at me.

“Absolutely.” I admitted as I tried to keep calm. “But lying in bed for weeks and feeling sorry for yourself. . .you’re giving her what she wanted. She wanted you to be miserable, if she couldn’t have you, she wanted not only you but everyone to be miserable. Looks to me like she succeeded.” I said not backing down.

“What the hell do you know?! Are you the one going through this?!” He countered.

“No, no I’m not. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to let you get away with acting like this. You’ve got a family, a baby, and two friends who love and care for you and you’re so busy throwing yourself a little pity party that you don’t even realize that if you just gave people a chance and let them in, they would love you and help you through this.”

“If you were anybody else, I would physically remove you from this room.”  He threatened and looked more pissed off than I had ever seen him. I just hoped that eventually I could convince him to snap out of his depression and start letting all of us back in.

****Jeff****

Bridge had always had the uncanny ability to piss me off but this went beyond the normal annoyance; she was crossing a line that I wasn’t about to let her get away with. But no matter what I said to let her know how pissed off I was, she just kept standing there with a determined look on her face. 

“Bridge, you have no idea what I’ve been through. . .” I tried to reason with her.

“Let’s see, you slept with Rosamund your senior year, she pretended that she was pregnant, you married her. . .” She looked at me and I knew instantly that she was giving me her I told you so look. “She faked a miscarriage, you probably now feel really guilty that you tossed Star to the side during that time, she tricked you into her actually getting pregnant, and after a little over three years of marriage, you found out that she faked the first pregnancy and miscarriage. . .Oh! And I’m guessing that somewhere in that time, you realized that you still had feelings for Star and you tried to fool yourself into thinking that you didn’t but you still felt guilty for having those feelings for her while you were married. . .Did I miss anything?” 

I stood there stunned, for someone who was so oblivious about their own relationships she was unbelievably perceptive about other’s. It was one reason I had always been stressed living with her after Rosamund and I had just gotten married. I knew she would have been able to see through any moments where I questioned if marrying Rosamund had really been a good idea or through the fakeness of how happy Rosamund and I pretended to be. 

“That still doesn’t mean that you know what any of that feels like. . .” I said through gritted teeth.

“You’re right, I don’t, but I know one thing, no matter how bad you feel, how heartbroken you are, you have a baby who needs a daddy who isn’t lying around and just providing for her basic needs. Lying in a crib, in a pitch black room isn’t good for her, and if you can’t snap out of this funk for yourself, then you sure as hell need to for her!” It was the first time she had raised her voice and at first it made me defensive.

“How dare you tell me how I should or shouldn’t raise her!”

“Really? Really, Jeff?!” She took a step towards me. “I would hope that if I was doing the same thing you are, that someone would come along and knock some sense into me. Look around you!! Look at the dirty bowls, the used bottles, can you even smell yourself?!! You stink!!! When was the last time you took a shower?!”

I tried to remember but the days had started to blend together. “You see? If you have to think that hard about it, it’s been too long! What day is it?”

“What?”

“You heard me, what day of the week is it?”

I wasn’t really sure; was it Wednesday. . .?

“What’s the date?”

“I. . .what does that matter?!”

“You’ve been locked up in here for so long that you don’t even know what day it is and I’m not leaving until you do.”

“What do you mean? You can’t just stay here indefinitely! You’ve got the babies at home!” I argued with her.

“I took care of that before I left. Mom’s watching them during the day and Carson enlisted his parents to help him in the evenings if he needed it. I told them I wasn’t coming back until I convinced you to stop acting this way.”

“What makes you think that you can?” I challenged her, thinking that there was no way she could if I didn’t want to.

She raised an eyebrow and narrowed her eyes. “You really want to challenge me? I’d think after almost twenty one years you’d have learned that isn’t wise. . .I think you know I’m serious about not leaving. I’ll eventually drive you so crazy, you’ll be begging to come out of this room. I’ve got the master key and I’ll come in here every day, all day long until I convince you to get off your ass and stop feeling sorry for yourself.” She walked over to the crib and picked up Maggie. 

“What are you doing?!” I panicked.

“I’m taking her into the living room. She needs to get out of this room. You can join us if you like, but I would really suggest that you take a shower first. Stinking up the bedroom is one thing, the rest of the house. . .that’s another.” She quickly walked out of the bedroom and closed the door. I stood there staring at it in disbelief, trying to figure out what had just happened. I looked over at the now empty crib and continued to stand there in shock.  As I slowly came to grips with what had just happened and my head started to fill with questions. How had she gotten there? How dare she question how I was living my life and caring for Maggie? Would she really stay there until I came out of the bedroom?  I knew ue though; she would drive me crazy until I came out of the room. I fell back on to the bed and stared  at the door. 

It wasn’t as if I hadn’t tried to snap out of this feeling. Right after Robert and Regina had come to the house and we had talked about Rosamund, the divorce and custody, it had really hit me what had happened. Maggie was probably never going to really know Rosamund, and I was sad for Maggie that at some point she would learn the truth about what happened. I couldn’t hide it from her forever what Rosamund had done and I had no idea how I would even begin to approach that subject. If that wasn’t bad enough, at some point I knew that Maggie would probably learn about how Rosamund had given up her parental rights and as bad as what Rosamund had done, I figured that would be the harder of the two and every time I thought about it my heart felt like it was being crushed.

If I wasn’t thinking about that, then there was Star. . .My wife had shot at her; tried to kill her.  How could I not think that was my fault? After all the things that Rosamund had screamed at her about how I confided in Star and not her, stole glances at Star thinking that no one had noticed, or how I. . .loved Star. She had been right, I had done all of those things and if I hadn’t, maybe that morning wouldn’t have happened.  How could she want to still be here and try to help me after all of that. . .And then I could add the hostility I had felt from Peter. He had made it perfectly clear that he thought I was to blame, and he was right, I was.

The tears were flowing down my cheeks and I once again marveled at the mess that was my life. I turned on my side and curled into a ball, wishing that the curtains were closed again and I could lie there in the dark. Not wanting to get up, I rolled onto my stomach and buried my face in the pillow and started to drift back to sleep when I heard Maggie’s gurgling from the living room. 

“Look at you! Pushing up! You’re such a strong little girl!” I heard Bridge say and I shot up. Was Maggie really pushing up? “Your Daddy would be so proud of you!” She gushed. I was conflicted; I didn’t want to leave my room but I also didn’t want to miss that moment. Damn Bridge and he meddling! I slowly got out of bed and flung open the door. I walked into the room a little further to see what was happening. “Have you showered?” Bridge asked without looking up.

 “No.” I replied. 

“Then you know what you need to do.” She commanded and I swore under my breath. I walked back into the bathroom and turned on the shower. I sighed as I walked over to the sink and then looked in the mirror; it had been two weeks since I had shaved and I had a pretty good beard going. One thing that I noticed was that I had to look really hard to see the scar that was forming where the bullet had dug into my jaw. I debated about what to do, I could shave it completely off, or I could try to groom it a little bit and make it look less scruffy. I opened up the medicine cabinet and decided to trim it up, not wanting to look at the scar any more than I had to. I placed the razor on the counter and stepped into the shower.

I had never remembered a shower feeling so good and as the water and soap washed away the days of odor and filth, I started to feel slightly renewed. In a sense, it felt like some of the heaviness I had felt was washing away. I didn’t feel great, but I did feel a little better. I stood in the shower for a while, letting the water cascade down my body wishing that I could stand there forever. It had been days since I had taken one, and now that I was actually in it, I didn’t want to get out. The hot water eventually ran out and I was forced to turn the water off and dry off.  I wrapped the towel around my waist before walking back over to the mirror and wiping the steam off. I sighed as I looked at myself in the mirror and then reached for the shaving gel, starting the process of shaping the mess of hair on my face.

After putting on some clean clothes, I stepped out of the bedroom and the sunlight about blinded me. I hadn’t seen that much sunlight in weeks and my eyes felt like I had been in a deep dark cave and had now suddenly emerged on the brightest, sunniest day. My eyes eventually adjusted to the light and I started to walk towards the living room. Bridge was still sitting on the floor with Maggie and she eventually looked over at me.

She smiled and nodded. “I like you with a beard. Makes you look older.” I rolled my eyes and sat down next to her.  “You’ve got to see this.” She picked Maggie up and put her on her belly. I had heard about tummy time but thought Maggie was still too young.

“Bridge, she’s too young for that.” I argued.

“No she’s not! She’s six weeks old. It’s the perfect time to start her for little periods of time. Now watch.”

 We sat there looking down at Maggie, and after several seconds, she used her arms to push herself up a little before falling back down. “She’s strong.” Bridge said. “Aren’t you sweet Maggie? Yes you are!” She cooed at her as she picked her up. I watched as she stood up and started to walk with Maggie to the kitchen.

“What are you doing now?”

“I’m making lunch. It’s almost noon.” She stated and moved the bassinet near the kitchen before placing Maggie in it.

“It is?” I looked at the clock and saw that she was right.

“You didn’t even know what time it was? How were you even feeding her?”

“She lets me know when she’s hungry.” I defended myself.

“Hmmm.  .  .the whole hand sucking thing?” She wondered as she started to scrounge around for food.

“Yeah. . .” I said wondering how she knew that.

She looked over at me and smiled. “Four babies, Jeff. . .”

I nodded. “Right.”

“Mac and cheese or grilled cheese?” She asked.

“What?”

“Do you want Mac and cheese or grilled cheese? There’s not much else here.”

“I’m not hungry.” I stated.

She furrowed her brow at me. “When was the last time you ate?”

I tried to think back. I was pretty sure I had eaten something that morning, or had that been the morning before. . .

“You don’t know, do you?”

I eventually shook my head. “No wonder it looks like you’ve lost weight. I swear. . .” She declared and looked back in the fridge. “I want mac and cheese. If I make it, will you eat it?” 

The thought of eating it wasn’t unappealing. I nodded and she grabbed things out of the fridge and cabinets. “It’s kind of nice being back here.” She said and I was shocked.

“Don’t you remember what happened here almost a month ago?” I asked her in disbelief.

“Sure I do. I don’t think any of us are ever going to forget that, Jeff.” She quietly added. “But me, I’ve chosen not to dwell on that and instead remember the good times I’ve had here. Carson and I have a lot of happy memories here.”

“Well, unlike you, I don’t have many happy memories here.” I admitted and hoped it would keep her from being so chipper.

She stopped what she was doing and looked at me. “Then maybe it’s time that you started to make some happy memories here instead of dwelling on the bad ones. . .” She suggested and then continued to fix lunch.

I sighed as I walked over to the bassinet and looked down at Maggie. She was looking up at me with her big blue eyes which made me think of something. “How long until you start to know what color their eyes are going to be?”

“Most usually change between six and nine months, but it can be up to a year too. But the way blue eyes runs in this family, it’s more likely that she’ll have blue eyes than not.”

I tried to envision what Maggie would look like as a child with blue eyes and my hair color. All I could imagine though was my face and eyes with long hair. I chuckled and immediately realized that I hadn’t heard myself do that in a long time.

“What’s so funny?” Bridge wondered.

“Oh. . .I was just trying to picture what Maggie would look like as a child with our eye color, but all I can imagine is my face with long hair.

Bridge lightly laughed. “That would just be scary.” She stopped cooking the mac and cheese and looked over at me. “I don’t know, now that I think about it, maybe you would look cute with longer hair.” She joked and went back to cooking.

“Never going to happen.” I stated.

When the mac and cheese was done cooking, she got out two bowls and placed some in each bowl and started to walk into the dining area. “Why don’t you move the bassinet over here and we’ll eat at the table.” She suggested.

I picked Maggie up and then the bassinet and placed it down next to the chair. Before sitting down, I placed Maggie in it and then sat across from Bridge. I looked down at the bowl of mac and cheese and wrinkled my nose.

“What’s wrong? And don’t say my cooking; we both know out of the two of us, I’m the better cook.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m just. . .not very hungry.” I admitted. The thought of eating it actually made my stomach hurt.

“You haven’t been eating, Jeff. Your stomach is probably at least half the size it was before. You’re going to have to force yourself to eat.”

I sighed and grudgingly picked up the fork. It did smell good, but I had no desire to eat it. I looked up at her and she was waiting for me to take a bite. Sighing again, I jabbed a noodle with my fork and crammed it into my mouth. Once I swallowed, I again looked at her and she nodded, starting to eat her own.

I got several forkfuls of the food in me before I couldn’t eat any more and I grunted as I pushed the bowl away from me. “It’s going to take time.” She said. “Everything is going to take time.” She sadly smiled at me and I looked down at the table as I nodded. “I’m just glad you don’t stink anymore. . .” She joked and I couldn’t help but slightly chuckle. 

“Speaking of stinking. . .your bedroom reeks. I’ll clean it up if you stay out here with Maggie. . .”

“You don’t have to clean my bedroom. . .” I argued with her.

“Someone has to and you’ve spent enough time in there. You stay out here and I’ll clean it up. But if I hear that you’ve reverted back to staying in there, I’ll drive right back here and make you get your ass out of that bed.” She threatened.

I rolled my eyes and nodded but then thought of something. “What made you come here in the first place?”

She smirked and raised an eyebrow at me. “Star.” I stated and she sadly smiled.

“Don’t be mad at her. She’s been worried about you and she figured that there weren’t many people you would listen to.”

“I’m not mad.” I admitted. 

“Good, because she’s more than a little worried that you would be.”

I nodded and looked over at Maggie before standing up. She was still wide awake and when I looked at her, she turned her head and looked at me. She popped out her pacifier with her tongue and her lips curved as she looked at me.

“She just smiled at me!” I exclaimed.

“It’s a little early. . .” Bridge said as she started to stand up.

“I’m telling you, she spit out her pacifier and smiled at me.”

“I didn’t say I didn’t believe you, she’s already pushing up a little, she seems to be a little ahead of the curve. Trev was smiling around six weeks, and so was George.” She commented and started to clean up the bowls. I reached down and picked Maggie up and carried her into the living room where I sat down on the couch. Bridge moved into the bedroom and I could hear her every once in a while make a noise, complaining about the smell. “I can do that if you want.” I again offered.

“Nope, you need to stay out of this room. Maybe you should think about a change of scenery and move into one of the other bedrooms for a while. It’s going to take a while for the smell to leave this room.” 

I again rolled my eyes. She could be so dramatic sometimes.

I looked down at Maggie and she had fallen asleep. I stood there for a moment as I tried to think of something to do. I thought of washing things as Bridge was about to bring out of the bedroom right as the front door opened. Star was walking in and after closing the door she turned around to walk further into the house.  She stopped suddenly as our eyes met and she looked completely shocked. “You’re. . .out.” She said while blinking repeatedly.

I nodded.

“And thank God because that room would have been quarantined if he had stayed in there any longer.” Bridge complained as she carried out some bowls and then trekked back into the bedroom.

“I’m sorry, Jeff.” She said once Bridge was in the other room.

“For what?” 

She motioned toward the bedroom with her head and I nodded.

 

“To say I was. . .surprised would be an understatement.” I admitted and I saw the expression on her face fall and she looked down at the floor and I wanted to slap myself for making her feel bad. “I’m not upset.” I quickly added and she looked back up at me.

“Why not?” She wondered.

“Because he knew he needed to have his ass kicked.” Bridge said as she brought another set of bowls out of the bedroom. “Didn’t you?” She asked as she paused for a moment and I rolled my eyes.

“See, that’s what he does when he knows I’m right. He rolls his eyes.” I rolled my eyes again as I looked back at Star and Bridge butted in again. “See.  . .” She said and then went back into the bedroom.

Star smiled a little and looked down at the floor for a moment before slowly moving her gaze back up to my face. “You have a beard. . .” She commented.

I nodded and wondered what she thought of it as she continued to study it. “I like it. You look good with one.” She admitted.

I was about to say thank you when the front door flung open causing Star to jump and then cower by one of the dining room chairs. Peter entered the house with gusto and at seeing Star he apologized. “Sorry. I didn’t think you’d be out here.” He said calmly to her before her turned and saw me. I had never seen Peter look at me so coldly. “I sure didn’t expect to see you.” He admitted. 

“Peter. . .I know you blame me. . .I’m sorry.” It was all I could think of to say.

He nodded and looked over at Star. “I could care less about you apologizing to me. You need to apologize to her not only for that day, but for how you’ve made her worry every day since then.”

“Peter. . .” Star interrupted him.

He shook his head and looked at the two of us. “You two are something else.” He said under his breath and rushed up the stairs to his room.

I looked at the stairs until I heard his door slam and Star let out a little whimper. Bridge was next to her before I had a chance to myself. “Star, I’m here to help Jeff, but I can’t help but think that you need help too.”

Star shook her head. “I’m fine.” 

“Jumping every time there’s a loud noise isn’t fine. Have you talked to anyone about what happened?” 

Star shook her head. “Maybe talking about it would help.” She turned to look at me. “I think both of you need to talk to someone.” I sighed. “I know you think it’s stupid to talk about feelings, Jeff; but after what happened. . .I don’t see the harm in it.”

She walked back towards the bedroom and I turned my attention back to Star. She was looking once again at the ground and I wondered what she was thinking about. Before I could ask her, she grabbed her bag and rushed past me up the stairs to her room.

Bridge came back out of the bedroom and walked over to me.

“Give her time, Jeff. You all need time, even Peter; he’ll come around too eventually. He needs someone to blame for what happened when really, it’s all Rosamund’s fault. No one made her do what she did; not Star and not you.” My vision became blurry from the tears in my eyes and Bridge reached over and pulled me into a hug. I buried my head into her shoulder and cried. I didn’t hold it back like I had tried to do for weeks; I finally let myself feel the pain, the anger, everything that I had tried to hold in.

The sound of Maggie complaining caused me to finally lift my head off of Bridge’s shoulder and I turned around to look at her. She had woken up from her nap and as Bridge and I walked over to her, she looked over at me and her lips curved up again. “That is most definitely a smile.” Bridge said as she rubbed a hand on my back.

Two days later, Bridge was getting ready to leave and I was sad that she was. She had run out to the car to place the last of her things in the car and was walking back in. “Don’t tell me that the sad look on your face actually means that you’re going to miss me.” She teased and I slightly smiled. 

“Maybe a little.” I joked back. I walked to where she was standing and hugged her. I could tell she was stunned at first since it took her a moment to hug me back. I squeezed her a little tighter as I spoke. “Thank you.”

She squeezed me back as she whispered. “Anything for my little brother.”  We stood like that for a moment before pulling away and she looked at me. “I mean it, if you go back to hiding in that bedroom, I’ll come back and kick your ass out of it again.”

“What if I find the master key?” I challenged.

“I asked Star to make a duplicate.” She smiled.

“I should have known.”

“Think about what I said about talking to someone, and remember, you have two people who care about you in this house.” I huffed at the thought of Peter caring. “They both need time to heal, just like you. But don’t shut them out Jeff. You did once before. . .” She didn’t finish her thought but I knew what she meant.

“I know.” I stated and her lips curved into a smile again.

“I’ll call you when I get home.”

I nodded and hugged her again. “There are times when you drive me crazy, but then there are moments like right now that I can’t imagine not having a sister like you.” I admitted.

She looked at me and smiled. “Same for me. Except the sister part.” She joked and I actually laughed.

“Love you.” I said as she started to walk out the door. 

“Love you too.” She said as she left. I stood there staring at the closed door before I heard movement from upstairs. I turned around and looked up at the balcony and nodded as I remembered what Bridge had said. Don’t shut them out, Jeff. . . I sighed and for the first time in weeks, I felt a determination. It was time to fight for what I wanted.