Promises

I swallowed hard when I found myself looking at Eden’s psychiatrist. “Hey, Doctor. Actually, she’s not okay. I was looking for R. H. M. Do you know where he is?”

“Yes, I do. He’s with our other brother. Are you going to fight him?”

“I didn’t come looking for him to fight him,” I told her.

“Shame! That boy deserves someone to punch him,” she said, making me chuckle.

“Yes, he does. He’s acting like a downright fool,” I agreed.

“He sure is. What’s going on with Phoenix?” She asked.

“She’s so sad. She just wants him to want her. She hasn’t eaten since their fight, and all she does is cry. I just want to make him see reason. I want him to wise up before he loses her for good. As much as I would love it if she chose to just walk away from him, I know that it would hurt her even more than she’s hurting if she had to do that. So, I came to find him and drag him back to Eden to fix this.”

She tilted her head as she studied my face for a minute while I struggled to not squirm under her scrutiny. It was always so intense. She could see more of you than you showed, and that was terrifying. When she had sussed out whatever she was looking for, she sighed.

“Our brother lives at 562 Walnut Street. It’s about a thirty-minute drive from here. Just do me a favor?”

“Sure. Whatever you want,” I said hesitantly, more than a little afraid of what she would ask for.

“Promise me that if you get the chance to punch him, do it. Because I am this close,” she almost growled, holding up her index finger and thumb close together, “to doing it myself.”

“I will gladly do that for you,” I laughed, grinning. “I’ve been wanting to do that.”

She came down the stairs to pat my cheek. “Good boy. Also, I’m sorry about Dale. He’s a little protective over me.”

I looked up at him over her shoulder. “It’s okay. I wish I could have told you that I was coming. I’d be the same way if someone I wasn’t expecting showed up at my house. Anyways, I’ll get out of your hair. Thank you again for the address.”

“It’s no problem. Don’t forget to punch him,” she reminded me.

“I promise.”

I got back in my car before speeding off to the new address. I was a little surprised when I got there to see four vehicles in the driveway already. I got out of my car before slowly approaching the front door, where I knocked. Less than a minute later, a man pulled the door open.

“What?” He snarled.

“Umm. Hi. I know that you don’t know me, but I was looking for R. H. M. My name is Armadillo, and I’m from Eden,” I told him, holding my hand out for him to shake, which he did with a piercing look on his face.

“Why are you looking for R. H. M. exactly?” He inquired.

“Well, honestly? I’m in love with his woman, and she is hurting. I really want her to leave him so I can be with her, but I won’t even think about initiating with her until her relationship with him is finished. And even if it doesn’t, I’ll gladly stay her friend. But either way, I’m here to take him home,” I said.

“Good! Take that bastard back and make sure he grovels at Phoenix’s feet,” an unfamiliar female snapped angrily as she stormed out onto the porch. “She deserves it. She is so sweet and innocent. He’s a fucking asshole for hurting her the way he did. Piece of shit. Pathetic motherfucker! I swear to all that is holy, I am going to punch him in the throat!”

A man behind her chuckled as he wrapped an arm around her waist. I was glad that I recognized him. He was the attorney that helped me get a divorce from my wife.

“Alright, ya’ little hyena! Calm down. You’re pregnant,” he gently lectured her, making her glare at him.

“I’ll show that asshole a hyena. Hurting my friend like that! She’s so in love with him, and he loves her just as much! This is so sad. He’s pathetic. He needs to wake up! If he’s not going to do it himself, just lock him in a room with me and Ramira. We’ll do it for him. The motherfucker!”

I stared at the tiny woman in shock. She was such a spitfire, and I wasn’t sure how to respond. When she turned her head to look at me, I took a step back, scared that I would be under attack too. She smiled brightly at me.

“Come on! I’ll take you to him!” She sang. “Come, come! I’m ready for him to leave.”

She pulled away from her man before charging back into the house. I glanced at the first man, who was shaking his head in amusement.

“If you want a crack at him, you better get in there before she kills him in his sleep,” he instructed.

My eyes widened as I dashed into the house, gulping when I saw the furious little pixie woman standing outside of a door, tapping her foot, while she waited for me to catch up. As soon as I reached her side, she threw the door open so hard that it bounced off the wall and almost flew back into the frame, only to be stopped by her hand. I saw R. H. M. sit up over her shoulder, look at her, and lie back down, pulling the blankets up over himself as he rolled onto his side.

“Go away, Madison. I already told Caleb that I didn’t want to get up. I am fine. I don’t know why you’re here. I’m not going to do what you say because you yell at me. So, you can just go home,” he muttered.

She stiffened before storming over to the bed and shoving him off it. “Get the fuck up, Brennan! Stop this stupid shit! We both know this isn’t where you want to be! You need to go back to Eden and fix this with Leah!”
I stared at the woman in shock. Phoenix’s real name was Leah? I wasn’t surprised. It was a beautiful name for an even more beautiful woman. I was happy that I knew her name now. I just wish she had been the one to tell it to me.

“MADISON! I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE! I DON’T WANT TO GO BACK TO EDEN! I AM GOING TO STAY HERE UNTIL I DECIDE WHAT I’M GOING TO DO! AND THERE IS NOTHING THAT YOU CAN SAY THAT WILL MAKE ME CHANGE MY MIND!” R.H.M., no Brennan, roared.

I was shoved out of the way as the divorce attorney, whose name I couldn’t remember, flew past me to grab Brennan around the throat and slam him against the wall.

“You will watch how you speak to my pregnant wife,” he snapped. “You may be my brother, but that won’t save you from being hurt!”

Brennan narrowed his eyes on the man. “It’s still a no, Joseph! Leah doesn’t want to be with me. I don’t want to go back to Eden. Caleb already told me that I could stay here as long as I wanted to. And I still want to be here. I don’t want to go back and see that look in her eyes again. I can’t take it. It kills me.”

“So, you’d rather stay away from Eden to avoid seeing that look in her eyes than come home and erase it. What a fucking cowardly thing to do, R. H. M. She misses you and is suffering more than you are. How is this fair to her? She tried to kiss me last night because she knows how I feel about her. She’s so devastated over whatever happened between the two of you that she’s willing to do whatever she can to feel wanted. Even start a physical relationship with someone to not feel so alone,” I snarled as I stepped into the room.

His furious eyes leapt to mine seconds before he tore himself away from Joseph to stalk across the room to me.

“Did you fuck her?!” He asked lividly.

I went toe- to- toe with him, holding his gaze. “And what if I did?”

He pulled his fist back before plowing it into my face, knocking me back a few steps. As my head whipped around to glare at him, the doctor’s words replayed in my head. ‘Promise that if you get the chance to punch him, do it.’ I smiled coldly at him as I thought to myself, ‘Bring it on, you little bitch.’