Sound of Heartache ("Sound of" Book 2) (16 page)

“
Thanks,” she muttered shakily, as she pulled free of Brent’s embrace.

“
That’s it?” Brent asked furiously. Aimee stood there, keeping her body turned away from him. She shrugged.

“
That makes us even, I guess, so no worries. We’ve both been satisfied now.” She honestly had no idea what to say to him. She knew he didn’t love her and probably could never really forgive her. The only thing they had left between them was Brenna. She gestured toward the couch. “You can crash there.”

Keeping her eyes averted from him, she started from the room with the goal of getting to the sanctity of her bedroom before breaking down. She didn’t want to let him see how torn up she was over what had happened between them. Just as she hit the safety of her room, her arm was pulled backwards.

“
What kind of game are you playing?” He growled at her. She trembled but kept her eyes on the floor. “And why the hell won’t you look at me?” He exploded.

Aimee pulled free from his hold. The irony that she was standing in her bedroom, alone with the only man she’d ever loved, was not lost on her. She finally turned her body toward Brent and lifted her tearstained face to him.

“
I can’t play these kinds of games with you,” she choked out. “I get that you’re angry at me and you have every right to be. But it hurts me to be used by you for sex. I can’t do that.” A sob broke free. “I want to keep the memories of a Brent who loved me. Not one who used me to get off!” A dark look passed over Brent’s face and Aimee knew he was furious with her.

“
You started this in the limo after I made myself clear!” Brent was all but yelling at her. Aimee shrank inward on herself. “How I felt was not a secret from you!” He was right and she knew it but it didn’t make the pain in her heart any less crippling. She had been so stupid.

“
Starting things in the limo was my mistake. I seem to make a lot of those where you’re concerned,” she said. Hurt and shame battled for domination inside her and she cursed herself when her eyes filled with tears. “I’m so damn sorry.”

“
Oh fucking hell,” Brent swore. His hand came up to his face and he held his forehead in an automatic reaction. Aimee numbly realized that it was the same hand that had just been inside her body, showing her incredible pleasure. Apparently Brent realized it too because he jerked his hand away and glared at it before dropping it back to his side. “Fuck!” He shouted. “Why the fuck didn’t you just come home?” He yelled.

Aimee watched helplessly as he exited her room, slamming the door behind him. Moments later she heard water running in the bathroom and knew he was washing her off his skin. She felt incapable of movement but knew she couldn’t stand there all night. Knowing it was stupid but unable to change her feelings, she wished they were back in their old apartment where Eric played the buffer. If he was here right now, he would be comforting Aimee even though she was in the wrong.

Moving slowly because everything seemed stiff and painful, Aimee stripped off her concert clothes. She methodically went about her nighttime routine. She took a quick shower to wash off the sweat from the club. She tied back her hair and moisturized her face. Everything hurt and she needed to find a way past that. Digging through her closet she donned a pair of her favorite pajamas. Brenna had picked them out last year. They were a soft modal material and were a light aqua blue. The pants draped way past her ankles and she usually felt like a pretty gypsy in them. Tonight she just took comfort in the fact that they were familiar and had been given to her by someone who loved her.

Taking a long, hard look at herself in the mirror, Aimee frowned. The woman looking back at her looked lost and sad. She didn’t look anything like the confident doctor and mother who normally resided there. Aimee wondered if she would ever get that person back. That person had held out hope that she would one day be free to be loved by Brent again. A sob flew out of Aimee and she watched as the woman in the mirror clutched at her chest, pain drawn across her features.

Turning away from the sight, Aimee hobbled to her queen bed, dropped down, and curled up into a tight ball. She had made so many wrong choices in life and they were all coming back to haunt her. Scenes from the past ten years flew through her mind one by one and each was more painful than the last. Her hands covered her face as she lay there, sobs tearing through her body as hope for the future slowly bled out of her.

CHAPTER SIX

Brent quietly eased the door to Aimee’s bedroom open. The muffled sounds of her sobbing had stopped about an hour ago but Brent hadn’t been able to sleep. As much as he didn’t want to care about Aimee’s pain, he did. He had known his non-reaction to the blow job cut her. He had calculatedly hurt her by getting her off with no emotion attached. He had wanted to hurt her as much and as deliberately as she had hurt him. He took no satisfaction from the pain he’d dealt out and instead felt like a guilty bastard for what he’d done.

Deeply unsatisfied with himself, he had wandered around Aimee’s home and looked at the photos of her and a girl he knew had to be Brenna. Brenna was a beautiful girl and feelings of fatherly pride had nothing to do with it. After years in the entertainment industry, Brent knew Brenna could model if she so chose. Even at her young age it was clear she was tall and leggy and had the best of his and Aimee’s looks. From the photos littered throughout the house, he could tell her and Aimee were very close.

Once Aimee’s crying had stopped and he was certain she was sleeping, he’d gone into Brenna’s room. Being in there made him feel like an intruder but he wanted some insight into his daughter before he met her. He had been honestly shocked at her room. For some reason he’d been expecting pink or purple, a real girly girl room. Instead, the room was splashed with reds, oranges, and yellows. Everything was bright and bold. There were several framed posters of Destruction in her room, as well as several autographed pictures of him. Aimee had clearly gone to some length to make sure Brenna had access to at least some part of her dad.

Everything Aimee had done was so confusing to Brent. He didn’t understand any of it. She made sure his daughter knew about him. She had sought him out to tell him about their daughter. She immediately engaged in sexual play with him. When he considered the facts he was presented with, it seemed like Aimee still loved him. Had never stopped loving him. What, then, was the real reason for her not coming home to him after she’d turned eighteen? He was missing something, some important fact that would help him understand this entire mess.

Gazing at the woman curled into a ball on the bed, he realized that as angry as he was at Aimee, part of him still loved her. Parts of her were still the same as the girl he’d fallen for and planned to spend the rest of his life with. He approached the bed on silent feet and stared down at her. Even in the dim light coming from the hallway he could see the silvery tracks of her tears. He exhaled hard and his own eyes watered.

“
I really am sorry.” Aimee’s low, scratchy voice was unexpected and it startled his heart into a rapid rhythm.

“
I’m sorry for what happened in the limo and your living room.” He kept his voice low, his tone neutral. He didn’t want to hurt this woman any more than she already was.

“
It’s more important for me that you have a good relationship with Brenna than with me.” He heard a slight tremble, but she kept going. “I think I need to put what I want aside and just let your relationship with her happen.”

“
I think you’re an amazing woman,” Brent admitted softly. “If things were different…” his voice trailed off. If things had been different they would be celebrating wedding anniversaries and probably have one or two more kids running around.

They were both silent for several moments, each lost in their own thoughts.

“
There’s blankets inside the ottoman if you need them,” Aimee offered tentatively. Brent nodded, and then realized she probably couldn’t see him.

“
Thanks. I guess I should probably try to get some sleep. I’m just nervous, you know?” He only had this one chance to make a good initial impression with his daughter and he was twisted up in knots over it.

“
Relax. Sleep. Whatever is going on between you and me, it’ll keep, okay? Brenna’s going to be thrilled you’re here.” Brent reached out and squeezed Aimee on the shoulder gratefully.

“
Night Aimee. Thanks for…” He stalled out. He wasn’t sure how to
not
sound like an asshole here. He settled for, “Just, thanks.”

As he left the room, Aimee murmured, “Of course.” And as he slid the door closed he could have sworn he heard her say, “I love you both.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Aimee woke up at the ungodly hour of six in the morning. She had barely slept at all and could feel the effects. Her eyes were gritty and her brain was working sluggishly. Despite that, she knew she needed to reach out to Brenna and let her know Brent was waiting. Brenna wasn’t due home until late afternoon but Aimee knew she’d jump at the chance to spend time with her dad. Aimee’s hand patted around her nightstand until she located the square lump of her phone. Palming it, she dialed her daughter’s number.

“
Mama, is everything okay?” Brenna sounded sleepy and panicked.

“
Baby, everything is fine. I promise. I just needed to talk to you about something that couldn’t wait.” Aimee felt bad that she’d scared her daughter with the early morning call but there wasn’t any way around that.

“
What couldn’t wait until a normal hour mom?” Brenna sounded just the tiniest bit annoyed and Aimee grinned. Her girl liked her beauty rest.

“
You know I went to the concert last night,” she said slowly.

“
Did you see him, mom?” Brenna asked excitedly, all traces of sleep gone.

“
I did. I was able to talk to him, too. After the concert.” Brenna didn’t need to know the particulars of the conversation or anything that transpired with Brent.

“
What happened?” Brenna’s voice was hushed. This was a huge deal for both of them and Brenna knew it. Aimee had never hidden her feelings from her daughter.

“
He’s thrilled about you. He can’t wait to meet you.” Aimee heard her daughter gasp.

“
Really?” Brenna breathed. Aimee heard her daughter sniffle and wished like hell this conversation wasn’t taking place over a phone.

Borrowing a phrase from one of her and Brenna’s favorite kid movies, Aimee said, “Really, really.”

“
When, mom? When do I get to meet him? This weekend? Today? When, mom?” Brenna’s words tumbled out in a jumbled rush. Aimee could picture Brenna all but vibrating with energy in her sleeping bag.

“
Baby, he’s here right now. You get to meet him today.” Brenna shrieked, the sound loud and piercing. Aimee’s eardrums rang and she held the phone away from her ear, grimacing. She was certain every member of Brenna’s friend Lacy’s house was now awake.

“
I’m coming home right now. And don’t worry, I’ll tell Mrs. Wells I’m leaving.” Before Aimee could say anything, the line was disconnected. Aimee scrubbed her hands over her face and exhaled noisily. Brenna’s friend lived about six houses away so it wouldn’t take Brenna any time at all to get home. Everything was about to get real whether she was ready for it or not.

CHAPTER EIGHT

“
Mom! I’m home!” The front door slammed closed, the noise waking Brent from a dead sleep. He shot upwards on the couch and looked around, his eyes wild and feeling like he’d only fallen asleep about ten minutes ago. “Mom!” The voice called again.

Brent glanced at the antique clock on the wall. It wasn’t even seven a.m. and he was relatively certain he was about to come face to face with his daughter. His heart was galloping in his chest and his breathing was shallow. He closed his eyes and took a calming breath. He sure as shit wasn’t going to have his first-ever panic attack in front of his daughter. Standing up, he straightened his clothes and tried to pat down his hair. His first look at Brenna as she skipped into the living room knocked the breath right out of him.

“
Hey Brenna.” He said stupidly, when she stopped in her tracks and stared at him with large round eyes. She was tall and willowy and sported a backpack slung over her shoulder. Her hair was long and dark and pulled back into a sleek ponytail.

“
Dad?” She asked, smiling widely. When he nodded she took several hesitant steps forward. Brent felt a crushing surge of emotion in his chest. She had Aimee’s bright smile.

“
Yeah.” He managed to choke out, smiling back as best he could without crying. Brenna dropped her bag on the floor and launched herself at him. He hardly had time to brace himself before she landed in his arms and wrapped herself around him. He could feel her slender body shaking as she clung to him.

“
I knew you’d come home with mom! I’ve waited so long to meet you!” Brenna’s arms squeezed around his neck and her nose pressed into his neck. Brent felt tears prick his eyes. This was his
daughter
.