Work Text:
Avery 10:30 pm
I heard you're back in town. I..I probably shouldn't even be texting you. I know that but..but I just wanted to say I'm sorry and I miss you even though I know I shouldn't. You probably know about my situation. I married Zac and I'm happy I think but I miss you and I'm sorry and I just wanted you to know that I guess. I needed you to know. Though I guess for all I know you may have changed your number. I wouldn't blame you if you did and if this is a stranger then please just ignore my stupid confession.
Taylor stares down at his phone. It’s definitely not the text he expected when he’d gotten the notification. He figured it would be his Dad begging him to reconsider his choice in where he’s staying. Though he knows it wouldn’t be because Carson really wants him there. Sure, his Dad would be fine with him and Brielle staying there, but this would be for his Mom’s sake. Laura had made it known that he and Brielle should stay with them.
But it’s not Carson. Nor is it Laura.
Avery… his ex-wife.
He reads the message for a third time and he truly doesn’t know how to even respond. How does she expect him to respond? After everything they’ve been through, what can he even say?
Taylor looks behind him when he hears Brielle humming. He smiles when he realizes she’s staring down at her notebook, going over her itinerary for the week ahead. He knows she’s looking forward to working with this new client. He also knows she hated uprooting them. But it worked out well because Taylor can now figure things out for himself.
“You’re staring at me,” Brielle says without looking up.
He chuckles. “I suppose I am.”
“Wanna tell me who texted you?” She finally looks up at him, shifting to lean against the wall.
“Avery.” He leans against the table with a sigh. “Heard I was back in town.”
“Your ex-wife, Avery?”
He nods. “That would be the one.”
“I didn’t know you two still talked.”
“We don’t. She simply texted me because she heard I was back in town. I haven’t talked to her since I left.”
“You gonna text her back?”
He shrugs. “I don’t even know what to say.” He crosses the room to sit on the edge of the bed and holds his phone out for Brielle to look at the text.
“Do you believe her? That she’s sorry?”
“I don’t know. If it had just been once, I could probably have an easier time believing her. But it went on for seven months.”
“Do you believe she misses you?”
He looks at Brielle. “I believe that she believes what she’s saying. I don’t know if I do.” He rests his hand on his girlfriend’s thigh, giving it a soft squeeze. “I will tell you that I was going to text her tomorrow. I talked to Jessie to see if she had her number and it hasn’t changed. But I wanted to reach out to her to let her know I was back. Figured it would be better to hear from me than finding out from someone else or running into each other.”
“Someone beat you to it.”
“Looks that way. Could have been anyone honestly. Fucking town gossips.”
Brielle laughs softly. “If I had realized when I found out about this…”
“I would have told you to take it still.” He leans over and kisses her softly. “Sorry I interrupted you.”
“You didn’t. Not like I don’t know what I’m doing. You should text her.”
He raises an eyebrow. “I should?”
She nods. “Like you said, you were going to reach out to her anyways.”
“I think I’ll go shower first. Wrap my head around what I’d even say.”
Taylor leans against the sink after he gets out of the shower and wraps a towel around his waist. He lets out a heavy sigh as he grabs his phone. He rereads Avery’s message again before finally touching into the box to type his reply.
Taylor 11:05 pm
Still me. Back in town. For a few months at least. Was gonna reach out to you tomorrow to let you know. Shouldn't be surprised it got back to you already. Who told you? Haven't seen many people yet. I heard about you and Zac, so congrats on that I guess. Always wanted you to be happy, just never thought it would be like this.
Which is the truth, all he ever wanted was for Avery to be happy. He just never imagined it would be with his best friend. Ex-best friend. Zac Myers. He’d grown up with Zac. They’d been best friends since grade school. Zac was his best man at his wedding. He’d known that Zac and Avery immediately became close when they met. He just never knew how close until that fateful day.
He walks out of the bathroom after he pulls his shorts and shirt on to find Brielle cleaning up her stuff from the bed. He tosses his dirty clothes into the pile on the other side of the bed before he walks over to help.
“Done for the night?” he asks.
“Yes,” she answers. “It’s not changing. I don’t know why I looked at it for so long.”
Taylor smiles as he wraps his arms around her waist. “It’s your first time with this client. You know this is natural.”
Brielle rests her hands on his arms. “I know. But I’m tired and I want to go to bed. Did you text Avery?”
He nods. “I did. Told her that I had planned to reach out tomorrow.”
“How’d she find out?”
“I don’t know. She hasn’t responded.” He shrugs. “She might not. I don’t know.”
“Don’t ignore her if she does respond.” She leans up to kiss him. “I’m going to bed.”
“I won’t be far behind you.”
Avery 11:36 pm
Zac saw you today at a café not far from his office. Said you were with some woman and he left before you could see him. He didn't want any drama or anything. Thanks for the congrats… and I never thought it would be like this either...I always thought... well you know. You were going to reach out to me though? I mean no offense but I haven't heard from you in two years and I tried to get a hold of you after you left. I thought you'd never want to talk to me again even about trivial things. And a few months? You won't be staying?
Is she serious? No offense but I haven’t heard from you in two years…
“There’s a reason for that, Ave,” he mutters.
He sighs, dropping his head to the back of the couch. Of course it was Zac. It’s probably a good thing he hadn’t seen his former best friend. While he knows they can’t avoid each other forever, he didn’t want to see him just yet.
Taylor 11:52 pm
Did not see him. He saw me with Brielle. Yes because I figured I should at least let you know I was back in town in case we ever ran into each other. Didn't want it to be a complete surprise. Despite everything that happened, I still care about you. Didn't want to just run into you and scream surprise. Everything is up in the air on where we'll be. Kinda depends on what's happening with my job and where Brielle's job takes her.
I still care about you.
He does. Despite everything, he does still care about his ex-wife. If he’s being honest, a part of him is still in love with her. That could always change if they ever run into each other, but he never got to have his closure. What the hell even is closure?
He snorts when he thinks about his own job. Sure, he’s still in the industry he wanted to be in, but it’s not like it was supposed to be. How could it? He hasn’t written a song in two years.
Avery 12:03 am
Brielle… is she… are you dating her? If so, I'm happy for you. I'm happy you found love again after everything. I'm guessing you're back because of one of your jobs then? I still care about you too though I'm not sure you'd believe me, not after everything.
Taylor shakes his head with a sigh. What can he even say to any of this? Yes, Brielle is his girlfriend. They’ve been together for nearly a year and moved in together three months ago. Of course, that hadn’t been completely planned. It just worked out.
Taylor 12:10 am
We are dating… been living together for three months now. Her job brought us here. She's a music therapist so she gets to travel too and everything kind of works out.
Avery 12:15 am
Well that's amazing for you. You're getting your dream… traveling the world with the woman you love. I'm going to go to bed now though but I guess I was wondering if we can meet up sometime in the coming days? I… there's some things we never got to talk about because you ignored my calls and I guess I just… even though two years have passed I feel you deserve to know what I had to tell you.
You’re getting your dream…
No, he’s not. His dreams were with Avery.
Taylor 12:25 am
Not exactly, but it is what it is. And yes, I ignored you! You can’t blame me for that, Avery. You cheated on me with my best friend. In one moment I lost the love of my life and my best friend. So I’m sorry that I couldn’t answer when you called. By the time I was ready, I found out you were still with him.
Taylor 12:32 am
I'll be at Harbor in the morning. Anytime after nine.
Taylor pulls his glasses off, setting them on the table before he rubs his eyes. He checks the time on his phone before looking out the window. Avery hadn’t responded to his final texts. At this point, he’s not sure if she’s read them. But he’s put it out there that he’s here.
“More coffee?”
Taylor looks at the server with a smile. “Please.”
“You look exhausted.”
He lets out a soft laugh. “Yeah, you could say that.”
“I’ll dump cold water on you if you fall asleep.”
“Thanks, Emma.” He smiles as she walks away.
This was where he used to come while he was working back when he still lived here. It was an easy walk from where he and Avery lived. He’d also grown up with Emma, so knowing she’s here is almost calming.
Now if only he could write again.
Taylor slips his glasses back on before looking at his computer screen once again. As he continues through his emails, there’s a feeling that washes over him. It’s one he hasn’t felt in quite some time. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.
Avery’s here.
When he opens his eyes again, his ex-wife is slipping into the booth across from him. He leans back as he swallows hard. She hasn’t changed much, though it hasn’t been all that long. He’s probably changed more than she has, given that he’s let his hair grow out again.
But Avery? She’s still the same as the day he left. Though, he will say she looks as exhausted as he feels.
“Hi,” she says softly.
“Hi back,” Taylor responds. “You look about as good as I feel.”
“I didn’t sleep much.”
He nods. “I know the feeling.” He closes his laptop and moves it to the side as Emma walks back over.
“Coffee for you?” Emma asks, looking at Avery.
“Please,” Avery answers.
Taylor takes a sip of his own coffee as he waits for Emma to walk away. He watches Avery stir her cream and sugar into her mug. “Does your husband know you’re here?”
Avery takes a drink of her coffee before she finally answers. “Zac does know I am here, yes,” she says with a nod. “Though, maybe I shouldn’t have come. It doesn’t seem like you want me to be here and I can’t blame you for that. I… I know I messed up. I know I made mistakes. I also know saying sorry isn’t ever going to be enough, and maybe I should have just told you over text what I needed to tell you. Though, I thought it would be better to do it in person.”
He sighs as he looks down at his mug. “I told you where I was going to be. That should be answer enough on if I want you here. I’m sorry. That’s not how I planned on starting this. It just… yeah, you made mistakes. I probably did, too. I obviously did something to make you fall into bed with him.” He finally looks at her again.
“Taylor…”
“I know you called me numerous times and I know I ignored all of them. You only left one message telling me what you told me the day I left. So what was different? What did you want to talk to me about?”
Avery takes a deep breath at that last question. "It was different because I wasn't just calling about me. I… I was pregnant at that time when I was trying to call you and you ignored them. I was pregnant and it was your baby and I just wanted you to know."
Taylor drops his mug to the table after he hears this, coffee spilling over his hands and the table. He quickly grabs some napkins as he plays back what Avery had just said.
I was pregnant… it was yours…
Kids had been talked about before they were even married. When Taylor realized he saw a future with Avery, he made it known he wanted kids. He was thrilled when she wanted them too. It made their relationship that much deeper.
Wait…
Was?
He stops what he’s doing and looks across the table. Is it possible for his heart to simply stop despite still being alive? Because he’s sure his has stopped.
“Was?”