Bryce is silent for a moment. “I cannot imagine what you went through, or should I say are still going through. But I do know that you cannot pin the blame on yourself. What happened was a freak accident. Something unprecedented.”
“And yet blame myself is all I do. It’s my fault.” My heart clenches and I deflate. “It is and that’s what hurts the most. The outcome could have been so different…”
“You don’t know how it would have gone, Valencia. Even if it didn’t happen, even if ya prevented it, it doesn’t mean that something else wouldn’t have happened to Addilyn down the path. Perhaps it’s fate, right? Perhaps it’s what’s in God’s plans. Perhaps what happened protected her from something worse. At least this way you can still have hope, that’s something, right? Sometimes, as I said, it’s God’s plan and ya just have to trust it’ll all be okay.”
Bryce’s encouraging words are something I didn’t expect. In the office, he’s always sarcastic with snide remarks. Ever since last Tuesday night, I thought that was all this man could be. But right now, walking by him and listening to him, I notice there’s truth to his words. Perhaps I’ve overlooked him. Perhaps he does deserve a second chance, just like my marriage.
“All my life I’ve had to trust that it’ll all be alright,” Bryce admits. “I get angry and snap when I shouldn’t. My father abandoned me before I was even born. My mother came to the States and met this man. It was a holiday fling that resulted in me. When they found out, he bailed and my mother had to return back to London for work. That made me feel…I don’t know. He didn’t give two shits and I’ve never met or seen him. I’ve never wanted to.”
“I’m so sorry to hear. Do you know where he is?”
“Don’t apologize for a fucking selfish man. I know where he is now, but I’ll never meet him. It works me up. It ruins me and so I coax myself to drink and smoke. To forget it all. That night with you I wanted to forget myself. I know it’s not a good enough excuse for what I did, but it’s all I have. I don’t have a lot of people around me here. Marcus, my mother, and a few friends back home are really all I have who care about me, so having you that night meant something.”
I find myself nodding at his words. I realize I didn’t know a single thing about Bryce up until now. Nothing at all. No matter the situation, his father should have been there. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know any of that.”
Bryce chews on his lip and we make a left turn by the Seattle Waterfront Park on Pier 57 and cross the road into the park, walking by others who are out enjoying their Wednesday night. The glowing Seattle Great Wheel and moon etches an optical glow of silvery red across the waters. It’s there where we stop by the walkway and I’m mesmerized by the night sky and how darkly it glows.
Bryce keeps his eyes on the water and rubs his hands together. “When I was younger, my mother often couldn’t afford meals for the both of us. She didn’t work the best jobs, but they were the only ones she could get. As I grew older and college was on the horizon she became desperate for money. I was working too but it wasn’t enough. Without my notice she got involved in a scam and lured millions from people. It was more than we needed, but I don’t think she could stop. Until one day…yeah…the world made it stop for her.”
I feel for him. I really do.
I swallow hard, my hand finding its way to his shoulder to give it a slight squeeze. He’s freezing just as I expected. “I’m so sorry to hear that, Bryce.”
“No,” he turns to me and his eyes wash over my face. “She didn’t die. I worded it wrong.”
My hand slips. “What happened then? Is your mother here?”
“No. She’s back in London, but she can’t work. She has a condition. A mental condition. It had her avoid jail, but she needs to pay back every single pound plus interest. So I had to move away from all the negative and find myself again. All my paychecks go directly to her. I need to help my mother now, just like she helped me even when she didn’t even want me. I need to help her…I do…especially now that everybody is against her in our town.”
“That’s a very generous thing, to do Bryce.”
“People wouldn’t associate that word with me.”
“Maybe they don’t know this story.”
“Ya think you’re special, aye?” McCarson holds my gaze for a split moment and a ghost of a smirk works its way on his lips. The same one that has been absent all night, rendering him almost unrecognizable. There is barely any of the sarcasm that Bryce McCarson is known for. It’s just his soft voice and growing honesty.
I like this side of him.
I take Bryce’s smirk and carve out my own smile. “No. Not special.”
“I was kidding. Don’t knock yourself down, you’re an incredible woman. You really are. A pure rare sight that can have angels sing down at you.”
“Now you’re exaggerating!”
Bryce’s hand hesitantly reaches under my chin and raises it higher to meet his gaze. He’s serious now. “No, I truly do mean it. All the single parents out there are incredible. Although you and Giulio may be working things out, I know from
