Successful Entrepreneur Franklin DeMassi to Open Luxury New York City Restaurant Sooner Than Expected.
I browse the article that states the new restaurant, 72, will open within the next month.
Why didn’t he tell me?
I’m aware he’s opening another restaurant, but as far as I know, it’s nowhere near finished. And an opening is a big thing.There is media and photos and a lot of shaking hands—it’s the exact place I should be. By his side during this exciting time.
Yet, I’m finding out like everyone else.
My stomach drops as it hits me. I know what he’s doing. It’s what he always does, and I shouldn’t be surprised. I really fucking shouldn’t, but I can’t help it. I have way too much hope in my heart that things with Franklin and I can be fixed; that our life will turn into what we swore to each other it would be in the beginning. Too much of me wants that perfect life with him, the one I was promised. I can’t let go of it, even though I’m smart enough to know I need to.
We’ve been married for fourteen years. You’d think by now I’d want nothing to do with his games, yet… I still play along. I still stick around. I keep going back, like a sad puppy hoping for a bit of attention.
Fourteen years feels like a long time to be married to someone, and it is… but we’ve hardly been together for most of them. The first few months together were great. I’d met him after my first rough night on the job. Everything about him screamed calm. It was exactly what I craved. We hit it off immediately and got married quickly. He was still early on in his career but certain about where he was heading. The age difference didn’t bother either of us. He said I was mature beyond my years. That’s when I told him what happened to me.
Our relationship quickly turned rocky, then messy, then into a mix of awful and good. During that time, there was a lot of make-up sex, and it was the only thing keeping me sane. We split for a bit, got back together with new promises. Split again. Stayed together, but it was bad. Finally, I decided we needed time apart, so nine years ago, I moved here when I found the job at 99. The choice wasn’t difficult since it’s where Nash, my oldest brother, lives and has since the day Hollis turned eighteen and went off on his own.
Me leaving seemed to put a fire under Franklin’s ass, and he quickly changed his tone, promising me everything I ever wanted. He came to visit. We talked about our future family. We made plans, bought the house, and talked about adoption. But it didn’t take long for things to go right back to how they were—how they still are, only we don’t fight anymore. There’s no more screaming, no more arguments. It’s just silence. Indifference. Pain.
I didn’t want to leave Hollis alone in California when I left, but staying did nothing to help him or me. I hardly saw him since he was in and out of treatment centers. The few times he was clean, it was nice to see him, but it wasn’t worth being miserable for. He’s an adult and needs to function on his own. Nash and I help him out as much as we can. I’d give him the shirt off my back, but I need boundaries too. I can’t let his issues bring me down. Not the way I let Franklin bring me down… for whatever reason that is. If anyone deserves to treat me like shit, it’s my baby brother. Yet Franklin gets that honor.
I should get divorced. I know that. Franklin knows that. But I also know I can’t handle another fucking failure. It’s all I see, day in and day out when I can’t save people. Hoping that I can fix my marriage is one thing that keeps me going. It’s the one stable thing in my life. I know what to expect from Franklin, as much of an asshole as he is. It may hurt, but it’s familiar. That’s comforting for me. It’s easier than being set free into this world with nothing to fall back on. Maybe that makes me a coward. I’m fine with that.
The red digit on the clock on my nightstand switches, bringing me another minute closer to tomorrow. I should sleep. I need to sleep. It’s back to work in the morning, this time for my normal 24-hour shift. I’m going to be exhausted if I don’t sleep tonight.
My phone rings, and I frown, wondering who the hell could be calling me at this time of night. Hope flutters in my chest at thethought of it being Franklin. We’re in different time zones, him behind me, so maybe he’s awake and wants to tell me about the new restaurant.
But it’s not Franklin.
It’s my brother.
“Hey, Nash,” I answer, rubbing my hand over my forehead and rolling onto my back. “What’s up?”
“My ears were burning. You know what that means.”
I roll my eyes. “You and your weird superstitions,” I grumble.
“You okay?” he asks.
Nash is convinced that when his ears burn, there’s something wrong with me—like a burning sensation points to me because I put out fires. I think he’s fucking losing his mind.
Nash is the only person I know who’s seen more death than me. Working as an undercover cop out here, he sees some crazy shit. Together, we see the worst of the worst. I don’t know why we do it, put ourselves through this shit after everything we dealt with growing up, but… maybe he feels the same way I do. Like he deserves the pain because of what we did… or didn’t do, I guess. But Nash paid his penance. He took on me and Hollis when he turned eighteen with not a clue on how to handle us or how fucked up we were. We were just three boys trying to figure out how to survive in this cruel world.
“Fine. Just a long day. Nothing new.”
“I heard about that fire on Granite.”
I huff a humorless laugh. “Trust me, that wasn’t even the worst part of my day.”
“You talked to the Senator lately?”
“Don’t call him that,” I say, feeling more defensive of Franklin than he deserves.
“Well, the man always has something to promise but can never deliver.”
“I can’t wait for you to get married so I can point out all the flaws in your partner.”
“Well, that’s where you’re fucked—never getting married, so I guess I’ll have to make up for both of us.”
